I just saw a shooting star Daddy!

[Stu]

Mrs Stu was out for a while yesterday evening, so irresponsible Daddy was left in charge of shower and story time 😬. To be fair, I normally do it but when Mummy is home we are usually ‘encouraged’ to keep on time! 🤣

Whilst out checking on the new baby bunnies we got at the weekend, I noticed the skies were clear in parts, and Jupiter and the Moon were shining brightly. Lorna (8 1/2) asked what the star above the Moon was, so I said I thought it was Saturn and asked if she wanted to see.

‘Yes please!’

I needed no further encouragement to delay proceedings and pop inside for my scope (FC100), which was at the ready. Within a few minutes we were looking at Saturn and she was describing what she could see, including Titan.

I moved onto the Moon whilst it was still in a clear patch, and that brought on a ‘Wow’. The terminator did look pretty amazing, plenty to see. Cue discussion on what causes craters.

Jupiter was next, and she clearly saw the surface bands and four Moons, plus a background star. She described the Equatorial Belts as being orange without prompting. To me they are fairly grey, slightly orange tint perhaps so I guess that shows the difference with young eyes.

Getting into my stride now, I thought I would see what else we could easily spot. I asked her if she wanted to see a galaxy 2.5 million light years away, and got M31 in view. She gave a very lovely description of what she could see, implying again that it was more than I could! We had a nice little chat about seeing it as it was 2.5 million years ago which she found amazing. We also talked about how long light took to reach us from the Sun, Moon…..and the tree at the bottom of the garden 🤪. Trying to explain nano seconds etc got a bit challenging.

Around this time she said to me ‘I just saw a shooting star Daddy!’ She said it had a sparkly trail behind it and made a wish . She was delighted as it was the first one she had ever seen, and it sounded like a good’un!

Last two targets were the Double Cluster which also got a wow, and Almach. I asked her to imagine two stars, one golden and the other bluish orbiting around each other. Plenty of discussion about how big stars are, and whether there are any pink or purple ones 🤣.

Clouds then stopped play, which was just as well given the lateness of the hour. Luckily we sped through shower and story and still got her in bed before Mummy was home. Phew 😉

A fun little session, nice that she has reached an age where she can properly see a wider range of targets. Other than a few challenges with eye placement to start off with she did very well. I love the curiosity and endless questions which young children have. I’ll make an astronomer out of her yet 👍
 

[JeremyS]

Brilliant story, @Stu. Nothing like getting youngsters involved with the wonders of the night skies at an early stage.

Can’t be long before she asks “can I have one of those lovely Takahashis please, daddy?”

Your defence to Mrs Stu: you will ensure no gender stereotyping by insisting it’s in baby blue livery 👍🏻

[Epick Crom]

Great report Stu! It sure is nice getting our kids interested in this great hobby of ours! My daughter (14) and son (10) are constant companions to my observing sessions, they can't get enough of DSO's and the Moon and planets 😂. Your daughter will be an amateur astronomer in no time👍

[Kon]

Fantastic session with your daughter!  My 5 year old daughter likes observing the moon whereas my 7 year old son nebulas like his dad.

Was Mrs Stu aware of the late night shenanigans 😅?

[wookie1965]

Brilliant Stu another astronomer in the making I saw a shooting star last night about 9.30 streaking towards the moon.

[Stu]

On 02/11/2022 at 23:18, Kon said:

Was Mrs Stu aware of the late night shenanigans 😅?

Yes indeed. The little one told her all about it when she got home! Fortunately I wasn’t in trouble 🤣

[Paz]

Great report, it is always fun showing young people the sights. I've had experiences with my boys where I'll carefully explain what to look for if its not easy to see but with their better eyesight they can see more than I can!