I’ve always been interested in black holes, stars, planets, and just space in general. From watching Chris Hadfield’s experiments in space to binge-watching Neil Tyson’s Netflix series – I just can’t get enough! Everything about space blows my mind and because of it, I’ve even considered being a nurse for NASA at one point.
No matter how interested I was in space, one thing that always seemed daunting to me was trying to find the constellations in the night sky. However, tonight I got to do just that! For my Black Holes and Constellations class, we had to participate in the Globe at Night program. This initiative brings awareness to the impact of light pollution and involves submitting observations of the night sky and lasts all year long. Check it out here to find out how you can participate!
I used a constellation finder app and and I just looked up and there it was. It kinda took my breath away for a second. I mean, you learn about all these stars and how one of them is probably going to become a black hole and then you get to see them with your naked eye! For being so far away, I think it’s a huge blessing to be able to see them from Earth.
Next goal: Buy an actual tripod because I just used my hands for this unfortunately. I’m looking forward to taking better pictures – can’t wait to share them with you all!
Have you tried going out and looking at the stars? Please share your experiences!
[Note: I don’t know why you can’t click on the pictures anymore to get a better look and get information on the camera settings – if anyone knows a fix, please let me know.]
snapsbynina 
My Grandpa taught me to find Orion when I was a child – great memories!
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That’s awesome Shona! Did he teach you about any of the other constellations?
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Yes, some. The problem was that he lived in Scotland and I live in Australia – the northern and southern skies are different, and he wasn’t always around to show me. I now use an app on my phone!
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wow! I would love to see the stars in both of those places! I was in Cairns last year but didn’t think of it then.
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My favorite constellation! I always seem to come across it wherever I go, from the prairies of Sasketchewan (brightest I’ve seen it) to the mountains of Peru (where it was upside down relative to the way I was used to in North America). A few other fun Orion tidbits are that the Orion Nebula can be noted as a fuzzy patch (especially using peripheral vision due to cones / rods arrangement, or using binoculars) in the sword of Orion. This is a stellar nursery. Betelgeuse is pronounced Beatle Juice and will become a spectacular supernova before that black hole. Finally, Orion’s Belt points towards Sirius, brightest star in the night sky.
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Yes – I really think this constellation is something special 🙂 I would love to see how it looks upside down one day! Every time I get home at night, if it’s a clear sky, I always see it. It’s become sort of comforting to me!
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I’m a stargazer and have seen 100’s of shooting stars. Nice picture!
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That’s awesome 🙂 I can’t wait to get out to the dark sky areas and really see a lot!
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down at the ocean on the beach, you can see more stars than just about anywhere other than on top of a mountain.
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If only I could visit all of them!
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yeah! 🙂
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Nina, when you are editing your post, click on each picture that is in the post that you want to open up to a bigger version, then hit the button at the top in the visual editing toolbar that looks like a couple of links of chain, and it should open a dialog box for you. I usually check the “open in new window or tab” on mine. Cheers…Des
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Thank you Damon! I’ll try it and get back to you 🙂
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🙂
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So I tried clicking on the individual pictures in edit mode but there is no link like what you described. The only options include alignment, caption, and exit icon. Ah well, till then, I’ll make them bigger!
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I think you haven’t expanded your toolbar…see the following two pics to see:
Hope that helps.
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I see it now!! Thanks for the visuals – you rock 🙂
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One more…when you click a picture, you WILL see a small toolbar appear, but that’s not the one I am talking about – still hit the one I circled.
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