One of our favorite things to do in the warm weather is to star gaze. Dave loves astronomy and one year for his birthday I bought him a fancy, dancy, honking, big telescope. We have dragged that thing to the beach, the mountains and a few lakes. The children love it. Our favorite place to star gaze is in Maine. There is absolutely no light pollution so the skies are brilliantly alive with light and movement. It is absolutely spectacular.
Here on Long Island star gazing is a little more difficult. It is such a heavily populated area that the light pollution prevents us from seeing too much. In 2002 when the entire east coast was thrown into darkness due to a black out the children were amazed at how many stars we could see right here from our own yard. They thought stars happened elsewhere and did not know that they are always there just covered up by reflected light.
Star gazing can be a winter activity too. The sky in the winter is different than in summer and new constellations are visible. Each hemisphere has a different view in each season.
Constellations are grouped together in families and there are eight different families.
The Ursa Major Family consists of:
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Ursa Major (Great Bear) |
Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Lynx, and Leo Minor are all constellations from this family that we can see in the United States during the winter.
The Zodiacal Family includes constellations connected with each of the zodiac signs:
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Leo (Lion) |
Leo, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer are winter constellations seen in the United States.
The Perseus Family is made up of:
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Cassiopeia (Lady of the Chair) |
The stars in the Hercules Family are named after the twelve tasks of Hercules and include:
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Hercules (Great Hero) |
Only Cygnus and Hydra are found in the United States’ skies during the winter.
The Orion Family is centered around the constellation Orion and includes:
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Orion (Hunter) |
All the constellations in this family are seen in the winter if you live in the United States.
The Heavenly Waters Family contains:
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Dephinus (Dolphin) |
Eridanus, Puppis, and Columba are the only three constellations from this group that can be seen in the United States during the winter.
In the Bayer Group are:
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Hydrus (Water Snake) |
Phoenix is the only constellation of this group that we in the United States can see during the winter.
The LaCaille Family includes:
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Norma (Level) |
In the United States we can see four constellations from this family during winter: Sculptor, Fornax, Caelum, and Horologium.
(This information was taken from a variety of sources arund the internet, but mostly here.)
If you are feeling hearty, pick a milder night and pack up a thermos of cocoa a heavy blanket and head out for a open field, beach or your favorite star gazing spot in summer. Go before the sun sets completely and set up a chair or spread your blanket in a place that has a clear view of the sky. Look just above the western horizion just after sunset and you will likely spy the planet Venus. Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is often called the Evening Star because it looks just like a bright star. As it begins to get darker more stars will appear. You may even be able to see some sattelites circling the earth. Have the children find constellations and then when you venture out again in the summer have them compare the night sky.
If your aren’t feeling hearty or the weather is just too severe check out these sites…
Astronomy for Kids
KidsAstronomy
SpacePlace at Nasa – This one is cool. You can print out a star finder map for each month.
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What great information and links – I love stargazing but living where we live we experience the light pollution, too. This reminds me we need to get out of the city more at night!