Astronomy is Essential to the Naked Eye

“Beauty is essential to the naked eye.” This is a popular line from Antoine de Saint Exupery’s classic “The Little Prince.” Now “the naked eye” is figure of speech pertaining to human perception unaided by any equipment like binoculars or the telescope.

Now if you say naked eye astronomy, that seems impossible because we all know that we need binoculars or telescopes to see those cosmic objects and celestial bodies high up in the night sky.

But this isn't the definition of naked eye astronomy. The term refers to events that can be seen by the public. These are commets, meteor showers and astronomical conjunctions. There are so many phenomena out there that can't be observed by the unaided eye.

Normally, our visin has a magnitude of +6m, which is the anular resolution. But there are some people who have keener eyesight. There has been evidences that these people see Uranus and the moons of Jupiter.

The average eye can see 2500 stars up in the night sky but because of the dust and other atmospheric elements, their numbers are reduced to 1500 and 2000. A naked eye can also detect star clusters or what we call constellations. These are the Pleiades, Persei. Hercules, Andromeda and Orion.

In fact, five planets are visible with the naked eye. These are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Then there’s the sun and the moon - which is also part of the solar system – therefore earning the nickname the sixth and seven “planets.”

Naked eye astronomy has been evident throughout history. The ancient Egyptians, Mayans and Babylonians all measure time with their naked eye. The occultations of the moon are also observed.

When observing a small object without a miscroscope or a magnifying glass, the general distance is 20 to 25 centimeters. But when held at close range, 0.05 mm can already be seen clearly. This accuracy depends on the experience of the measurement.

If let’s say the Milky Way is visible, then it shows that the atmosphere is clean. If we look high up in the sky and locate zenith, the “blue-ness” degrades because of dust and pollution.

For astronomers, light pollution is a problem because it makes it harder for them to see the celestial objects and cosmic bodies at night. The seasons also affect what the naked eye can see. It is so hard to see high up in the sky during winter.

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