I saw someone online talking about the lunar eclipse say “someone at the park let me use their telescope!” and I think everyone should know that if you ever see someone in a park with a telescope they will one hundred per cent let you use it, they are probably in the park because they are hoping someone will ask to use it, there is nothing telescope people want more in the whole world than for some random passerby to express interest in their telescope.
this is true. half the point of looking at space is helping other people look at space, and half the joy of having a telescope is when other people look through it
IF YOU SEE SOMEONE IN PUBLIC WITH A TELESCOPE THEY ALMOST CERTAINLY WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING COOL! GO TALK TO THEM!
If you're shy, say something like "is that a telescope?" or "what are you looking at?"
So you know what to expect, unless you're out in the middle of nowhere, or at least where there's no bright lights around, you probably won't see galaxies or nebulae--they're probably going to show you the Moon or one of the bright planets. If it is nice and dark out, they might actually be there observing on their own, but they're still probably going to let you look if you ask.
Also, it's possible that when you look through the eyepiece, you won't see much, or the object will be partly out of view. TELL THE ASTRONOMER! You or they may have bumped it slightly, or if they're showing something to a bunch of people, their telescope might not have been tracking and the earth has rotated a little, or you may need coaching to make sure you're putting your eye in the right spot. If you're being shown a dim object like a galaxy or nebula, the object may be much dimmer and harder to see than you are expecting.
AND IF YOU HAVE A TELESCOPE THAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE USING, GO OUT IN PUBLIC AND SHOW PEOPLE THE MOON SOMETIMES!! You don't need dark skies to show the Moon and bright planets, so just show up to places where there's lots of people and where the Moon or planets are visible in the sky. I used to show up to a gas station near my house with my telescope.
There's nothing like watching people see the Moon up close for the first time. It's addictive.
I am taking my telescope to the campground soon maybe and I am low-key hyped about the possibility that someone will say “oh hey what’s that?” and I can show them something neat
With my luck it’ll be while I’m 100% lost in the sky trying to find the pinwheel galaxy or something and I’ll be like “oh uhhhh yeah it’s just stars right now, no I don’t know what any of them are called, I don’t have a license to operate this equipment”