Summer stargazing
This summer season, there are several cosmic events and planets in the sky that you can see right in your backyard. From a glimpse at some of our neighboring planets to meteor showers, you don’t need to be an astronomer to get excited about observing our skies.
Seth Mayo, the curator of astronomy at the Lowman planetarium at the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences, said observing the skies is one way to spend your free time. In particular, he encouraged everyone to go to a local planetarium to stargaze and to learn more about our universe in general.
“You’ll always see something really cool and special,” Mayo said. “Any planetarium hopes that you can step outside of the planetarium and go outside and check out these things for yourself too, because that real curiosity starts with you doing it yourself. Planetariums are a gateway to that curiosity.”
From backyard telescopes to journeying to your local planetarium, there’s a ton of astronomical events you can view in the skies over the next few months. For instance, Mayo said both Mars and Venus are visible.
“For those that take walks in the morning…you look up in the East in the morning, you might see before the sun rises, bright Venus,” Mayo said. “Which, as many folks know, is the brightest planet you can see in the sky, commonly called either the evening or morning star. Even though it's not a star, it shines so bright like a very bright star in our night sky.”
Aside from viewing planets, the core of our galaxy is rising right now in the northern hemisphere summer. Mayo said the summer season is a great time to view the Milky Way Galaxy because the center is dense and bright.
“It makes for a beautiful view of the Milky Way if you are in a dark location,” Mayo said. “But also, great photography. The best Milky Way shots are happening in the summer at least if you’re trying to see these things in the evening.”
Space books that should be added to your ‘To Be Read’ list
Aside from stargazing and taking a trip to your local science museum, another way to relax this summer is to dive into books, especially space ones.
Here’s a list of some of the space related books that we have featured on “Are We There Yet?”
Star bound, A Beginner's Guide to the American Space Program, from Goddard's Rockets to Goldilocks Planets and Everything in Between by Emily Carney and Bruce McCandless III
The Six: The Untold Stories of America’s First Women in Space by Loren Grush
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield
The Defector by Chris Hadfield
Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientists by Vickie Kloeris
Challenger a True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
Space for Birds: Patterns and Parallels of Beauty and Flight by Roberta Bondar
