Heavens Above

Wilderness excursions provide terrific opportunities for stargazing with your children. Throughout the year meteor showers and other fun celestial events transpire that you can share with your family. Although major events for 2000 will be highlighted here, keep in mind that different things happen every year, and at different times. There are reference books and almanacs available in any bookstore that will tell you what's in the stars for next year and beyond.

Eerily beautiful under the light of a full moon, away from intrusive city lights the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Among the million things the night skies have to offer are meteors, satellites, planets, constellations.

Planets and Constellations
Ancient philosophers viewed the Earth as the center of the Universe: Just as the earth was a sphere, so the sky was seen as a hollow globe with the Earth at its center. The stars were somehow stuck upon the interior of the sphere, and the planets moved between the stars and the observers on Earth. Wild tales of heroes and heroines, fantastic animals, and other mystical creatures immortalized in the stars brought the night skies to life.

Today you can show your children the same planets as the ancients showed theirs, including Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered after the invention of the telescope), as well as the many constellations around which our ancestors created myths and tales. Share these stories with your children, and encourage them to make up their own.

Great Reads for Junior Stargazers

The Night Sky (One Small Square) by Donald M. Silver, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. For ages 6 to 9, this is a wonderful collection of facts about planets, stars, meteors, comets, nebulae, constellations. Includes myths.

The Sky Is Full of Stars
by Franklyn M. Branley. Teaches kids about star colors and brightness, and what these characteristics mean. Shows how to locate major constellations, and how to make mini planetariums with a flashlight and a coffee can.

A Walk Through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and Their Legends by Milton D. Heifetz, illustrated by Wil Tirion. A great beginner's guide. Includes simplified maps that make it easy to locate constellations without a telescope or any other equipment.