Astronomy Information for Beginners

Were you bitten by the astronomy bug while you were out stargazing last night? Suddenly feeling inspired to learn the more about wonders of the night sky, the solar system, and all the science behind them all? Sky and Telescope Magazine has a page on its website that will serve as your guide to astronomy for beginners.

Check out what's up in the night sky this week. Get advice for buying your first telescope. And find the best coverage you’ll find online of upcoming celestial events such as eclipses and meteor showers.

Ali Matinfar captured this image of stargazers under the Milky Way from the Mesr Desert in Iran.
 Ali Matinfar / Online Photo Gallery.

What's Up In the Night Sky Tonight?

The best guide to astronomy for beginners is the night sky. All you really need to do to get started is look up - preferably at night! You'll find an amazing treasure chest of astronomical wonders, even if you don't have a telescope.

Sky and Telescope's most popular (and free) offering, "This Week's Sky at a Glance," guides you to the naked-eye sky, highlighting the major constellations and planets viewable in the evening sky, with occasional dips into a deep-sky territory. Insight Observatory shares this guide weekly on its social media pages such as Facebook and Twitter.

If you'd rather listen while under the stars, download Sky and Telescope's monthly astronomy podcast and take it with you when you venture out tonight for a guided tour of the night sky.

Or do your own sleuthing with their interactive sky chart.

If there are any major celestial events, such as comets, eclipses, or meteor showers, you'll find all the latest information (including instructions on where to look and detailed sky charts) in their observing news section.

For more information on astronomy for beginners please visit http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-information/

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Educational Image Request Form for Classrooms

Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request form for the Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) is now available for use with classroom teachers and students.

The staff at Insight Observatory would like to thank the Plymouth Public School District located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for allowing a few of their classes to participate in a trial program utilizing the ATEO remote robotic imaging telescope integrated with the Educational Image Request form (EIR) for their astronomy research projects.

Secure login for access to the  Insight Observatory ATEO Educational Image Request Form.

The process begins with an account created by the teacher for their class. Once the account is created, credentials are created for the EIR form that each student in the class would use to access the form. When the students log into the EIR form, they are then prompted to enter their name followed by requesting a deep-sky astronomical object to image with the requested exposure parameters. 

There is a drop-down set of user instructions for completing the form. When a deep-sky object is chosen, a message will appear confirming that the object is visible that night for imaging. Once the EIR form is submitted by the student, the class instructor receives a receipt of the student's request and the image request is then submitted into the ATEO remote imaging telescopes queue.

Screenshot of the Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) Forms for the ATEO telescope network.

A couple of examples of classes using the EIR form with the Astronomical Telescope for Education were 5th-grade students at Plymouth South Elementary School, MA and earth science students at Plymouth North High School, MA, and senior astronomy students at Barnstable High School, MA.

M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy imaged on the Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach, ATEO-2A (upper right) by students from Middletown Public Schools, Connecticut.

If you are an educator interested in using the ATEO Educational Image Request form for your classroom projects, please Contact Us for a FREE consultation and 15-min online training on the EIR application.

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High School Earth Science Classes Utilize the ATEO

This past fall, Insight Observatory had the pleasure of collaborating with Karen Merrill and Sawyer Thompson's Earth Science classes at Plymouth North High School, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This was the first project Insight Observatory had undertaken with high school students utilizing their remote Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach (ATEO).

Plymouth North High School Earth Science students are researching and presenting their research projects using the Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach (ATEO).

Ms. Merrill stated, "This unique experience gave students the opportunity to gain access to a remote telescope located in New Mexico. Students remotely requested an image of their assigned celestial body (nebula or galaxy). Students then researched their celestial object, mapped it using constellations, and created a presentation to teach the class about their object. Students highlighted their image by giving a detailed description of how their object formed and how long it has existed in the universe."

Both instructors used Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) application, which allowed each student to submit their image request to the remote telescope's imaging queue. After the student submits their assigned image request, the EIR application then sends a receipt to the class instructor so the instructor can keep track of the class's submissions.

Examples of Deep-Sky Objects imaged on the ATEO by the Plymouth North High School students.

There were roughly 100 image requests submitted between both Ms. Merrill's and Mr. Thompson's classes. The students selected their imaging targets by referring to the DSO Browser website. This online resource lists all of the deep-sky objects that are visible in the current night sky.

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