Hello Friend,

Look I know it's hard to get motivated to go outside in the Winter to look up at the sky.

Do you ever find that you really want to go out, but just can't seem to get motivated when it's 
so frickin' cold?

No excuse to wimp out any longer, because I am going to share a few Easy Winter stargazing
tricks used by yours truly.


 Don't forget  some of the best night sky objects are visible during the Winter time.  If you try to find them
in the Summer or fall, you might be out of luck.
 

Here are a few of my own tricks:

• Get a dog: When fido has to go out do his biz, you grab a pair of binoculars
  and you spend a few minutes looking up at the night sky. (note: In my case
  I live under dark skies so it's a tad easier, it's a bit tougher do do in the suburbs, but you can
  still see brighter objects like Messier M42 (Orion Nebulae) and M45  (Pleaides). 
   
• Locate the position of the Planets for that evening, Use a cell phone app, or a simple
  Star & Planet locator.   Right now I can see Venus, most evening's when it's clear and
  it's become like an "old friend" every time I look at it. (Not much to see, but it's bright 
  and often mistaken by  as a UFO by those who  drink to excess.

• Pick just one night sky object to observe and spend just 10 minutes just studying that one   
  object. The benefit to you is that you will slowly see more details from that object over
  time as your eyes pay attention to minor details that you may have overlooked previously.
   
•  Winter is a great time to observe Planets. Even for just 5 minutes. That includes, Venus,
  Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and the Moon,  (From early evening to early morning).
   
• If you own a larger instrument, then consider
  buying a smaller inexpensive scope that can be grabbed and use for a few minutes anddoes not require time to set it up.  On mine, I have three eyepieces ready to go on the  on the accessory  tray, plus a moon filter. (Here are two of my favourites)  1) Meade 102mm refractor   or the /Celestron 102 az.
  
   
• Don't underestimate the value of observing the Lunar surface, Yes, it's often taken for granted by many amateur
  astronomers. That's a huge mistake.  Buy a Moon Map, and pick one crater to observe and check it out. Takes
  about 10 minutes.