Summer Star Gazing

Since humans began developing cognitive abilities, we have been looking at the sky for direction, timing, meaning and order to our lives. Most of us these days don't have a very familiar realtionship with the sky and can probably only recognize a few features. Hopefully, now that summer is here, a lot of us will be able to go outside on a clear night and gaze upward with the age old wonder that still lurks within us all.

This is not a technical article. It is one designed to give you some idea of whats up in the northern hemisphere sky this summer and maybe provide you with a story or two to tell around the campfire. There is no way for one article to cover any aspect of the night sky very thoroughly, so we've also tried to utilize the power of the Internet to give you pointers to great sites put together by people who have a much greater knowledge of this field than we do. We've found a few items that are noticeably absent from the net too that we've tried to cover a little bit.

Major Features & Events In The Summer Sky

The Summer Solstice
One of the most important dates to humans for thousands of years. It is a time for ceremony and celebration.

The Summer Sky, The Constellations and the stories they tell.
Plenty of great star gazing is to be had during the summer months. Many cultures have developed myths and legends that feature sky objects. Our stars and constellations are recognized by their Greek and Roman names. The Greek star stories are the best documented and pertain to many of the important characters from the Greek mythologies. We've got a few stories about some of the most easily recognized constellations along with some other ideas about things to look for and links to astronomy sites put together by people that know a lot more about it than we do.

Grab a blanket and some bug juice of your choice, find a nice dark spot and go experience the night sky. If you get abducted by aliens and make it back, we'd really be interested in hearing about it.