Star Gazing

Nebula 1, Watercolor, 2016. By Kara DeCarlo.

There's something about a sky full of stars that is awe-inducing and humbling. Recently, the Girl Scouts went on a camp out and were given the opportunity to look up into a star-filled sky. It was fun to point out the different constellations and to show the girls Jupiter. 

There's a world of resources for star gazing; but I will share my favorites with you here. 

Books

There are 3 titles that I found very helpful when preparing for our star gazing expedition. 

The first two are by H.A. Rey. The Stars and Find the Constellations. Both versions were second editions, and had interesting information paired with awesome illustrated diagrams. The conversational tone of the text is written for kids in grades 3 and up.

 The sky views in Find the Constellations are unique: in a half-circle with the horizon at the bottom. My kids found that format much easier to use than the traditional round sky view.  

​The physical size of the books makes them cumbersome to take along on a star gazing outing, but they are great for learning the basics before heading out.
​--------------------------------------------------------------------

Next up is a National Geographic book, authored by Howard Schneider. Backyard Guide to the Night Sky​ has ten chapters that cover phases of the moon, the planets, and constellation identification.

​In the vein of other National Geographic books this book has beautiful photography alongside sidebars and fact boxes. This book is engaging and interesting and would make a great addition to your home library. Unlike the above books, this one is perfect for reading in any order that suits your fancy.

The smaller size of this book makes it incredibly portable.

Websites

These websites were chosen for their ease of use and information contained therein. 

To see what's going on in the sky at any time during the year, check out StarDate.org 

For a free sky map each month, try SkyMaps.com. In addition to the map, there is a list of all of the celestial objects that you can see--with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a telescope. 

To learn more about the mythology behind the constellations, download this PDF by Norm McCarter for the Tulare County Office of Education.

​ If you've had enough of star gazing from Earth, check out the website dedicated to the photos taken by the Hubble telescope.

Apps

Star Walk 

​Star Walk 2 and Star Walk kids both provide an interactive experience with the night sky. The app will tell you moon phases, the time for sunrise and sunset, and the elevation of the planets. The coolest feature of this app is that you can travel through time to see what the sky will look like in different times of the year. Available for iOS.

Sky View

Sky View allows you to see what is in the sky any time of the day. Through the use of the camera, Sky View will overlay the lines of the constellations on the actual night sky. During the day, the app fills in the stars for you. In addition to the stars, the app shows you satellites, planets and the International Space Station. There is a free version of this app. Available for Android and iOS.