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Wisconsin Starwatch: The Essential Guide To Our Night Sky
A series of state specific information manuals for novice and intermediate stargazers describes what readers can expect to see from their own backyards with a minimum of equipment, detailing constellations and their seasonal movement, solar and lunar eclipses, and other astronomical phenomena and furnishing helpful guidelines for purchasing a telescope and other equipment
160 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2005
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December 31, 2025
I kept this signed book from my Dad after he died. I wish we could have talked about this book; it’s really fantastic. I like the dedication to his Dad, “who left this world and has taken the ultimate trip to the heavens.” I like to think that about my dad too. It has a lot of scientific information (which my Dad gravitated toward) but also the stories and myths behind what we label in the sky (which I tend to gravitate towards). It’s all written in a very approachable, humorous way for any reader. Very clear that this author is a good teacher. Sometimes too casual and snarky for me. I love the star charts at the end that are labeled for each month. And love that this is specifically geared toward Wisconsin. I think those elements are why I haven’t previously done as much with stargazing as I would want. I like that he keeps using the phrase “make the stars your old friends.” Below are notes I took of things that were most interesting to learn.
The next closest star to earth is Proxima Centauri, 25 trillion miles+ away.
The light we see from the Big Dipper’s handle star Alkaid is light that star left over 100 years ago. We’re looking back in time as well as across space.
The iron and calcium in our bodies are the result of a supernova of the past. Exploding stars are part of our cycle of life.
Blue stars are hot, red are cool, just like campfire flames.
On most star maps, the brightness of a star is represented by the size of the dot. Bigger dot, brighter star.
Use a red flashlight when stargazing with star maps so your night vision isn’t compromised. Put red construction paper over the flashlight.
Aries in the sky is not the god of war, but Zeus’ pet ram who performed missions of mercy.
Orion is supposed to be holding a club in his left hand above his head and a shield next to him in his right hand. Thought it was a bow and arrow…
Canis Major and Canis Minor are hopping up at Orion on his left, his two hunting dogs. The stars in each constellation create a bright triangle.
Scorpius killed Orion, per Zeus’ instructions, but Artemis threw him into the sky in a rage. It and Orion are on opposite sides of the sky.
The Pleiades are known as the Halloween Cluster because it’s nearly overhead at midnight on Halloween. Some European cultures saw the cluster as the collective light from the souls of the people who died in the last year.
Taurus is below the Pleiades and looks like a V. Pegasus is a square with legs and wings coming out. Cassiopeia is a W. Gemini are two equally bright stars to the upper left of Orion. Castor and Pollux were twins with different fathers…one was Zeus and one was Leda’s husband.
A lot of stars are actually multiple stars rotating around each other. Our sun being on its lonesome is a little weird.
Leo is a backward question mark.
Hercules killed Megara, his wife, and all her attendants??? The twelve labors were in retribution to his father-in-law. He’s in the sky for completing the twelve labors, but he hangs upside down in shame.
Draco looks like a snake and backwards S. Scorpius is a fish hook. Sagittarius looks like a teapot.
The red light we see on the moon in a lunar eclipse is the combined twilights of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on the earth during the time of the eclipse.
The Asteroid Belt, where most asteroids orbit the sun, is between Jupiter and Mars.
Comets are boulders of ice (5-10 miles wide) followed by a vapor tail up to 200 million miles. They mostly hang out in the outer solar system.
Shooting stars are meteors or meteorites…space debris.
Meteor showers are comet debris trail. We get about 12 a year!
Solar storms, or coronal mass ejections, cause northern lights. But they’re not very predictable.
The next closest star to earth is Proxima Centauri, 25 trillion miles+ away.
The light we see from the Big Dipper’s handle star Alkaid is light that star left over 100 years ago. We’re looking back in time as well as across space.
The iron and calcium in our bodies are the result of a supernova of the past. Exploding stars are part of our cycle of life.
Blue stars are hot, red are cool, just like campfire flames.
On most star maps, the brightness of a star is represented by the size of the dot. Bigger dot, brighter star.
Use a red flashlight when stargazing with star maps so your night vision isn’t compromised. Put red construction paper over the flashlight.
Aries in the sky is not the god of war, but Zeus’ pet ram who performed missions of mercy.
Orion is supposed to be holding a club in his left hand above his head and a shield next to him in his right hand. Thought it was a bow and arrow…
Canis Major and Canis Minor are hopping up at Orion on his left, his two hunting dogs. The stars in each constellation create a bright triangle.
Scorpius killed Orion, per Zeus’ instructions, but Artemis threw him into the sky in a rage. It and Orion are on opposite sides of the sky.
The Pleiades are known as the Halloween Cluster because it’s nearly overhead at midnight on Halloween. Some European cultures saw the cluster as the collective light from the souls of the people who died in the last year.
Taurus is below the Pleiades and looks like a V. Pegasus is a square with legs and wings coming out. Cassiopeia is a W. Gemini are two equally bright stars to the upper left of Orion. Castor and Pollux were twins with different fathers…one was Zeus and one was Leda’s husband.
A lot of stars are actually multiple stars rotating around each other. Our sun being on its lonesome is a little weird.
Leo is a backward question mark.
Hercules killed Megara, his wife, and all her attendants??? The twelve labors were in retribution to his father-in-law. He’s in the sky for completing the twelve labors, but he hangs upside down in shame.
Draco looks like a snake and backwards S. Scorpius is a fish hook. Sagittarius looks like a teapot.
The red light we see on the moon in a lunar eclipse is the combined twilights of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on the earth during the time of the eclipse.
The Asteroid Belt, where most asteroids orbit the sun, is between Jupiter and Mars.
Comets are boulders of ice (5-10 miles wide) followed by a vapor tail up to 200 million miles. They mostly hang out in the outer solar system.
Shooting stars are meteors or meteorites…space debris.
Meteor showers are comet debris trail. We get about 12 a year!
Solar storms, or coronal mass ejections, cause northern lights. But they’re not very predictable.
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