Mountain-top Stargazing

On these short summer (northern hemisphere) nights, when the Sun goes down late in the evening and rises early in the morning, stargazing is something of a relaxed activity at our place.  First, it’s usually fairly warm (warmer than a winter’s night!).  If it does get cold, as it does up here at my altitude, I’ve got a sweater and hat handy for the nippy temperatures.

Second, right now there are some fairly easy things to spot in the sky. We try to go out each night and watch the sunset.  Up here at 9,200 feet, we have glorious sunsets over the Continental Divide, often made more gorgeous by a few clouds to reflect light and help create crepuscular rays. But, once the Sun’s down, it’s open season the stars and planets. Often the first thing we spot, even before the Sun has set, is the planet Venus. It’s a tough catch, but give it a try if you have a good western view. Not long after sunset, we try to find Mars and Saturn

After that, we look to see who can spot the star Arcturus first. It’s almost directly overhead after sunset.  Off to the east, we look for Vega, once it has cleared the mountain behind our house.  It doesn’t take long for the rest of the stars of the Summer Triangle to clear the peak top — and if we’re out about midnight, they’re quite high in the sky.

Of course, for us Northern Hemisphere types, there’s always the Big Dipper (that asterism that is part of the constellation of Ursa Major) to check out. It’s high in the northwest part of the sky after 9:30 or 10 p.m. And, later on, around midnight, the Milky Way is high enough in the sky to make out as a faint band of light. Up at our altitude, we can usually make out details in the Milky Way, which is pretty darned cool to see.

All of these things I’ve just described don’t require any special equipment, other than the old Mark I eyeballs, a jacket (for those chilly times late at night), and about 10 minutes’ worth of dark adaptation. Even most city dwellers can spot the brightest stars, although the Milky Way is probably washed out. But, there’s still something gleaming up there for everyone to check out!