A story from a 30-year veteran who is crazy about stars
How to find, enjoy, and love stars

"The Joy of Stargazing" is a practical guidebook that addresses the most common questions and difficulties faced by beginners in stargazing, based on 30 years of observation experience and teaching know-how.
This book, which has been fully revised eight years after its first edition in 2017, incorporates the latest observation methods using digital devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as vivid photos and drawings of Korean stargazers.
It covers the daily lives of people in Byeoldongnae, the basics of astronomical observation, observation methods for each object, detailed tips for beginners, and even your own stargazing know-how, making it a solid guide not only for beginners but also for intermediate users who want to enjoy systematic stargazing.

There are roughly 10,000 celestial objects in the night sky that can be seen through a telescope by ordinary people, not just astronomers.
The night sky is filled with hidden delights that you can't see in a lifetime, including nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies, including the Orion Nebula, which is 1,500 light-years away.
All we have to do is carefully look for them one by one, like taking out candies one by one from a large bag of candy.
Could we only see these distant objects? If we narrow our view a bit, we can see many celestial bodies in our solar system, including planets, moons, comets, and meteors.
Consider the closest celestial body, the Moon.
If you observe the moon with your naked eyes every day, you can see the phases change from a gibbous moon to a half moon to a full moon, and if you zoom in with a telescope, you can vividly observe not only the individual craters created by meteorite impacts, but also the valleys and complex mountain ranges flowing between them, as if you were seeing them right before your eyes.
There are approximately 300,000 observable features on the lunar surface.
Even if you look at just one moon, it is full of hidden pictures that you will never be able to see in your entire life.
There is a clear limit to the number of celestial objects that a person can see with the naked eye or through a telescope, but that limit is deep enough that even if you diligently spend a lifetime looking, there will still be plenty of interesting objects left.
One of the great attractions of stargazing is that you don't have to worry about getting bored and giving up.
--- p.21~23 From “Those who look at stars do not go to the observatory”

Even if you look at the famous bright galaxies Andromeda (M 31) or the Rich Galaxy (M 51), when you first look at them through the eyepiece, all you see is an unexpectedly pale fluffy ball of dust.
Because galaxies are much farther away than other objects.
If you get discouraged and stop here, you will never be able to enjoy the deep joy of galaxy observation.
But we have averted vision, a report of the past.
When looking at the galaxy, you should always use your peripheral vision 100%.
There are similar nebulae, but there is nothing in the galaxy like the Orion Nebula, which is easily visible even with direct vision without thinking.
--- p.194 From “Peripheral poetry, peripheral poetry, only peripheral poetry!”

One of the strongest open clusters in the Northern Hemisphere, M35 (center) and its younger sibling M2158 (top left) in Gemini are among the best sights in winter.
While its own beauty is certainly wonderful, the M 35 has also had many nicknames.

Its most well-known nickname is probably the 'Salt and Pepper' cluster.
This is because it appears as if coarse salt (M 35) and fine pepper (NGC 2158) were sprinkled across the sky.
But not everyone thinks of salt and pepper.
Perhaps because I majored in engineering, the shape of the Star Chains in a constellation is often associated with the shape of an omega (Ω). However, Hyunho Lee, a stargazer, even made an octopus sausage instead of recording his observations because he thought the split Star Chains looked like octopus sausages. Namhee Kim, a music major, drew the Star Chain in the shape of a bell.
Salt and pepper, omega, octopus sausage, bell pepper... What's the answer? Of course, there's no right answer.
But it is very important to find your own answers there.
Because it can deepen the pleasure of looking at stars.
--- p.215~216 From "Finding Hidden Pictures in the Sky"

The biggest advantage of digital sketching is that it can be undoed.
If you make a mistake while sketching on paper, you can erase pencil and pastel with an eraser, and you can scrape pen with a knife, but it takes careful effort to erase it perfectly, and traces will inevitably remain on the paper.
However, in the case of digital, you can easily undo previous actions step by step with the (Undo) button, erase neatly with the eraser icon, and separate layers to edit, so you can draw and edit repeatedly without any burden.
(Omitted) Another big advantage is that when you are arranging the stars in the early stages of a sketch, you have to try your best to get the spacing and positions of the stars right by eye, but in the case of a digital device, you can easily get the perfect proportions by capturing the area on the electronic star chart, placing it as a semi-transparent layer, and then adjusting only the star brightness on top of it.
In this way, digital devices have a far superior advantage in terms of efficiency in establishing accurate composition.
--- p.286~287 From "Should I convert sketches to digital?"

I had often heard this before seeing the solar eclipse.
“Watching a total solar eclipse changes your life.” Out of pure curiosity, wondering, “What on earth could it be that changes your life?” I boarded a plane to China in 2009, then to Japan and Australia in 2012, to the Arctic island of Svalbard in 2015, to the United States in 2017, Chile in 2019, Australia in 2023, the United States in 2024, Spain in 2026, and even Egypt in 2027… All the overseas trips of my life have already been decided by heaven.
I will spend my life trying to see every total solar eclipse in my lifetime, and to be in the small shadow of the moon that covers the sun, no matter where I am on Earth.
In this way, the solar eclipse completely changed my life.
--- p.298~299 From "The World's Greatest Decisive Moment, the Miracle of a Total Solar Eclipse"

If you don't already own a telescope, reading this book will make you want to buy one right away.
However, buying equipment without any practical experience is a shortcut to failure.
Whether my taste is photography or non-photography, or whether I find it not very interesting, is something I cannot know until I actually look at the stars.
Before purchasing a telescope, you should definitely participate in at least three observation sessions of the club you wish to join.
At that point, I have a sense of what I need to do to have fun.

However, it is also true that it is not easy to participate in an unfamiliar gathering with a strong network of members without my own equipment.
‘What if I get ignored?’ ‘What if I get ignored or my pride gets hurt because I don’t know anything?’ Even if you’re an expert now, everyone was a beginner at some point.
And most astronomers are more than happy to explain their equipment and show celestial bodies to beginners.
If you feel uncomfortable just popping in, just buying a few cans of coffee is enough.

Buying equipment based solely on limited information gleaned from the internet, without even visiting an observatory, or after listening to the telescope salesperson (everyone only hears what they want to hear), or simply buying equipment they've never seen before at a second-hand market, might feel good for a while, but what about the future? I've seen countless people go through trial and error, buying and selling, and ultimately end up wasting money and time without ever getting a single proper observation, leaving the stars without ever experiencing the joy of astronomical observation.
Basically, the hobby of stargazing is an activity that is fun only when you 'look at the stars'.

--- p.325~326 From “Don’t Buy a Telescope First”