I’ve always been fascinated by the night sky but don’t have much knowledge about astronomy. Can you help me get started with stargazing? Maybe suggest some beginner-friendly constellations that I can identify without a telescope, and let me know if there are any apps that could assist?
Absolutely, stargazing is a beautiful pastime and quite easy to get into. Here are a few things you can start with:

1. Determine what you can see from where you live. Urban environments have light pollution that makes it hard to see many stars. If you're in a large city, you might want to travel a bit outside where the skies are darker.

2. The best stargazing conditions will be on a clear night with no clouds, so always check the weather before going out to stargaze.

3. Start with identifying some of the easier constellations and stars. The Big Dipper (also known as Ursa Major) is a relatively easy constellation to spot in the northern hemisphere. And since it remains visible all year long, it's a great place to start. Other easy constellations include Orion, Cassiopeia, and Leo.

4. There are several excellent stargazing apps available that will help you locate constellations and other celestial bodies. Stellarium and Night Sky are free apps that use your location data to present an accurate star map from your perspective. Simply point your smartphone at the sky to start identifying stars, constellations, and even planets!

5. Once you get a handle on the basics, consider purchasing a telescope. This will let you see further out into the universe, and open up a whole new world of objects to observe, such as nebulae, star clusters, and distant galaxies.

Have a fantastic stargazing journey!