Night Sky Tourist

Every culture that ever looked up at the night sky found stories in it. Hunters, ancestors, animals, boats. What if someone tried to collect them all before they're lost?

That's exactly what Charles Ennis is doing. Since 2021, Charles has been building the World Asterism Project under the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, gathering sky cultures from around the globe for a website launching soon. In this episode, we talk about what asterisms actually are, why they matter beyond the science of astronomy, and what he's learned collecting star stories from cultures most of us have never heard of.

Charles brings serious credentials to this work. He's president of the RASC's Sunshine Coast Centre, a past national president, and currently Vice Chair of RASC's National Council. He co-founded RASC's Inclusivity and Diversity Committee, wrote The Solar Observing Manual and Building a Small Observatory, and hosted ten seasons of the astronomy show Night Lights, along with the documentaries Starry Nights and The Stars Belong to Everyone. This month he launched a new YouTube vlog, “Asterism Detective.”

LINKS FROM EPISODE 139:

• Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Constellation Companion: https://nightskytourist.com/constellation-companion/ 

• World Asterisms Project: https://www.rasc.ca/world-asterisms-project 

• Asterisms Detective- Charles’ YouTube vlog: https://www.youtube.com/@AsterismDetective 

• Azure Dragon of the East- Chinese cultural astronomy: https://yokai.com/seiryuu/?srsltid=AU7gw4WWnk0DG4i0OJ1WoFqIQXyJbp2OkcU950fkUgiNohzBxWyWf_x_

• Episode 85- The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars with Duane Hamacher: https://nightskytourist.com/85/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

Some places feel special precisely because they're hard to reach. At the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, a lodge built during the Great Depression by a federal jobs program sits under skies so dark you feel truly far from city lights and noise. Now privately owned by John Mueller, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has earned Dark Sky Lodging certification and built out evening programs like Full Moon walks, star parties, and meteor watch nights. That kind of remoteness asks a little more of visitors, but it's exactly what makes the experience worth it. In this episode, John and I talk about the lodge's history, its dark sky programming, and his larger goal: helping people get closer to nature.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 138:

• Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Keweenaw Mountain Lodge: https://keweenawmountainlodge.com/ 

• Visit Keweenaw: https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/ 

• Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association: https://www.uptravel.com/ 

• Travel Marquette: https://www.travelmarquette.com/ 

• Quiet Parks International: https://www.quietparks.org/ 

• Episode 103- Cultural Astronomy of the North with Travis Novitsky: https://nightskytourist.com/103/ 

• Episode 98- Ojibwe Star Culture with Carl Gawboy: https://nightskytourist.com/98/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

Badlands National Park just earned its International Dark Sky Park certification, and that's reason enough to celebrate. But there's so much more happening out there. In this episode, I sit down with Park Superintendent Eric Veach and Marissa Marshall, Executive Director of the Badlands National Park Conservancy, to dig into what makes this place so special. We talk about the park's unique geology and deep natural history, the co-management partnership with nearby indigenous tribes, and what dark sky certification actually means for a park that boasts some of the darkest skies in the country. Marissa also shares details on the Conservancy's ambitious new project to build an observatory at Badlands, plus how you can help make it happen. Oh, and yes, we talk about the bison, too. If you've ever wanted a reason to plan a trip to South Dakota, this episode is it.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 137:

• Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Badlands National Park: https://www.nps.gov/badl/ 

• Badlands National Park Conservancy: https://badlandsconservancy.org/ 

• THE FILM- Connecting Across Time: https://www.badlandslegacy.org/ 

• Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors: https://shorturl.at/nG0Xx (link to Bookshop.org)

• Episode 57: Badlands Observatory with Ron Dyvig & Teresa Hofer https://nightskytourist.com/57/ 

• Episode 36: Lakota Star Knowledge with Dr. Craig Howe: https://nightskytourist.com/36/ 

• Episode 108: Cedar Breaks National Monument with Matthias Schmitt: https://nightskytourist.com/108/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

What does it really mean to look up at the night sky? In this episode, we look at what it means to really know the place where we live and to be known by it. This relationship with place has a name in the Old English – kithship. And since half of the human experience takes place in darkness, this includes our relationship with the night sky. Steve Dudrow, author of The Art of Noticing and a desert night sky enthusiast, joins the conversation to explore how slowing down and paying attention can transform our relationship with the night. If you’ve ever felt like the stars were just a pretty backdrop, this episode might change that forever.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 136:

• Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• The Art of Noticing by Steve Dudrow (available only on Amazon): https://shorturl.at/gkl7A 

• The Art Box podcast (co-hosted by Steve Dudrow): https://theartboxpodcast.com/ 

• Phenology Wheel: https://naturescalendar.com/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

