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Experience the peaceful and relaxing night sky. Through the holidays, many people head away from the bright city lights to revel in the dark skies, spangled with myriad stars.
Venture into the night sky and gaze upon the stars. One of my great joys as an astronomer is sharing the cosmos with others. There are countless wonders to discover, and gazing through a telescope is an experience unlike any other.
Getting into stargazing is easy and fun. One of the first steps is learning your way around the night sky. This involves finding constellations, locating planets, and observing meteor showers.
Learning the night sky
If you’re a budding astronomer, a star map or a good reference book is a great place to begin. Today, there are countless good apps to help you navigate the night sky, such as Stellarium.
Start by memorizing bright constellations and using them as guides to navigate the night sky. Over time, you’ll become familiar with many of the constellations visible from your location.
Using Orion as an example, you can learn to navigate the sky. The three stars of Orion’s belt are a signpost to Orion’s neighbors, such as Sirius. This is just one of many ways to explore the grandeur of the night sky.
