Summer Star-Nites!
It all begins with an idea.
Summer of 2025, Star-Nite Astronomy takes off. And there are ample opportunities for some great stargazing nights. If you looking to book your Star-Nite, keep reading to see what you can see throughout the summer months:
The first thing to check for is the Moon. Crescent and Quarter Moons are really great for viewing. They are always up at sunset or sunrise, and provide great shadows to really make the mountains and craters stand out. Ironically, the Full Moon is the worst for stargazing. Not only are there no shadows visible from our point of view, but the extremely bright full moon lights up the sky so much fainter objects, like nebula and galaxies, become harder to see!
So my advice, avoid Full Moon nights. And remember, the “Waxing” phases along with the First Quarter are up at sunset, while the “Waning” phases and the Last Quarter are up at sunrise. Here are calendars for May, June, July, and August.
But of course, Star-Nite can make the best of any night. There’s always things to see.
For most of the summer, if you want to see Saturn or Jupiter, you are going to have to stay up really late, or get up really early.