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as·tron·o·my

/əˈstrɒnəmi/ Show Spelled [uh-stron-uh-mee]   

noun; 

the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.

The word originates from 1175-1225 of middle English "astronomie"

Origin:
1175–1225; From the Middle English/Old french 'astrenomie', which can be derived from the Latin 'astronomia', which is seen in the Greek language also, which literally means "star arrangement", when divided into 'astron' for "star and 'nomos' meaning "arranging" or "regulating".

 

According to a Michael E. Bakich, whose article in learning how to observe the sky i found in “the world’s best-selling astronomy magazine” – Astronomy, that before you begin to look at the stars, you should know the sky in a “general sense.”

I’m not quite sure what he means either but he states that he means general as in that the “Earth rotates once a day and orbits the Sun once each year.” However that doesn’t really help. He asks that you “learn why the sky is the celestial sphere”, and that you read up on the moon phases.

However within another article by Alan M. MacRobert, “How to start right in Astronomy”, the same recommendation of learning the sky is offered. Although he claims that an “unaided eye” is required, which i believe requests you go outside and look up, just try to map out the stars generally without knowing them, then proceed to take a few star charts out and try to match them up.

I find this appeals to me more, however after my expedition into some close fields i find that with the light pollution i am unable to see anything in the clear ten o’clock sky, hence i sort of just skipped ahead to ransacking my local library for anything.

I took a quick scan through the internet on pages that recommended some interesting books that could be of use; The guardian, Goodreads, About.com, and asking just about any search engine for any recommendations of starting to learn astronomy.

Most pointed me either outdoors or to books, some to videos of ridiculously awesome stuff happening; like the red moon, others to stars signs and superstitious stuff, and others to how to begin guides of a random persons idea of how to start up which includes; using binoculars instead of getting a microscope outright, getting your own copies of star maps and visit a planetarium.

I've ordered some books and hopefully they will get here soon because the internet is lacking in truth for me to sift through.