This is the Navagear article that was featured over at MadMariner back in May.

Cruisers are unusually fortunate when it comes to astronomical opportunities. We enjoy dark skies and quiet evenings with few distractions. If we’re sailing offshore, we’ll stand watches through the night. Add in a clear sky, and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for some great stargazing.

Some of the original stargazers were mariners, of course. Nautical astronomy is a specialized discipline in its own right, complete with precise predictions and complicated mathematics, all aimed at determining a vessel’s position. Although I’ve dabbled with celestial navigation, that’s not really what I’m driving at here.

I’m talking about “stargazing,” pure and simple. When you’re cruising, amateur astronomy makes for great entertainment. While sailing from Honolulu to Seattle, we used the masthead windex to steer. For two hours every night, I stared at the windex, reclining athwartships across the back of the cockpit, steering with one hand and one foot. I got to watch, and watch, and just watch some more, the darkest skies imaginable, and I learned a lot.

[NASA image: The constellation Orion and other star formations are visible to the naked-eye.]

Mostly, I learned that the sky is really very busy. There is an awful lot going on up there, much of which we either can’t see (because we live in light-polluted human settlements) or just never bother to examine. For example, the movement of satellites and shooting stars punctuate the night at regular intervals. There are also a vast multitude of (apparently) stationary objects. And don’t forget the rich band of the Milky Way. But even if you never go offshore, and are never underway at night, you’ll encounter stargazing opportunities on your boat that would be the envy of your city-bound astronomical brethren.

NO GEAR REQUIRED

Navagear is all about gear and gadgets, so two weeks from now in “Astronomy 102″ I’ll discuss several kinds of astronomy tools, some of which you may already have aboard your boat. But to get started, you don’t need a thing. In fact, it’s better if you don’t start out fiddling with gear. If you can begin to explore the heavens with your naked eyes and a bit of patience, you’ll get a lot more out of the experience when you do start augmenting it with powerful tools.

Amateur astronomy doesn’t really require any equipment at all. Mostly, you need time: time to allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness, and time to watch whatever might be going on up there. Whether aboard your boat or ashore, you’ll want to find a comfortable position, reclined or semi-reclined so you don’t get a sore neck. Obviously, turn off or move away from all light sources. And dress warmly, because your body won’t be generating much heat as it scans the heavens.

It’s not quite as simple as stepping outside, looking upward, seeing something wonderful and then returning your attention to terrestrial affairs. It takes time.

Believe it or not, even if your eyes are fully dark-adjusted, you’ll see more at the end of your “session” than you did at the beginning, because while you were are there, your brain is learning how to look at the sky.

THE TRAINED EYE

I’m absolutely serious when I say you have to learn how to look at the sky.

I know, it sounds bizarre, but a view of the sky is not something that can be comprehended by the human brain in a single glance. A neuroscientist specializing in visual cognition could give a full, scientific explanation, but I’ll have to resort to an analogy: remember those “Magic Eye” posters from the 1990s? If you stared at the pattern and sort of let your eyes relax, all of a sudden you could see the hidden 3D image.

Looking at the sky is like that, except that progress is more gradual; it isn’t all-or-nothing. As you do it more, your eye-brain system begins to sort, filter, spot patterns and notice irregularities within your visual field.

So set a goal: Spend 30 minutes looking at the sky – it takes about that long for your night vision to develop fully. Don’t work at it. Just relax and look. Let your eyes wander to whatever draws your attention.

Don’t be surprised if you really are tired at the end of 30 minutes. While your conscious mind has been relaxed, slightly bored, or free-associating like mad, your visual cognition centers have been working overtime trying to make sense of this unfamiliar data stream.

With the right equipment, resources, and techniques at your disposal, you can make simple “gee-whiz” stargazing an even more rewarding experience. Amateur astronomers can geek out about gear and technology with at least as much intensity as boaters, so don’t worry, there will be plenty to discuss before we’re done. Stay tuned – and keep watching the skies!