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S is for Stargazing

© Gary W. Taylor

In the late '70's and '80's when I traveled to the Adirondacks for vacations, one of the best sights was always the stars at night. When you get away from the city lights, it is just amazing how the sky puts on its own "lights!"

One of the reasons my wife and I bought property in the Adirondacks is the night sky. We have always been stargazers, and have been interested in the constellations and how they change with the seasons. We have a great view of the night sky from our home because we are located 25 miles from the closest city and our neighbors are spread out in our valley east of Lake George. It gets pretty dark out here - great for viewing the stars above.

We seldom see an airplane of any size in this area, not at all like when we lived in New Jersey. But, we were able to see the Space Shuttle to the north at dusk just a few years ago! And you could see it with the naked eye, no need for binoculars. It was moving so fast it would have been hard to follow with them anyway.

I bought my wife a telescope 10 years ago and between that and the binoculars, we get some great views of the moon and some of the planets. What a thrill to see the rings of Saturn! And the constellations can be easily viewed by just looking up.

Learning the names and stories of the constellations is a lot of fun. Check out this page for an introduction to the more easily spotted northern winter constellations.

August brings the Perseid meteor showers to the North Country. This year August 12-13 will be the best time to see them in the northern hemisphere. This group appears each year just like clockwork, and we've had some great nights of viewing. Here are some great sites to check out if you are interested in getting the best view of the Perseids.

Perseids is a great starting place, and once you get hooked on viewing meteor showers, this site also has a calendar for other showers through out the year. Also see Sky and Telescope's Meteor page.

If you want to learn more about the stars, many areas hold Star Parties in which amateur astronomers share their telescopes and knowledge with interested viewers. The Adirondack Star Parties are held on Friday nights during the summer months in South Glens Falls. Amateur astronomers set up their telescopes and use binoculars to help everyone enjoy the night views. These Star Parties begin at dusk and are free. The party scheduled for August 10 will focus on the Perseids. The August 24 party is a Moon Party. The September 14 party will focus on the late summer skies. Other parties will be held through the end of October. For information on these parties, contact John Cordiale.

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