Stargazing:
To enjoy Methow winter nights, look up BY DAVID WARD
W
inter brings the clearest skies, lots of sparkling stars, and no smoke to obscure our view of the infinite cosmos above. Cold air holds very little moisture, so the sky is more transparent in the colder months making the stars brighter.
Photo by Steve Mitchell
16
In the winter season, our view of the universe is looking away from the center of our Milky Way galaxy and the hazy glow of the billions of stars that reside there, so the stars we can see are even brighter. A little bit of planning will make for a more enjoyable outing into the outside at night. First of all, pick a clear night without a bright moon washing out the fainter stars. Dress warmly, because stargazing is not an aerobic activity and you cannot expect to warm up out there standing around in the snow. A thermos of hot tea might take your mind off of how cold you are. Above all else, get as far away as you can from those annoying Christmas lights. The subtleties of the night sky cannot compete with Rudolf’s blinking red nose. Looking up into a dark sky filled with a myriad of stars can be so confusing that it is difficult to pick out the constellations, so let’s start with something easy. Orion is probably the most familiar constellation up there. You will find it somewhere in the south. Straddling the celestial equator, there is no place on earth where it is not visible. In the middle of the star grouping, three
Methow Valley News
