Constellations observation (Philosophical thoughts)

[jayd512]

For the first time in my life, I saw my Zodiac sign tonight.
I've always been able to pick out Orion, the Big and Little Dipper... but for the first time ever, I actually picked out Scorpio in the stars tonight!
I know this is no biggie for most folks... but still....
YAY!

It makes me happy to keep looking up at the stars. No matter how long you look, you might always find something new.
And the new thing, might be that little thing that you always been looking for.

[rokytnji]

Back at my ranch Jay in Esperanza TX. I used to lay on my shop roof and drink beer and the night sky was so clear I could see meteor showers and even the Milky way.

I lost a lot of that moving into this one horse town with street lights.

[oz]

Glad you were able to spot Scorpio, jayd512!

I used to attend the Texas Star Party held annually at the Prude Ranch just outside of Ft. Davis (in Far West Texas), but haven't been in a number of years. Hundreds of eager night sky observers would show up with telescopes of all sizes and we'd spend just over a full week of fun-filled nights with our scopes trained toward the very dark skies found in the area. Some would show up with binoculars only while others showed up with nothing more than their bare eyes and high spirits, but still anticipating what they might see.

[Farmer Mike]

The Stellarium program that can be added to Linux is very good. I use it to identify stars and other things in the night sky.

[oz]

It's amazing how much more you can see in the night sky if you get about 40 or 50 miles out of the city, and into the deep dark countryside. When out there, I've seen nights where you could see stars all the way down to where the earth and skyline meet, and when in the big cities, I've seen nights where you couldn't see any stars (even on clear nights) because of so many excessively bright city lights.

[jayd512]

I know what you mean. When I was a kid, I used to go camping a few times a year.
The night sky is really spectacular when you're out in the middle of nowhere.

[TaZMAniac]

We did a lot of star gazing this summer at the campground we go to.
The stars are so visible unlike around my home.
I remember how the sky was full of stars when I was a kid.
Now we have so much pollution including lights that many nights the stars are not visible.