Getting Naked

1. The following isn't a course. But it is a work in progress.

2. I'm not a teacher.

3. Think of me instead as a kind of “elder brother”, or a vade mecum (that's Latin, but just in case we find ourselves in Rome, knowing that might come in handy). Better still, think of me as a Maine Guide of the Night Sky: I've been there and done that, and I'll point out the way, but you still have to walk on your own two feet. OK. The sad truth is this: I'm just another joe who started where everybody starts – at the beginning – but I'm living proof anybody can do this.

4. There are some who may quibble with my use of the word "astronomy" on this site and who might point out that most of what I'm dealing with here is really "stargazing." And they would be right. All they're trying to say is that "astronomy" refers to the more scientific approach to the heavenly bodies and that "stargazing" is a more appropriate term for people who stumble out into the dark to get their jollies from looking at heavenly bodies. Maybe it's akin to the old argument about depictions of naked people: what's "art" and what's "porn"? When that argument is settled once and for all, I'll rewrite this site to be more careful about the distinction between "astronomy" and "stargazing". Until then, consider yourself forewarned.

5. Check out the Links on the Astronomy Page of the Norumbega Almanac, a sister project. There are some useful tools and reading materials to be found there, and I'm adding more all the time.

6. While I know that this site can be seen from any place on Earth, my actual position is in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. While much of what I have to say about astronomy holds true no matter where your actual position is on Our Fair Planet, I'll generally be speaking only to what I can observe from my own little patch of ground. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you'll have to consult sources that are geared to the specifics of the view from your own patch.

7. You may notice that the background color of the pages will become darker and darker, like the night sky. The blue means we're just getting started, the purple is a little more advanced, and by the time the background is black and full of stars, you're just about done using this site and ready to boldly go where other stargazers astronomers have gone before.

8. Now, for heavens' sake, Get Naked.