Night Sky Tourist Podcast

You are invited to take a journey with us as we chat with fascinating people about the night sky, get our questions answered by Ted Blank, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and take a naked-eye tour across the night sky.

Discover the wonder of the night sky from your own backyard, travel to a dark sky location, and listen to the star stories of other cultures and civilizations. Night Sky Tourist helps the entire family connect with nature by engaging with the stars, moon, and planets.

Every two weeks, we release a new episode. Subscribe to it so you don’t miss a single episode. And if you like what you hear, please leave a written review so that others can discover us.

Episodes

Episode 55- When March 25 was America’s New Year

In ancient times, nobody celebrated the New Year on January 1, or any other random day of the year. New Year’s Day was attached to an astronomically significant day, like the Spring Equinox or the Winter Solstice. In this episode, I take you back in time to follow the...

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Episode 52- Fireflies and Starlight with Ben Pfeiffer

Fireflies are magical and mesmerizing. Yet researchers have been telling us that their populations are dwindling. So I chatted with Ben Pfeiffer, founder of the website Firefly.org, to learn more about what’s causing this problem and what we can do to solve it. Many...

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Episode 51- Celestial Origins of Halloween

Our first-ever Halloween special will take you back in time to the origins of the spooky holiday. We’re going to discover the astronomical connection to the timing of Halloween and how it led to some of the traditions associated with it.  LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Why...

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Episode 50- Montana: A Stargazing Oasis

Montana is home to some of the largest areas of pristinely dark skies in the country. It’s not known as “Big Sky Country” for nothing. Lynn Powers, the president of the Southwest Montana Astronomical Society, joins us to share about great locations in Montana to see...

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Episode 47- How to Create an Epic Stargazing Experience

Have you had a chance to make any great stargazing memories? In this episode, I share tips for protecting your night vision, gadgets to enhance your stargazing experiences, and ideas to add more fun for the whole family.   LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Things to See in the...

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Episode 43- Let There be Night with Paul Bogard

Paul Bogard chats with me about his book The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light. He is also the author of The Ground Beneath Us: From the Oldest Cities to the Last Wilderness, What Dirt Tells Us About Who We Are. His most recent...

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Episode 42- Skyglow Project with Harun Mehmedinovic

Harun Memedinovic is one of the founders of Skyglow Project. In this episode, we chat about our shared love for dark sky advocacy and how Harun uses his photography skills to bring attention to the issue of light pollution, or skyglow. Harun is an award-winning...

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Episode 39- Late Spring Break

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.  SPREAD THE WORD Help us...

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Episode 38- Astronomy on Tap with Emily Rice

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 York. She is a...

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Episode 36- Lakota Star Knowledge with Dr. Craig Howe

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...

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