Observation Nights

Many planetariums, observatories and science centers have what is called an Observation Night.  They pull out their telescopes, a few binoculars and invite the public to join them each week (weather permitting of course) to view some of the unique objects in our nights sky.  I went to one last week at the Museum of Science in Boston (at the observatory on the 5th floor of the garage) and had a blast.  They focused the telescopes on Venus, the Moon, and on Jupiter.  The event was free and open to the public, families of all ages encouraged to come.

If you can't make it out to an observation night, you can have one of your own. Check your local science center or observatory's website to find a map of the night sky and print a copy. (or see Resources page for StarDome sky map maker) Make sure it is the right month, because the constellations and planet positions change depending on what part of the year it is. Once outside with a sky map in hand, your task is to find North so you can orient your map (point it in the right way). To find north, if you don't have a compass, use the stars. Locate the Big Dipper in the sky, seven stars that look like a giant spoon - 3 stars make up the handle 4 make up a the bowl of the spoon - with the two stars on the outer edge of the bowl of the spoon imagine that you are pouring liquid out of the spoon and following it as it spills until it lands on a star. That star is Polaris the North Star, a star that doesn’t move as time goes on because it is located directly above Earth’s axis, the invisible line that Earth rotates around. Now that you found North, hold the sky map so that North is on the bottom. All of the stars on the bottom of the map are in front of you, stars in the middle are above you and the stars at the top are behind you.  Now you are ready to start identifying some stars and constellations.

So are you ready for Observation Night?  I am!  Let's go look at the stars!  Come and meet me outdoors!