Visual astronomy - The art of enjoying the night sky.

This is a good summary I think, and for many this is the only way to do amateur astronomy.

Though it can be enjoyed with no equipment but the naked eye, this quickly becomes a material sport just like any other.

The human eye is an exceptional tool, but for any night activities it really has it's limits. To enjoy the wonders of the night sky at it's finest, one must first go to some really dark sites. 

If you do find yourself in one of these dark places.  One of those really dark places. Then you will be forgiven if you don’t throw yourself over a telescope the first thing you do.

When sanding in awe, a nice blanket or reclining chair might be all you need for a while.

But if you want to see the gems of the night. The jewels in the sky. You will need a telescope. And here, size matters. It really matters. Whatevershesays.

The sensor is still the tiny eye with an aperture that we need to do something about. To get the light required for eye to detect we need to collect as much as we can. 

And even then colour and contrast is something one need to fill in with imagination.

This is where astrophotography enters the scene.