Category Archives: stargazing

Rough Week

This has been an astoundingly stressful week for a lot of people. Those of us not directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath have gone about our lives with the daily news reports echoing in our minds. It’s hard to believe this is happening, and that the problems are so widespread. So, take a moment out from your websurfing to send help if you can.

Stargazing-wise, some of the nicest nights for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers (weather-wise) are coming up with the rise of September. So, take a break from whatever you’re doing and step out tonight after dark and check out the stars. The other day Astronomy Picture of the Day had a great picture of the double star Albireo in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. You can spot this beautiful double star with good binoculars or a small telescope, right at the foot of Cygnus. Check it out!

Watching the Sky

Do you stargaze regularly? I think if you ask most of the people around you, the answer would be “no.” But I often wonder if the term “stargazing” doesn’t come carrying a lot of heavy baggage. I mean, some folks might interpret it to mean, “I go out, set up the telescope, get my star charts, calculator, computer, and then I stay up all night and discover great things.”

That’s certainly one way to think of stargazing. But here’s another: “When I step outside at night, I look up to see what I can see. If there are stars out, I try to find ones I’ve spotted before. I try to find familiar constellations.”

Here’s another: “I don’t know anything about astronomy, but I like to go out and look up at the stars.”

Equally valid and and another way folks can enjoy the sky. I came to these thoughts while working on some copy for the Griffith project. I was sitting there wondering how different people interpret astronomy and stargazing. I’ve had many chances to test it out with people I run into every day: cab drivers, checkout people, the woman who does manicures in the salon I go to, and many others. I’ve found out something: everybody likes the stars, but they don’t always think of themselves as stargazers. Which I find interesting. I figure if you go out and look, no matter WHY you look or HOW you gaze, you’re a stargazer. A skywatcher in a long tradition of skywatchers.