lights

Should you have the lights turned off when your looking through the telescope

Oh, that is a big time, yes! Always turn off those lights.

The objects we most want to see in astronomy are, for the most part, large enough; most don't require as much magnification as beginners think. The real problem for anything other than the moon and brighter planets is that they are faint. If you wish to see them, you need dark, dark skies. Even a little bit of light will make them invisible. In fact, it takes a lot of experience, good technique and the right equipment to spot some of these faint objects, but, above all, it takes dark skies. However, the more lights you can turn off, the more you will see, regardless of your experience or equipment. In fact, just packing your telescope up into the car and driving to a place where there are no lights is often the best solution when you want to see more.

Keep in mind, too. that it takes at least thirty minutes under very dark skies for your eyes to be at their best for seeing faint objects. Any light, even a bright flashlight will ruin that in a matter of seconds. That's why you will not be welcome at a gathering of astronomers if you turn on that bright flashlight when they are at work. When astronomers need a light, they use dim flashlights that give off red light - this is the least destructive to your dark/night vision. You can uy a special astronomy flashlight, such as the Celestron Night Vison flashlight or jus take an ordinary flashlight and cover it with either several layers of red plastic or paint it with red nail polish.