Activities for an Amateur Astronomer to Explore the Universe

If you look at the sky, what you'll find is an endless expanse of space that has a billion and one possibilities for fun and exploration. To say that looking up would let us see a different world would be an understatement, considering that there are billions universes that we can hardly see even with the best telescopes.

To explore the universe, here are some activities that you might want to try alone, with friends or with members of your family:

Cultural constellations
Constellations are formed because of how people see stars and are therefore imagined groupings. Different cultures in the ancient times saw these grouping differently and therefore the groupings are slightly unlike those that we are familiar with today.

As a universe exploration activity, why not name the different constellations and relate how they figure into the different religious and cultural aspects of civilizations past and present? This is a fun activity and helps you get to know these groups of stars better by knowing how they came to be called that way.

Find-a-Star
Speaking of constellations, since there are 88 of them, you can actually map them out and see how they are located in relation to one another. By naming a star, you can actually find its location in the constellation. For example, try finding Alkaid in the Big Dipper. Give up? That's the star at the tip of the handle.

Name that body
Stars are celestial bodies that are spread in great numbers throughout the night sky. Try naming the famous ones and then begin getting to know the less famous ones. You might also want to refer to legends, myths and folk stories for a more interesting stargazing activity.

Catching a falling star
They're actually meteors and you're not likely to catch them. They fly through space and into our atmosphere at about 25mps (miles per second). When they hit the ground, they become meteorites. In one year, you can enjoy the several meteor showers, left in the dust trails of passing comets. Make this meteor watching a regular activity with your family and friends.

Getting moonstruck
We are so familiar with the moon that we sometimes ignore its presence. Using just your naked eye, observe the different phases of the moon. Once you've become good at it, on any given night, without looking at any reference, you can actually guess whether it's waxing or waning just by looking at its current shape. You can also point your binoculars or telescope and observe the visible craters, valleys and mountains on its face.

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