Hi Melissa,

When I was in high school, my parents bought me a small telescope. I used to take it out into our driveway and look at the planets. With a small, inexpensive telescope you can see the rings of Saturn. You can also see the planet Jupiter and its moons. I have also seen Halley's comet and other comets through binoculars.

When I lived in northern Minnesota, we could often see the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the night sky near solar maximum. Watching the northern lights was one of the things that got me interested in pursuing a career in the space sciences.

Kris

Hello Melissa,

As part of an astronomy class I teach I get to observe the sky 6 or 7 times per semester. I have also taken my kids' soccer and baseball teams to the telescope for "special" nights out. Typically, we look at the planets which are actaully very easy to observe even from downtown Houston. Our favorites are Saturn and Jupiter. Occasionally we will look at fainter objects such as the Orion Nebula and some galaxies.

Cheers - David

Hi Melissa,

I love observing the night sky. When I lived in Alaska, I used to go out and hope to see the Northern Lights, especially ones that were moving a lot and changing colors. Now that I live in California, when I can see the stars, Orion and other constellations, I feel comforted. They are such a constant thing in our lives.

I also like watching the night sky for the new things that come and go too, like comets. The recent comets have been really fun to watch. Meteor showers are also amazing, but sometimes it is hard for me to stay up to watch them.

I only officially study the aurora, but I find the night sky an inspiration outside of my job as a scientist.

Laura

Hi Melissa,

During my undergarduate college days we would often go for "Star Parties" organized through the local

amateur astronomy club. We would take a bus to a rural village and camp out there for the night and pretty much

stay up all night.. learn to identify various constellations, watch them rise and set and discuss everything from cosmology to ghosts!

I have very fond memoriesof these "star parties" and I think they were very instrumental in my pursuing astronomy as a career.

cheers,

priya