So! This is it! You’ve decided to make the most of a warm starry night and plan to have a Stargazing Party this weekend! However there is a whole bunch of things you should think of beforehand to enjoy it as much as you can!

***Win an iPod Touch for the best story about your party!***

ENVIRONMENT:

Plan the process

1.Check the weather forecast. The best variant is a warm quiet

summer night,  which doesn’t promise any clouds or wind.

2. Find a less light polluted area. Your own backyard if you live in a quite neighborhood might seem a perfect place, but think twice as proximity to brightly lit objects – highway, stadium, or just a mall – may spoil all the fun. Try to find a picnic spot with a nice view and far enough from the city lights.

3. Pick the objects you want to look at beforehand. Use star atlas or Star Walk App, so you don’t suddenly feel lost. Learn interesting facts about the objects, so you can entertain your guests.

3. It might sound strange, but the perfect day for STARgazing should be MOONless. If you want to gaze at the moon – pick a day when the Moon is at perigee (closest to Earth) and you will have a chance to get the best view!

EVENT:

1. Chose a day when something significant will happen! A good view on a comet, meteor shower or an eclipse will bring you impressions to a different level!  You can find such info on the Internet,  plan it with Star Walk, and the most significant stuff is usually on the news.

EQUIPMENT:

1.Star Walk- Astro viewer/ planner/ guide will definitely make your life A LOT easier when spotting different astronomical objects. With the help of Star Walk you can stargaze any day, and spot any of the stars and astronomy objects that interest you. Tilt your iPad or iPhone and the ”Star Spotter” function will be activated, a live representation of what you see in the sky will appear on your display and the sky will start following your movements. What is nice about this app has night mode which will prevent your eyes from dazzling.

2. Telescope or binoculars is a necessary part of your entourage on this party. You can surf the Internet for a rental, if it comes together with a professional who can explain astronomy tricks – even better, if you find those expenses worthy, of course.

FOOD& BEVERAGES:

1. If you are planning to serve dinner do it hour and a half before the sunset, so you can enjoy the view and will have enough time for a nice chat.

2. Try to cook something light. Sandwiches and canapes (formed with moulds as stars or crescent moons  might create right atmosphere), a variety of dips and salads will be enough if you are going for a picnic, but not staying in your backyard.

3. It would be nice to make some elements of table appointments glow – use either phosphorescent decorations and cover the torches with red cloths- so your eyes wouldn’t dazzle – or find a black-light lamp and glow glasses, so your table had glowing elements without messing up your night vision. Glowing cocktails could be a cool thing as well, find the recipe on the Internet (the simplest one is gin-tonic).

Things you don’t want to forget:

1. Blankets

2. Dishes

3.Torches (and red cloth)

4. Telescope

5. Astronomy geek

6. Glowing stuff

7. Food and Drinks

8. Astronomy event

9. Repellent

10. Warm clothes — warmer than you think you might need

Enjoy your party and remember 2 things:

1. Whatever happens – just have fun!

2. If you are too lazy to organize one yourself there are such parties with mass organization.

This week mainly promises impressive views of the Moon close to different cosmic objects and meteor showers that will start closer to the end of the week. The top view of the week are Sigma Capricornids meteor shower.

12 July- New moon is the perfect time to spot stars you can’t usually see. If you haven’t had a chance to enjoy it yet – find  the Venus and Regulus. If you require some instruction upon the search- find tutorial here.

13 July- Perfect night to gaze at the Moon as it is at perigee at about 11 p.m. Gazing at the crescent moon you can get a better view of craters, than at the time of the full moon.

14 July- Evening Sky may impress you with a triangle of Moon, Regulus and Venus in the East. The best period for catching this view is about 10 p.m., as when the stars get high in the sky their light will get dimmer.

15 July- Today is one of the best days to look at Mars at the lower Eastern sky at about 11 p.m. Look for a bright star of orange color.

16 July- A good chance to enjoy a beautiful view of the Moon, Mars and, those living in low light polluted areas can enjoy viewing  a star-like object between them, which is Saturn.

17 July- A really nice day to enjoy the view of Spica – the brightest star in Virgo constellation. You can find it by looking to the Moon’s lower left  just  above the horizon. You can spot it either at around 02:00 a.m on Jul 17, or 02:00  on Jul 18 for the best view.

The information about meteor showers will be provided later, together with the video on how to find them. Enjoy stargazing and share your experience with us!

Enjoy the most exciting sky events this week. All in all, as seen from the headline this week’s highlighter is the close position of Venus near Regulus on the 9-10th of July, which promises us bright views of the both objects. But this is far not the only event this week brings us:

July 5- Apart from the fact that today Sun is in the farthest point from Earth, it is nice to have a look at Venus slowly getting closer to Regulus.

July 6- You can observe Cassiopeia on the North. And catch a nice view of Venus that rises at about 9:30 p.m. on the East , by 12 p.m. you will be able to spot Venus and Mars to the lower left of it, and Regulus lying between them. View of rising Saturn half an hour later will be possible in  areas with low light pollution only.

July 7- In the East you can spot a really nice view of Orion constellation and, with Procyon  and Sirius as 2 bright stars to its lower left. In the Southern part of the U.S. you can find Omega Centauri star cluster, but this is far South.

July 8- Nice chance to see the Orange star right under the moon on the South East sky at about 9 p.m.- this is Aldebaran- the brightest star of the Taurus constellation.

July 9- Top view of the week!For the next several days you can enjoy Venus and Regulus -the brightest star of Leo constellation- in close position, at some point they may even seem like twins. Try to find them on the Eastern sky at about 10:30 p.m, as they rise at about 10 p.m.

July 10- Total Solar Eclipse across the South Pacific, South America and New Zealand! Unfortunately, there isn’t a slightest chance to see it in the US and the whole of North hemisphere.

July 11- New moon! Enjoy the views of constellations that couldn’t usually be seen due to bright moon light! Lepus, Canis Major, Orion are the best spots on the South-West. This is also a good night for enjoying the views of Milky Way in low light polluted areas.

The next week promises us the beginning of  meteor showers!

Here are some tips to help you have a perfect stargazing night with Star Walk:

1. Pick the darkest possible locations as light pollution can spoil all the fun.
2. Don’t forget thick blankets, as nights get cool and you  might decide that lying on your back is the best option.
3. If you use a flash light cover the bulb with red tissue so it would help you preserve dark vision.
4. If you are up to watching the stars, it is better to choose moonless night, as moonlight is pretty strong and you might not see the objects you want.
5. You will see stars better once your eyes adapt to the darkness, that might take around 15 minutes, so try to set mere brightness on your iPad to be able to see both – the stars and what’s on the screen.

July 4th – July 10th “Venus near Regulus”

July 11th – July 17th “Sigma Capricornids”

July 18th – July 24th “Moon near Antares”

July 25th – July 31th “Mercury and Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower “

August 1st – August 15th – “The Perseids Stargazing Event of the Summer”