Astronomy

WHAT IF NIGHT?

Astronomy, Book Reviews, Dark Sky Preservation, Science, Stargazing /

WHAT IF NIGHT? Is a wonderful way to introduce small children to the value of the dark night sky.

Paul Bogard’s book is a very gentle and soothing exploration of the importance of the night for nocturnal animals and for human health.

Children will learn many things and be delighted by the nighttime adventures of Bogard’s main characters, a little girl and her faithful canine companion.

Children will also learn simple things they can do to help preserve nighttime darkness. Highly recommended.

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Celebrate and Preserve our Starry Night Skies

Astronomy, Health, Science, Stargazing /

Dark night skies enable us to see the beautiful starry sky above us. However, light pollution and sky glow have become significant problems worldwide, reducing the number of stars that we are able to see. Light pollution also poses dangers to human health and the balance of nocturnal habitats and ecosystems.

Learn what you can do as an individual to rid your neighborhood of light pollution and support the return of dark skies.

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The Star People: A Lakota Story

Astronomy, Book Reviews, History, Native American History /

S. D. Nelson creates a visually stunning retelling of a teaching from his Lakota tradition.

Sister Girl and her brother, Young Wolf, wander out onto the prairie where they see the Cloud People floating in the vast sky above them.

After a harrowing escape from a prairie fire, the children reconnect with their beloved grandmother, Elk Tooth Woman, who had passed away the previous spring, and now, as an ancestor, was dwelling among the Star People, “the spirts of the Old Ones who once walked this earth”.

Vibrant illustrations by Nelson, done in the style of Native American ledger art, make this children’s picture book a luminous teaching story.

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Review of The Girl Who Named PLUTO: The Story of Venetia Burney

Astronomy, Book Reviews, History, Science /

In 1930 the Lowell Observatory in the United States discovered a ninth planet, Planet X. A search began for a name for the planet.

In Oxford, England, eleven year old, Venetia Burney learned of the existence of the new planet when her grandfather, Falconer Madan, read a newspaper article announcing the discovery of Planet X.

Venetia was interested in astronomy and also Greek and Roman mythology. She suggested to her grandfather that the planet could be named PLUTO. Her grandfather immediately wrote to a friend at the British Royal Astronomical Society who sent Venetia’s suggestion to astronomers at Lowell Observatory. The astronomers unanimously voted in favor of Venetia’s suggested name. Venetia became the only child to ever name a planet.

This is warm hearted and historically accurate story showing what one individual, a young girl, can do by following her imagination and enthusiasm.

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