Easy Tips for Stargazing in The Garden


Stargazing is becoming an increasingly popular pastime - especially among fans of the BBC series Stargazing LIVE. If you fancy giving it a go in your garden, you'll find it's simple to get started, particularly if you have a summerhouse where you can keep your kit, store extra blankets for when it gets chilly late at night and keep star charts. I've put together a brief introduction to stargazing from your garden below - I hope it helps!

Stargazing - what you can see from the UK in 2013
Studying the night sky in the UK can be pretty enthralling - especially if you choose the night of a meteor shower. That said, I always think it's worth spending a few nights under the stars quite regularly, since this is a great way to get to grips with the various constellations and such.

In fact, these days you can get handy apps for your phone that'll help you locate different constellations and planets, while there are a host of online resources too. These can come in a simple form listing nothing more than key dates in the astronomical calendar, but they can also include detailed star maps.


In 2013, you'll have the opportunity to see several fascinating meteor showers. Upcoming events include the Lyrid meteor shower, which will take place on April 21st and 22nd; keep your eyes between the constellations of Lyra and Hercules. This year, you should also be able to spot Saturn during this shower.

Later in the year, the Perseid meteor shower will light up August's night sky. In fact, if you're quite new to stargazing and are keen to see some action, this shower is a good one to choose because it usually produces around 60 meteors an hour (by way of comparison, the Lyriad meteor shower delivers around 20 in the same space of time).

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How to get started
To start stargazing, you'll need to invest in a telescope or, at the very least, a good pair of binoculars. However, I think having something decent to view the sky with is actually one of the easiest boxes to tick - what I found when I started stargazing is that cold and lack of comfort can easily put you off over time.

stargazing in garden

So, I really recommend taking every precaution you can to stay warm and comfortable, like piling on the clothes (hat and gloves are a must!) and blankets. Plus, it's far more fun to watch the stars with a family member or friend, when you can share hot drinks and talk. When you get more serious about stargazing and are more familiar with what you're doing and looking at, you might not need the company so much, but it can help encourage you to keep at it in the beginning.

I've also found that having something like a shed or, even better, a summerhouse, can be really helpful. Here, you can stash spare deck chairs, extra blankets and cushions, and even equipment. That said, while the summerhouse is a handy place to store creature comforts and star maps, I wouldn't recommend keeping expensive telescopes and other equipment in there on a permanent basis - purely for security reasons.


If you don't have a summerhouse and you're considering buying one, you can click here for some fab examples. The good news is that there are even dinky corner summerhouses for small gardens, so you don't need to have a huge garden to have one.
summer house image source: www.waltons.co.uk

20 Comments

  1. I love the first shot in landscape setting, AManda! I hope I can stargaze some more ;-)

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    1. thanks Lui. It is not my photo, got it from a free source online.

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  2. Beautiful flowers in the garden.

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    1. Thanks! The summer brings many colors and blooms.

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  3. I can't remember when was the last time I stargazed :)

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    1. I only remember stargazing in the summer time when the weather is nice and warm.

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  4. Replies
    1. thanks, can't really make flowers look bad can we?

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  5. I meant to say they were all beautiful shots. I liked the flowers as well as the starry shot. I hit send before I finished my comment.

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    1. that's very nice thank you. I think sometimes we think faster than we can type. smiles.

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  6. Yes, I will have to remember. Thanks for stopping by.

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  7. looking forward to flowers here in Michigan. I've intentionally stargazed a few times when meteor showers are predicted, but I always love finding the first star of the evening.

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    1. oh, I so wish. I don't think I can even see a star where I am. Either that or I am not looking in the right places. :-)

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  8. I used to love looking at the stars when I was in South America. It's too cold in the evening here in England. And the sky is always so full of clouds - I wouldn't see any stars even if I was inclined to go outside. We used to have a big garden shed when we lived in our old house because it had a big garden. We wouldn't have the space here.

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    1. I think when I see the most stars is when I went camping. It was so awesome to lay out in the open and gazed at the stars.

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  9. I love the summer house. Sounds like a relaxing hobby!...Christine

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    1. With a glass of wine and nice company, there couldn't be anything better.

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  10. My daughter got a telescope for her birthday last year. I think when the weather warms up a bit, we may try stargazing.

    Lovely photos in this post too!

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  11. beautiful flowers. I saw you at the hop social and I am your newest follower in GFC from http://inhighheelsanddogtags.blogspot.jp/. I look forward to seeing you over at my blog next :)

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  12. Always enjoy your posts, always so interesting and I love those flowers. Thanks so much!

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