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Astronomy for the Absolute Beginner.
Have you ever looked up at night and wondered
enough to find out more and spend some time at
what all the little shiny dots are? Or maybe you
night gazing up in awe and wonder. Be prepared
know a little bit about stars, planets and sat-
- there’s no such thing as bad weather only inap-
ellites but you’re keen to find out more about
propriate clothing. Even on a relatively mild sum-
the cosmos in your corner of our vast universe?
mer’s night you can get pretty chilly. A good base
If the answer to these is ‘yes’, or ‘maybe’ - then
layer may be needed, and the key thing here is to
this is for you. Hopefully by the time you’ve
avoid cotton if you can. Merino wool t-shirts and
finished reading these few short paragraphs,
long-johns are good (particularly Ice-Breaker) as
you’ll be able to look up into the blackness of
are man-made fabrics. I have a nice long sleeved
space and put names to some of the familiar
North Face top made from a combination of three
lights and patterns. Maybe you’ll even begin to
different man-made fabrics and it is a great fit too.
understand what these objects are, be curious
Next you do need a good insulating layer. I tend to
ICY SCIENCE | WINTER 2013- 2014