Angelica Haggert
A stroll down your block at 10 p.m.
might not get you more than glare from the
street lights (or off your cell phone!), but
there’s a lot to see if you just look up.
Up.
WAY UP.
I’d like to introduce you to a few of my
friends: Hercules, Hydra, Leo, Pegasus, Ursa
Major…just to name a few.
The stars have always fascinated me. On
my ninth birthday (maybe it was Christmas)
I unwrapped a telescope that I insisted on
setting up outside in the middle of the day.
The first application downloaded to my iPad
ten years later was StarWalk and I wandered
around the front lawn holding the iPad over
my head.
What I see from my seventh floor
balcony or a wide open area in the city differs
extremely from what you can see in the sky
in a “dark sky” area, like Point Pelee. That
doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking up.
Standing outside right now on my
balcony, I’ve got a good view of Pegasus,
Aquarius, Neptune and Uranus. Andromeda
and Cassiopeia are directly above me, so I
can’t quite see them - if only I had roof
access!
Dan
Perissinotti,
a
local
astro-photography enthusiast, says stargazing
in the city can be difficult, but isn’t
impossible.
“There’s a lot of light pollution. Get as far
away from the city as possible, but you’ll be
able to see planets or major constellations
from anywhere with the right guides.”
Certain times of the month are better for
Starry sky view from the Hallam
Observatory
Below: Last month’s eclipse from
an iPhone
Look way up!
Click here for info on the
Hallam Observatory in
Lakeshore
observing constellations and planets in the
city.
“Limit your observations to around the
times of new moons,” said Perissinotti. This
is when the moon’s light is the least intrusive.
Deep-sky ob