Photo Credit: `James Wheeler via Compfight cc

That’s the first tip on EarthSky’s top 10 tips for super stargazers–great advice for warm summer nights.

As a kid my family spent many vacations camping in the Rockies and my favorite time of day was always evening, sitting on a rock next to a campfire,  looking up at the star-filled sky.  After  Dad showed it to me once, it was easy enough to spot the Big Dipper, part of Ursa Major (the Great Bear constellation), from almost anywhere.  He took it a step further when he taught me how to use the last two stars in the dipper to point to Polaris, the North Star.  I have been fascinated with the night sky ever since.

There are lots of other great tips in the top ten–everything from noticing the phases of the moon to using binoculars to look at the Milky Way, but my favorite is included in tip five:  “You don’t need to know what you’re seeing to enjoy the view.”

Another thunderstorm is rolling in so I may not see much when I go outside tonight, but I’ll take a look–I might get lucky and catch a glimpse of the waxing moon or the red star, Antares.