Stroll through most bookstores and you see them on the shelves… thick books full of a thousand fascinating places to see before you die. Or pieces of great music to listen to. Or exotic things to eat, or exhilarating things to do.
All worthy activities, no doubt.
But we want to think bigger.
So over the next several weeks, we present our totally subjective list of ten celestial sights to see before you die, or “kick the bucket”, as they say. We call it the “Bucket List for Backyard Stargazers”.
Yes, yes, there are many more than ten things to see up there… millions, in fact. But we choose quality over quantity. Our list is targeted at the casual stargazer, with no special expertise or training or ambition other than to see some of the most beautiful, and in some cases, transient sights in nature.
For some of these objects, you’ll need access to a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Others require travel and good timing and luck. And for others, you need to simply look up. But all these sights are not that hard to see, once you know how and when and where to look for them. We’ll help you with that.
But that doesn’t mean these are all easy to see. I’d venture a guess that not one person in ten thousand has seen all the objects on this list. (I haven’t, despite more than 30 years of stargazing).
Once you see these 10 sights, then whatever else happens in your life, you can be assured you’ve seen some truly remarkable things that few people– even the most celebrated professional astronomers– ever get to see.
Here’s the list, with links to each article…
#10… The Omega Centauri Star Cluster
#7… The Green Flash
#5… A Meteor Storm
#4… The Southern Sky
#3… A Bright Comet
#1… A Supernova
You can also download the above articles in a single PDF document right here:
OMA Bucket List 2011 (PDF, 1.1 MB)