One of the goals of higher education astronomy is to guide students towards becoming expert astronomers, enabling them to participate in the discourse and practices of the discipline (Gee, 2004). However, the specifics of what expert astronomers do in their professional practice are not well documented in the current astronomy education research literature. In particular, there is a lack of knowledge regarding how expert astronomers develop the competence of visual inspection, with previous research highlighting that it is mostly acquired informally (Walsh, 2024). Using data from an autoethnography of participating in astronomy research following a mentorship-apprenticeship model, we will first present how astronomers apply the skill of visual inspection in their professional practices. Following from that, we will discuss some key components in facilitating the development of this skill, that could be leveraged in a more systematic way in astronomy education at the university.