Using these charts over the course of a few weeks will quickly raise your skywatching I.Q. Link up with astro-friends . If you live in a college town, keep an eye out for astronomy community enrichment courses. Local schools, museums, and planetariums might also host an astronomy club. Experienced members are good sources of advice, and some groups loan out telescopes. Many societies also have libraries stocked with specialized books and atlases often not found in public libraries.
Astronomy is also a good hobby to enjoy with a friend or family member.
The delight of discovery is often infectious. Dust off those vacation optics. Turn that set of birding binoculars in your closet into a mini-telescope. Even moderate magnification reveals lunar craters, a crescent Venus, and moons around Jupiter. Get away from city lights to check out amorphous dust clouds and glittering star clusters along the Milky Way.