Pipe Spring National Monument sits on the lands of the Kaibab Paiute Nation in northern Arizona, and the night sky there carries a story most visitors never expect. The Kaibab Paiute Nation holds a remarkable distinction as the world's first sovereign nation to earn Dark Sky certification, bringing that same recognition to the park itself. In this episode, guests Nickie Wheeler and Mark Gleason take us inside a place where the night sky isn't just something to observe but something deeply woven into daily life and tradition. From star parties and night sky events to a garden planted according to lunar phases, and cultural astronomy storytelling rooted in Paiute tradition, Pipe Spring offers a stargazing experience that connects the land, the sky, and a living culture in ways you won't find anywhere else.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 135:

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Pipe Spring National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/pisp/ 

• Pipe Spring Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PipeSpringNPS 

• Pipe Spring Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pipespringnps/ 

• Subscribe to the Night Sky Tourist newsletter: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

After years of traveling and living across the globe, Megan Eaves-Egenes has made seeking out the night sky a way of life. Her new book, Nightfaring: In Search of the Disappearing Darkness, weaves her personal experiences with the star stories of cultures around the world — a journey through a cosmos that light pollution has stolen from most of us. If you've ever wondered what the sky meant to people before we lit up the night, this conversation will stay with you.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 134:

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Megan Eaves-Egenes: https://meganeaves.com/ 

• DarkSky London: https://darksky.london/ 

• DarkSky International: https://darksky.org/ 

• DarkSky International- Lodging certification program: https://darksky.org/what-we-do/darksky-approved/lodging/guidelines/ 

• Article: “iPhone Astrophotography Tips”: https://nightskytourist.com/iphone/ 

  
  

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

How old were you when you learned that many birds migrate at night? There’s an extraordinary place where you can see thousands of birds resting and feeding during the Spring and Fall migrations near Choteau, Montana, and this episode will leave you itching to take a trip there for the Wild Wings Festival. This three-day event is so much fun for all ages, and Brent Lonner and Maggie Carr are here to tell us all about it. 

LINKS FROM EPISODE 133:

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Wild Wings Festival: https://www.wildwingschoteau.org/ 

• 2026 Festival Schedule: https://www.wildwingschoteau.org/schedule 

• Brent & Maggie’s photos at Freezeout Lake: https://nightskytourist.com/133

• Episode 74 with Andrew Farnsworth of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://nightskytourist.com/74/ 

• International Dark Sky Discovery Center: https://darkskycenter.org/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

Citizen science is a really cool way to engage with nature in a way that contributes toward our understanding of things, and Globe at Night is a super cool citizen science project you can do while stargazing. As it celebrates its 20th year, Connie Walker shares the project's origin story, how you can participate, and the scientific research it has generated. I wrap up the episode by taking you on an in-depth naked-eye tour of the incredible Orion constellation. You’ll never see Orion the same way ever again!

LINKS FROM EPISODE 132:

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Globe at Night: https://globeatnight.org/ 

• SciStarter (sky quality meter library kits): https://scistarter.org/citizen-science-kit-measuring-light-in-the-night 

• Dark Skies Rangers: https://globeatnight.org/dark-skies-rangers/ 

• NOIRLab Education Materials: https://noirlab.edu/public/products/education/edu001/ 

• Light Pollution Demo (with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc-DODdtFCE 

• International Dark Sky Week: https://idsw.darksky.org/ 

• DarkSky International: https://darksky.org/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

At a time when social media stories and reels are a few seconds long and pull us away from what’s happening in the real world around us, storytelling is more important than ever. Chris Salisbury joins us to explore his book Folk Tales of the Night: Stories for Campfires, Bedtime and Nocturnal Adventures. Ancient cultures connected the pictures they saw in the stars to the land where they lived through storytelling, many of which are still told today.

LINKS FROM EPISODE 131:

• 2025 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• WildWise: https://wildwise.co.uk/

• Folk Tales of the Night- book: https://prologuebookshop.com/book/9781803990392

• Wild Nights Out- book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/801097/wild-nights-out-by-christopher-salisbury/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]

You’ve heard the media hype up Supermoons, Blood Moons, and Blue Moons, but what the heck are they, and are they worth the effort to see them? In this episode, our Night Sky Tourist Star Dude, Ken Cotter, joins us to answer your questions about these intriguing lunar phenomena. 

LINKS FROM EPISODE 130:

• 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ 

• Book the Star Dudes: https://nightskytourist.com/stardudes/ 

• Subscribe to our newsletter: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

• Night Sky Tourist themed events: https://nightskytourist.com/events/ 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ 

FOLLOW & SUPPORT

• Rate us: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist

• Newsletter: Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates

• Questions? Email [email protected]