Most of us "old timers" learned to ply the sky in the same manner already mentioned. I began when I was in High School as a way to begin celestial navigation. I spent the better part of a year leanring the sky a small portion at a time as it would reveal itself along the eastern horizon from my east bench Salt Lake back yard. I didn't worry much about light pollution then. I had an incandescent street light at the corner of our yard that illuminated some of our back yard, but my friends always seemed to make sure that it was non-functional. I never learned much about celestial navigation except for the basic principles. Instead I gained a lifelong appreciation for the night sky. I added much of the southern sky while I served in Argentina. I remember the Magellanic Clouds, and seeing Omega Centauri and 47 Tucani without optical aid. What majestic skies can be accessed from the southern climes! At one point I even remember seeing the Big Dipper handle stars just barely visible on the northern horizon. The rest of the "northern" constellations were all upside down. I honed my stellar recognition skills when I worked at the Planetarium, and later during the development of Digistar. I added some of the third dimension to my knowledge of the constellations. If you didn't know the sky, it was pretty difficult to give demonstrations. Years later I taught observational Astronomy to teachers as a part of the Iomega Astronomy Enrichment program. During our evening sessions and our early morning sessions we would lay on the ground in a circle with our heads together and I would point out constellations using a six cell Maglight. I would then pass the flashlight to the next person and they would repeat the precess. We continued around the circle with each person repeating the identification until the major constellations became somewhat familiar. Then we would adjourn to telescopes to learn the art of star hopping. This was the genesis of my finder charts. Like Rich, Chuck, and others who have taken the time to gain astro knowledge, I feel the sky belongs to me. It is a personal possession. I rejoice when certain stars appear to herald the changing seasons, or stimulate memories of dark nights spent on mountain tops with my 22 inch scope and the cherished views through it. I could go on for pages about those views and experiences. Today, when it is no longer necessary to learn the sky, I feel - no I know there is a great deal lost by those who don't take the time and make the sacrifice to adopt the stars as your personal friends. I am certain the heavens know my name, just as I know theirs. From: Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 9:23 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Frustration at the eyepiece: help! Amen to what Chuck said -- I was about the same age when my dad brought home the copy of "The Stars" by H.A. Rey (of Curious George fame) that really hooked me. I spent many nights thereafter with a penlight (bulb painted with my sister's red nail polish) learning the night sky from the various constellation charts in my fairly light-polluted back yard in So. Calif. The stars are like old friends now as a result of that early effort. I also learned to unscrew the annoying porch lights of many an unsuspecting neighbor... :)