Stargazing around Bangalore

[aaftaab Dhabhar]

Hi everyone! me and a few friends would like to go Stargazing somewhere close to Bangalore so a few pointers would help a lot. Cheers!

Firstly, are there any particular months which are better for Stargazing than others or is it possible during any month?

Secondly, is it better to go on a night of a full moon or a night of a new moon? (we're amateurs and we'll be carrying some Binocs too.)

Next, are there any good spots for Stargazing around Bangalore which you guys could recommend??

( Is V.B Observatory in Kavalur open to the Public or is it strictly private?)

That's pretty much it. Any other pointers which you guys could give would be incredibly helpful :)

Thanks,

Aaftaab.

[Leela Kalyanaraman]

Hi Aftab!

Unfortunately, Bangalore isn't Observational Astro friendly anymore. Earlier, it used to be from November/December until April. But extremely unpredictable nowadays. 

But suddenly some days are good in any month. So keep an eye on weather forecasts for the week. Generally monsoon, both the regular and return aren't good times. 

Late night/early morning is a good time.

Avoid times close to full moon. Before and after. No Moon (Amavasya) time is the best. 

Chose an area that is more prone to dry weather. 

Planets like Jupiter and Saturn are in the skies for a long period and are visually beautiful to track. Track other planets on Stellarium, which you can download on to your computer. 

Constellations are in the skies for usually almost 5-6 months, all moving from East to West. 

I don't know about Kavalur, but near it there's a place, which is open to public, at a cost. It's a hotel/ camp kinda place. 

Also Yelagiri, has good viewing sites. 

I'm very much an amateur amateur, so hopefully more senior people will answer your queries! 

Aĺl the Best for Clear Nites! 

Leela Kalyanaraman 

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[Karthik Subramanian]

Thanks, Leela ma'am!

There's not a whole lot that I have to add to what Leela ma'am already wrote - but here goes :)

* Bangalore is pretty much guaranteed to be cloudy outside of the November - April stretch.

  There's no guarantee of clear weather during November-April, but there are good chances of

  clear weather in those months.

* The full moon floods the sky with its light - and hence renders many other deep-sky objects

   invisible. This is why most amateur astronomers completely avoid full moon nights.

* As far as location goes, consult the deep-sky map here: https://djlorenz.github.io/astronomy/lp2006/overlay/dark.html

  If you know of any locations (or can find one) that fall in a light-green or better zone (black is the best,

  but we're not going to get that in the South), they'll do fine.

* You'll need a list of objects to observe. If you're a complete beginner, the usual approach

   is to start with the list of objects from the Messier catalogue. An alternative list could be

   the Caldwell catalogue. Either way, you will need a good star atlas, and a dim red light to

   use the Atlas in the field. Since you're starting with Binoculars, I'll also recommend books

   by Phil Harrington and Stephen Tonkin. The latter's website (see #7 below) is also pretty

   useful. 

   [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Messier_objects

   [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_catalogue

   [3] Planetarium Software: https://edu.kde.org/kstars/

   [4] Planetarium Software: http://www.stellarium.org/

   [5] http://www.amazon.in/Telescope-Pocket-Atlas-Roger-Sinnott/dp/1931559317

   [6] Phil Harrington, Touring the Universe with Binoculars: https://www.amazon.com/Touring-Universe-through-Binoculars-Astronomers/dp/0471513377

   [7] http://binocularsky.com/