This month’s Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge theme is
Night Sky
Perseid Meteor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Although we live in a perfect star-gazing position …
high up on a mountain,
breathing in crystal-clear air,
and surrounded by peace and darkness
with no street or city lights …
… it is winter,
and here in the Klein Karoo,
it rains.
Many of our night-time sessions have been too cloudy and too cold to go outdoors and star-gaze.
In fact, we were most disappointed to miss the renowned Perseid meteor shower when a cold front rolled in with thick clouds and rain.
Here are some websites on the Perseid meteors:
Here are some helpful, free star-gazing tools:
- Free star chart/ planisphere for the southern hemisphere which includes 4 discs: brightest stars, complex constellations with names and lines, another complex constellations without labels & an indigenous constellation disc. This free download also has constellation checklists (which will appeal the “tick the list” type of person) and simple,clear assembly and how-to-use instructions.
- Another free planisphere (remember to print out for either the northern or southern hemisphere)
- A fabulous website Lie Back and Look Up has these Free Constellation Cards which are really neat and simple, perfect for kids, as well as Summer Sky Map and Summer Sky Map for Kids in What’s up in the sky this month
image:www.liebacklookup.com
- For those kiddies who like to do lapbooks, here is a free “Lapbooking through the Solar System” from CurrClick.com
We look forward to some clear nights soon and we will all bundle up really warmly, snuggle down and star-gaze.
Hope you enjoy the night sky too!
Blessings,
Related articles
- Star-gazing wonder (timesofmalta.com)
- Perseid meteor shower to light up night sky this weekend (iamnotashamedofthegospelofchrist.com)
- The Perseid Meteor Shower, and why it deserves to be made a fuss of. (dailysliceofpi.wordpress.com)
The Perseids were cloaked in clouds in our neck of the woods too. 😦
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How disappointing! There are more chances later in the year to see meteor showers. Here is a link:
http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors
Hopefully you will get a chance to see this awesome sky show.
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There is a free program that is PHENOMENAL that you might want to check out – it’s Stellarium, and you can download it and see the sky as it is above you, with the pictures superimposed over the stars, to help. I use it all the time. And if you get a feel for where things are, now, you’ll be all set for Comet Ison, in November. 🙂
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