Astronomy and Astrophysics

There are a number of ways to find out what is up in the night sky. You can consult a magazine or website which lists things to look for.

• Sky And Telescope

You can use software that shows you the night sky

• Starry Night
• Interactive Constellation Guide

Or, you can use a Planisphere. You can find plansipheres at most science or museum stores. A simple one has been included in your packet. A planisphere consists of two plates. The back plate contains a picture of the sky as seen from your latitude. Since you can't see the entire sky at one time (the Earth kind of gets in the way of a lot of it) you have a top plate which has a hole. The hole overlays the picture of the sky, and shows you what part of the sky is given at a certain time of the day. The bottom plate will be slightly larger than the top plate, and will have markings on the edge for the time of the year. The top plate will have markings on the edge for the time of day (or night). Match up the time of day with the time of the year, and what shows through the hole in the top plate is what will be visible in the night sky.

So What Can I See Tonight?

Unfortunately, we don't do much observing in this camp because, well, the sun is up. Also, we are in Durham, which has a lot of light pollution, that is, there are so many lights on that it makes it hard to see the fainter stars. Even if you live far away from the city, the summer nights tend to be very hazy in North Carolina, and it can be very difficult to see the stars in the sky.

However, the planisphere will work for you all year long, so keep it in case you are going to be camping or doing some other outdoors activity. Also, in the late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring you will find you do not have to be far from the city lights for the night sky to be quite impressive.