Night Sky Tourist

The Night Sky Tourist podcast is taking a late Spring Break to refresh and come back this summer. There will be no new episodes during the month of May 2022. But check out my suggestions for your stargazing experiences during this break.

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Emily Rice, aka DJ Carly Sagan, is an organizer for the international Astronomy on Tap program. She’s fun and witty, but she’s also super smart! Emily is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New Yourk. She is faculty in the Physics Ph. D program and a resident research associate in the Deprtment of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. She has a Ph.D in Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCLA and Bachelor’s degrees in Physics & Astronomy and German at the University of Pittsbugh.

Emily has the super cool job of studying low mass stars, brown dwarfs, also known as failed stars, and directly-images exoplanets…you know, planets that orbit OTHER stars outside our solar system. And she gives presentations on space and science at places like the famous Hayden Planetarium in New York City.

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/38 for more information about this episode.

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

Astronomy on Tap: https://astronomyontap.org

STARtorialist: https://shop.startorialist.com

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We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

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Patti Aaron chats with me about a gorgeous star map hidden in plain sight at Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam is an extraordinary engineering work that controls the Colorado River. Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the dam in 1936. The dedication site now has a star map and other remarkable symbols that are truly worth the visit.

Patti is the Public Affairs Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Basin Region. This region covers southern Nevada, southern California, and Arizona. She started out as a restoration biologist before transitioning to her work on Western water policy and public affairs programs in Washington, D.C. She returned to the region in 2018 to take on her current role with the Bureau of Reclamation.

LINKS

Hoover Dam visitors information: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/

Hoover Dam Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theHooverDam/

Article: Hoover Dam’s Astronomical Site: https://nightskytourist.com/hoover-dam/

Article: Why Earth Wobbles with a Drunken Stagger: https://nightskytourist.com/wobble/

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/37 for more information about this episode.

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GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become peart of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

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Dr. Craig Howe chats with me about Lakota Star Knowledge and the relationship between the Lakota and the night sky. He is the founder and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies and has served as the Deputiy Assistant for Cultural Resources at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institute.

Dr. Howe has authored articles and book chapters on numerous topics, including tribal histories and Native studies. He has developed innovative tribal histories projects and museum exhibitions. He was raised on his family’s cattle ranch in the Lacreek District of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and is a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

LINKS

Center for American Indian Research and and Native Studies: https://www.nativecairns.org

Buechel Memorial Lakota Museum in South Dakota: https://www.sfmission.org/museum

Mars mission: https://mars.nasa.gov

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/36 for more information about this episode.

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Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

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Chris Salisbury is the author of the book “Wild Nights Out: The Magic of Exploring the Outdoors after Dark”. He is the founder of WildWise, an outdoor education and training company. He uses every creative means at his disposal to encourage people to enjoy and value the natural world on courses he facilitates in the UK and abroad. He’s also a professional storyteller and is just as comfortable on the big stage in theater as he is around the campfire.

LINKS

WildWise: https://wildwise.co.uk

Wild Nights Out book: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/wild-nights-out/

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/35 for more information about this episode.

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GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

Email us at [email protected].

Paul Curnow chats with me about Aboriginal Skies in Australia. He has been an astronomy lecturer at the Adelaide Planetarium for the past 30 years. After 3 decades of research, he is regarded as on of the world’s leading authorities on Australian Aboriginal night sky knowledge.

In 2004, Paul worked with the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center Planetarium in Ohio to create a show featuring Indigenous Australian stories of the night sky. He also serves as a consultant on Ingigenous Astronomy for the Australian Space Agency and is a member of the Andy Thomas Space Foundation Education Advisory Committee.

LINKS

Starman’s 2-Minute Astronomy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-JtTj2a1DP_P9200TvQNQ/videos

Aboriginal Astronomy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0bzVoTzwNc

Sriral Murali’s “Lost in Light II”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVAB1lT-sWw

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/34 for more information about this episode.

SPREAD THE WORD

Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

Email us at [email protected].

