Observing

This section of the website is in an extreme beta phase, under construction.

Observing Basic Celestial Phenomena

astronomy with the unaided-eye

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I stirring heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
Walt Whitman

These "Observing" pages provide explanations of how the night sky moves and changes in an accessible format to students, teachers, families, and participants in exhibits, museums, star-parties and planetariums. 

To become acquainted with the night sky, explore the topics listed below. Some pages have sub-topics that will appear once the parent page is selected. (See full contents, expanded.)