The best way to get a good start on observing is to go outside and discover the stārs for yourself. Before you learn about observing variable stars, get your bearings and learn your way around the sky. Becoming familiar with it is an important first step toward useful observation.

We do need a place and time to start, so let's try your back yard, under an evening sky of late spring or early summer. High in the west will shine the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper, possibly the best known asterism, or group of stars, in the entire sky. Since Roman times they have been part of Ursa Major (UMa), the Greater Bear. The Dipper's handle represents the tail of the Bear, while the feet and nose are shown by fainter stars to the south and west of the bowl (Fig. 1.1).

Now, look carefully. Can you really see a bear up there? I've never come close to seeing one, even though I have tried. One night, while observing in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, I was assured by a friend that I would indeed have an encounter with a bear. Trying to look through a hazy sky, I heard a heavy sound of bush cracking, and I wondered what kind of bear was in store for me that night. As it turned out, I saw neither.