Star-Gazing Night - Summer Celestial Highlights (4-7-2008)

Summer is a great season for star-gazing, and we went to Shek O beach for the first time to enjoy the wonders that the summer sky has to offer. We observed a long list of most-loved celestial objects within two hours, including two globular clusters (M13 and M22), two open clusters (M6 and M7), one diffuse nebula (M8: Lagoon Nebula), two red giants (Antares and Arcturus), three double stars (Mizar and Alcor, double double and Albireo), four asterisms (the big dipper, the arc to Arcturus, the summer triangle, the teapot) and three planets (Saturn, Mars and Jupiter). We also did not forget to enjoy the starry sky with naked eye only. The main constellations (Scorpius, Lyra, Hercules, Bootes and Cygnus) were huge and majestic, and the milky way was clearly seen even though the sky was not extremely transparent.