From Casual Stargazer to Amateur Astronomer

Dave Eagle has been interested in astronomy for most of his life. As a boy, he followed with great excitement the landing of the Apollo missions, sparking his enthusiasm even more. This set him well on the way to learning much more about the night as he started to explore it for himself. In his mid-20s Eagle established Bedford Astronomical Society, holding the position of Secretary for many years before becoming Chairman. He also held the post of Handbook Editor for the Federation of Astronomical Societies for three years and is a Fellow of The Royal Astronomical Society. In this capacity he is an enthusiastic ambassador for the subject, frequently giving talks to local astronomical societies, social clubs, schools, youth groups and other interested parties. He also encourages others to get out and observe, producing a monthly sky guide which is free to download from his Web site. Eagle is a trained biological scientist, but after trying his hand at science teaching he eventually moved out of the labs and into the field of IT. He is fortunate enough to have his own small personal observatory in his back yard and considers himself a good all-rounder, enjoying all aspects of astronomy. Despite suffering from a reasonable amount of light pollution in his small town, he is still able to actively observe and image the sky.

Moving On - Awareness of the Sky.- The Sun – Observational warnings and what can be seen.- The Moon.- Interesting and unusual features through the year.- The Planets – Visibility of the planets depending on the ecliptic.- Dwarf Planets – Finding these fairly bright minor members of the Solar System.- Meteors – What they don’t tell you.- Comets – An introduction to comet hunting.- Man-made Objects – How to observe satellites and other man-made objects.- The Stars – Guide to the different types of stars visible.- Deep-sky Objects – Some of the objects visible throughout the year.- Equipment.- Basic Astrophotography.- Telescope Astrophotography.- Software.- Places of Interest.- Meeting Other People – Local and national astronomical societies.