Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 | Page 49

The Big Dipper, which is near Polaris, or the North Star, is one of the easiest constellations to spot.

O

n a clear evening, the night sky is a
brilliant spectacle—a breathtaking
extravaganza of millions of stars
and galaxies sparkling overhead.
Luminous planets adorn the dark expanse with
the rare glimpses of cosmic dust we fondly call
shooting stars. Meanwhile, the moon remains
a shining centerpiece that hangs in the sky as
earthbound observers watch its grand progression from new moon to full each month.
at the cosmos. With origins in mythological
and religious beliefs, astronomy is the oldest
natural science. Early astronomers such as
Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo
that make up our universe. The vikings looked
to the angle of the North Star to help them
determine their latitude.
National interest in all that lies beyond
Earth’s atmosphere rose in the years that followed World War II, when the United States
man on the moon. The fascination seemed to
fade over the years, but, in recent years, eyes
are again turning toward the skies.

A Lost Art
Perhaps television, computers, video games,
and other techno gadgets were simply more

alluring than the moon, stars and planets.
Or perhaps the increasing glare of modernday cityscapes and streetlights—“light
Earth’s celestial neighbors from urban
environments—is partly to blame for the
dissipating interest.
Today, we are in the midst of an astronomical renaissance, as more people become reacquainted and enamored with the nighttime sky.
“I think there are a few reasons for the
renewed interest in astronomy,” explains Dr.
James Sowell, an astronomer who directs
the campus observatory at Georgia Institute
of Technology and author of “The NakedEye Sky.” “In the last few years, there have
been some interesting events in the sky: the
large meteor that streaked across the sky in
northern Russia and a couple of [exceptional]
eclipses. And I think the prime-time television
series, ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,’ got
people interested again, too.”
Whatever the reasons, people are once
again captivated with space. Thousands have
astronomy apps on their smartphones and
tablets, and ventured into the night to spend
quality time under the stars. If you and your
family are somewhat intrigued by what’s out
there, you’re in luck. The cooler temperatures
and extended darkness of fall and winter

Top: Jupiter; bottom: the moon

combine to offer nearly perfect conditions for
backyard—and beach-side—stargazing.

Moonstruck
ing up,” Sowell says. “I suggest they start by
observing the moon and learning more about
it—know its phases and understand how it
orbits the Earth.”
The moon completes its orbit in about
30 days and lunar phases are caused by the
relative positions of the sun and moon in
the sky. A new moon occurs when the moon
lies between the sun and Earth. As the moon
continues its orbit, more of it becomes illuminated and visible to our eyes.
“The moon is visible with the naked eye, but
the view through binoculars and telescopes is
quite breathtaking; it never gets old,” Sowell
says. “Through a lens, you can see the detail of
thousands of craters.”
Lunar maps and geologic atlases help
stargazers identify the names of the many

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