When you are in the dark, the retina of your eye gradually adapts to the light level; most of this adaptation occurs in the first half-hour. Dark adaptation will not be complete if there are bright lights around though, and once established dark adaptation can be lost very quickly if you suddenly encounter bright lights...
ie there you are all dark-adapted outside in the back garden and someone goes and puts on the kitchen or outside light to see what you are doing outside in the dark. It happens to us all at sometime. And that awkward feeling of stupidity while trying to explain yourself is common too.

 

If you need do a flashlight, it is best to use a dim red light. Such lights are less likely to interfere with dark adaptation. A red piece of polythene sellotaped to the top of a torch will do.
Light Pollution is a huge problem for anyone interested in astronomy, and even if you find a site away from city lights, the site still may not be all that dark. You may see a glow near the horizon. Large cities can be seen as such a glow as far as a hundred miles away. Smaller cities can be seen from tens of miles away. When there is a glow on the horizon, there is often stray light all over the sky and this stray light will reduce what you can see.

Looking Upward

One thing that you can't control is the atmosphere. Even a cloud free night isn't always great for viewing. Remember that when you are looking directly overhead you are peering through about 7 miles of troposphere which is the densest portion of the Earth's atmosphere; the light from an object nearer to the the horizon filters through dozens of miles of the troposphere, the result can be blurry skies.
Turbulent air can have an effect too, it makes objects appear to jump around or twinkle ...Stars really don't twinkle despite what the nursery rhyme says. Only experience will tell you which nights are best for viewing

Binoculars

The easy mobility and simpler operation of binocular's make them an easy choice for anyone considering astronomy. There is a great difference in price too, between a telescope and binoculars. Transporting a telescope and setting it up has always been a difficult assignment because the instrument is cumbersome and setup can be an involved patience stretching process.
The best binoculars for astronomy use are (7 x 50) or larger, though any size binocular can be used for viewing Stars and sky objects, but choosing quality equipment promises better results. Don't forget the weight of the binoculars though, its all very well getting super dooper big ones only to find that your hands shake and ache after only a short time.

There are many beautiful sights, such as the star fields of the Milky Way, and Star Clusters such as the Pleiades and Hyades, and ghostly comets, which can only be truly appreciated in low-power, wide-field binoculars. These compact, simple devices are the ultimate in portable, easy-to-use equipment, and even the most expert of observers use them to complement their telescopic observations.

Telescopes

Every amateur astronomer wants to own a telescope ­ and the bigger the better. But one has to be practical and consider storage as well as setting-it-up problems. Unless one is lucky enough to be able to have the telescope in a permanent position with a removable roof, and living in an area that is light pollution free, then my advice would be to restrain yourself and only buy what you would be comfortable with.
There are two main types of telescope: refractors (the spyglass type) which use lenses to collect and focus light; and reflectors, which collect light with a mirror. To choose the right telescope, you need to know the relative advantages of each type.
Telescopes are judged not their magnification but their aperture, i.e. the diameter of the main lens or mirror. Don't mind all that nonsense on the box, and don't be pulled in by all those wonderful Hubble type pictures displayed on the box either.
When astronomers refer to a 'small' telescope they mean one with a small aperture. The aperture governs how much light the telescope collects ­ and the more light it collects, the more you can see. Hence it is best to get the largest aperture telescope you can afford, whether a refractor or reflector.

 

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