Stargazing |

The Perseids: Most Famous of all Meteor Showers

The Perseids is an unusually rich meteor shower that is one of the 10 biggest meteor showers of the year. It is also a sky watcher’s favorite, not just for the abundance of its meteors …

Common Causes of Mistaken UFO Sightings

James Miller

If you take UFO sightings seriously, you may already have heard of the Hessdalen lights. These mysterious lights have been reported in Norway’s Hessdalen Valley for decades, with some accounts dating back to the 1940s. …

Long-exposure star trails record the apparent motion of stars as Earth rotates.

What Direction Do Stars Move In The Sky?

James Miller

So, when you look up at the stars, it’s a nice, steady backdrop. An airplane might pass by, or you might be treated to an occasional meteor blazing its way across the sky, but it’s …

Summer Triangle star map showing Vega, Deneb and Altair

Mapping the Night Sky Using the Summer Triangle

James Miller

The Summer Triangle is one of the easiest landmarks to recognize in the summer night sky. Formed by the bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair, it spans the constellations Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila and provides …

The Milky Way stretching above a dark forest beneath a star-filled night sky.

Top 7 Night Sky Objects For Stargazing

James Miller

What are the easiest deep sky objects to see? Here is a list of 7 night sky objects that are great for beginners, and which have delighted stargazers for centuries. On account of their size, …

Which Telescope Is Better: A Reflector Or Refractor?

James Miller

As an enthusiastic amateur, you have honed your stargazing skills using a pair of 7×50 binoculars and familiarized yourself with many of the beautiful astronomical targets in the night sky. Perhaps you are now wondering …

Milky Way stretching across a dark night sky

Stargazing And The Night Sky

James Miller

The night sky is the oldest show on Earth and although at first glance it may seem like a random assortment of stars, armed with just a little astronomy knowledge it soon becomes a wondrous …

The Leonid Meteor Shower Explained

James Miller

Every November the region of the night sky associated with the constellation of Leo is filled with a prolific meteor shower, known as the Leonids. The Leonids generally occur each year between November 13th and …

Using The Stars For Direction, Latitude, And Time

James Miller

In the Northern Hemisphere, Polaris (The North Star) is used to determine the direction of north, as well as our position on the Earth’s surface measured along a line running north to south called latitude. …

Big Dipper star chart showing how to locate Polaris in the Little Dipper using the pointer stars Merak and Dubhe.

Using The Stars To Tell Time

James Miller

You can tell the approximate time at night by using Polaris and the Big Dipper as a giant clock in the sky. Polaris remains almost fixed in the northern sky, while the Big Dipper appears …