Stargazing
Observing the sky with the naked eye and with telescopes
The Canary Islands are one of the three best places on the planet to see the sky. Let's take advantage of this opportunity. We will take a tour of the sky identifying the main constellations visible.
The activity will not be a list of star names, technical concepts or data on distances or sizes.
I will tell you some names of stars, the most important and well-known ones, so that you can identify them. I will talk about distances, so that you become aware of what you see and where we are. I will explain why stars have different brightness or colours, why the sky in one season is different from another, why the moon appears in a different place and shape every night.
I will tell you what a shooting star is, what a supernova is, what a star cluster is, and I will answer all your questions in a simple and understandable way.
We will understand why the pole star is special, even though it is not the brightest star, as many people think. Then, we will look through the telescope at some interesting objects: giant stars, close stars, some double stars, some nebulae, a distant object, some galaxy.
It will be a very enjoyable activity, explained in simple language and adapted to all levels of knowledge, without technical words, without overwhelming with data.
It will be an opportunity to try to understand our place in the universe, realising how insignificant we are, but how much we can know simply by looking at the stars..
The activity will not be a list of star names, technical concepts or data on distances or sizes.
I will tell you some names of stars, the most important and well-known ones, so that you can identify them. I will talk about distances, so that you become aware of what you see and where we are. I will explain why stars have different brightness or colours, why the sky in one season is different from another, why the moon appears in a different place and shape every night.
I will tell you what a shooting star is, what a supernova is, what a star cluster is, and I will answer all your questions in a simple and understandable way.
We will understand why the pole star is special, even though it is not the brightest star, as many people think. Then, we will look through the telescope at some interesting objects: giant stars, close stars, some double stars, some nebulae, a distant object, some galaxy.
It will be a very enjoyable activity, explained in simple language and adapted to all levels of knowledge, without technical words, without overwhelming with data.
It will be an opportunity to try to understand our place in the universe, realising how insignificant we are, but how much we can know simply by looking at the stars..