STAR PARTY the Stars at Night Are Big and Bright in West Texas

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS VOL. 3 >> ISSUE 09 >> MAY 2011

STAR PARTY The stars at night are big and bright in West Texas.

>> DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK! D W P

T When it comes to stargazing, the blacker the sky the better! Light pollu - /

M tion can make the cool cosmos of outer space difficult to see. But, even in A H

G the city, on a clear and moonless night you can spot 1,000 stars. Gaze up N I

T in West Texas, the place with the darkest skies in the continental U.S., and T

O you’ll spot many more than that! What will you see? It depends on when N

R you gaze. Different constellations appear in the sky depending upon the A E time of year. West Texas is also home to the world-famous University of Y B Texas McDonald Observatory. There, scientists called “astronomers” O T

O study “astronomy,” the science of outer space. H

P WWW.TPWMAGAZINE.COM

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 43 $All the stars you see live in the same galaxy that we do — the Milky Way, which STARS OVER TEXAS contains about 200 billion stars! Ever $ notice a thick “milky” stream of stars EVERY YEAR THOUSANDS OF STARGAZERS GATHER IN WEST TEXAS FOR THE TEXAS running through the night sky? That’s STAR PARTY PROGRAMS. IT’S “LIGHTS OUT!” AFTER SUNDOWN FOR THESE ASTRONOMY part of an arm of our spiral galaxy. FANS SO THEY CAN ENJOY THE DARKEST SKIES POSSIBLE. WHAT DO THEY SEE OVER TEXAS? READ ON AND FIND OUT. $The scorpion is a sprawling $The lion is one of the constel - constellation in the summer lations of the zodiac and is the southern sky near the Milky dominant constellation of the Way. The brilliant red star northern spring sky. In mytholo - Antares is in $What we call “shooting” or gy, Hercules killed this lion the mid - with his bare hands. dle of “falling” stars have the official name jupiter the “meteors.” Meteors get made when scorpion’s small bits of rock and debris from saturn body. outer space whirl into our atmos - phere at super speeds. When lots of meteors shoot through the sky around the same time we have “meteor showers.” Watch for these two meteor showers: the Perseid mars venus Leo Scorpius meteor shower in August and the Leonid meteor shower in November.

$This prominent constellation, $The constellation known with three stars in a row making as the Great Bear is notable $Of the up the belt, is one of the most for containing the Big eight planets recognizable ones in the fall and Dipper. Texans get to see in our solar sys - win - this constellation all year. tem, you have a good chance of seeing four ter sky. Two stars in the cup of without a telescope: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and TO THE the dipper point to NORTH STAR Saturn. Venus shines especially brightly. the North Star.

$Stars are really exploding balls of gases, which blow up and cre - ate light. Our very own sun is a star that will keep exploding for another 5 billion years. Ursa Major Orion the Hunter $Camp close to the world- $Stay and stargaze in West $Make a star wheel and learn $This North Texas park near the famous McDonald Observatory, Texas, the darkest place in how to use it at this East Texas Panhandle has dark night skies that home to the amazing Hobby- the continental park. make for extra-spe - Eberly tele - U.S. cial star star - scope! $See alligators during ing! the day and outer I L L space through the U S T R

$STARGAZING IN STATE PARKS telescopes of George A T I O

These Texas state parks offer super Observatory at N

chances to see super stars! night! E M I L Y

C O O P E R Davis Mountains State Park Big Bend Ranch State Park Purtis Creek State Park Copper Breaks State Park Brazos Bend State Park

44 * MAY 2011 TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 45 $All the stars you see live in the same galaxy that we do — the Milky Way, which STARS OVER TEXAS contains about 200 billion stars! Ever $ notice a thick “milky” stream of stars EVERY YEAR THOUSANDS OF STARGAZERS GATHER IN WEST TEXAS FOR THE TEXAS running through the night sky? That’s STAR PARTY PROGRAMS. IT’S “LIGHTS OUT!” AFTER SUNDOWN FOR THESE ASTRONOMY part of an arm of our spiral galaxy. FANS SO THEY CAN ENJOY THE DARKEST SKIES POSSIBLE. WHAT DO THEY SEE OVER TEXAS? READ ON AND FIND OUT. $The scorpion is a sprawling $The lion is one of the constel - constellation in the summer lations of the zodiac and is the southern sky near the Milky dominant constellation of the Way. The brilliant red star northern spring sky. In mytholo - Antares is in $What we call “shooting” or gy, Hercules killed this lion the mid - with his bare hands. dle of “falling” stars have the official name jupiter the “meteors.” Meteors get made when scorpion’s small bits of rock and debris from saturn body. outer space whirl into our atmos - phere at super speeds. When lots of meteors shoot through the sky around the same time we have “meteor showers.” Watch for these two meteor showers: the Perseid mars venus Leo Scorpius meteor shower in August and the Leonid meteor shower in November.

$STARGAZING IN STATE PARKS telescopes of George A T I O

These Texas state parks offer super Observatory at N

chances to see super stars! night! E M I L Y

C O O P E R Davis Mountains State Park Big Bend Ranch State Park Purtis Creek State Park Copper Breaks State Park Brazos Bend State Park

44 * MAY 2011 TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 45 Spike’s Activity Page >> KEEPING IT WILD >> WILD MATH Become a Super Stargazer! You know our sun is a star, but did Kids play FREE 1. Wait for a clear and moonless night. you know that we get a little closer to 2. Pick a good, dark viewing spot in your yard and it in summer? put a comfy chair there. 3. Bring this stuff outside so you don’t have to go in state parks! back inside and turn lights on to get them: Yep! And in winter we • A blanket and jacket on cold nights get a little farther from • A flashlight with red cellophane over the end of it. Why? Because of the it (red disturbs your night vision less) • Binoculars way Earth tilts on its • A simple star chart axis. But, on average, • A journal to keep track of what you see. Notice 93,000,000 miles separate how the sky changes over time! 4. Turn your porch and house lights off. us from the sun. 5. It’ll take your eyes 20 minutes to get used to the dark — then start spotting special stars! ● Write this num - ber in WORD FORM:

● Write this number in EXPANDED FORM:

● CHALLENGE: What would the number be if it were 10 times bigger?

>> WILD ART Scratch a Constellation

• Color the whole surface of a thick piece of paper with crayons. Use every color EXCEPT black. Press hard as you color. • Color over the whole paper again. Admission to more than 90 Texas state parks is always free for kids ages This time use ONLY black. Press hard 12 and younger, offering an affordable and fun way for the whole family as you color. to spend time together. You might also ﬁnd that your family comes back • Use a pen that no longer writes to NEXT MONTH: healthier, happier and smarter because of time spent together outdoors! scratch away the black crayon and Ants! “draw” your favorite constellation Learn more about fun things to do with your family, from geocaching to Texas Outdoor Family workshops, in the into “outer space.” TEACHER RESOURCE free Texas State Parks e-newsletter, State Park Getaways. Sign up at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/email P H O

Visit www.tpwmagazine.com to download T O

a printable PDF, access lesson plans, find Y

T Call or make a reservation today, (512) 389-8900 www.texasstateparks.org P

additional resources or order copies. W 46 * MAY 2011 D