Kevin Schindler is the historian and Public Information Officer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona where Pluto was discovered 92 years ago. He is the author of seven books, including one titled “Pluto and Lowell Observatory”. He is the organizer for a really fun event coming up this month called the I Heart Pluto Festival, which we talk about in this episode.

And here’s a really fun fact for you: Schindler has both a fossil crab and an asteroid named after him!

LINKS

I Heart Pluto Festival: https://iheartpluto.org

Lowell Observatory: https://lowell.edu

Pluto and Lowell Observatory by Kevin Schindler: https://starryskiesshop.org/products/pluto-and-lowell-observatory

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o: https://sulwebylupita.com

Things to See in the Night Sky in 2022: https://nightskytourist.com

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/33 for more information about this episode.

SPREAD THE WORD

Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

Email us at [email protected].

Ginny Yurich is a Michigan mother of 5 and the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. She has inspired thousands upon thousands of parents around the world to raise their kids with nature-based play. She has a degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Michigan. She’s also an author and an illustrator.

LINKS:

1000 Hours Outside: https://www.1000hoursoutside.com

“Moon Milk Magic?”: https://nightskytourist.com/moon-magic/

Things to See in the Night Sky in 2022: https://nightskytourist.com

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/32 for more information about this episode.

SPREAD THE WORD

Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

Email us at [email protected].

Justina Parsons-Bernstein takes us into the world of dark skies across Utah’s State Parks. In fact, she created the Utah State Parks Dark Sky Initiative in 2015. Find out some of the very best places in Utah to see a pristine dark sky and also where to go to find an ancient cultural astronomy site.

LINKS:

UTAH STATE PARKS STARRY NIGHTS INITIATIVE

https://stateparks.utah.gov/activities/dark-sky/

UTAH STATE PARKS DARK SKY EVENTS

https://stateparks.utah.gov/activities/dark-sky/dark-sky-events/

Utah.com Website Collection of Articles on International Dark Sky Places in Utah

https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/dark-sky-parks

Links to some Dark Sky educational courses that Justina developed in conjunction with Utah State University Extension:

Dark Sky Observations Master Naturalist Course

https://extensioncourses.usu.edu/product/dark-sky-observations/

4-H Discover Dark Sky

https://extension.usu.edu/utah4h/discover

And don't forget to check out all the Facebook pages of Utah State Parks International Dark Sky Parks. They post lots of interesting dark sky-related information, photos, videos and events.

Utah State Parks International Dark Sky Parks

• Dead Horse Point State Park, 2016

• Goblin Valley State Park, 2016

• Antelope Island State Park, 2017

• Steinaker State Park, 2018

• East Canyon State Park, 2020

• Jordanelle State Park, 2021

• Kodachrome Basin State Park, 2021

• Rockport State Park, 2021

• Fremont Indian State Park, 2021

• Goosenecks State Park, 2021

Skywatcher by Jamie Hogan: https://www.jamiehogan.com 

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/31 for more information about this episode.

SPREAD THE WORD

Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

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In this Winter Solstice special, we take trips to Alaska and Costa Rica to find out what it’s like to experience the shortest day of the year in these extreme locations. Ted Blank, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, answers my burning question about the weather and the Winter Solstice.

Peter Atkinson lends his amazing storytelling voice to share with us the story of “La Befana and the Royal Child of Light.”

Epcot does a great “Holidays Around the World” celebration which includes an appearance by La Befana herself. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKZjFH_PEas

Visit NightSkyTourist.com/30 for more information about this episode.

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

Nature’s Edge Boutique Hotel: https://www.naturesedgecabinas.com

“The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from around the World for the Winter Solstice” by Carolyn McVickar Edwards: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Light-Twelve-Around-Solstice/dp/1569243603

SPREAD THE WORD

Help us reach more people by subscribing to the podcast, leaving a review, and sharing it with others.

GET TO KNOW US MORE

Visit NightSkyTourist.com to read our great blog articles, check out our resource page, and sign up for our newsletters. Our monthly newsletter has content that is exclusive for subscribers.

SHARE YOUR QUESTION

We want to hear your questions. They could even become part of a future Q&A. Record your question in a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us at [email protected].

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS

Email us at [email protected].