Free live online class
Find four planets this winter with your eyes and a pair of binoculars
A free one-hour class for beginners, live on Zoom. Our astronomer shows you where to look for Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and answers your questions live.
Thursday, December 3, 20266:30pmArizona time
Join the free class live on Zoom
Your host
Dark Sky Field School's astronomer
Runs public star parties in Flagstaff, Arizona
Meet your astronomer
Hi, I'm your astronomer for the hour
I run public star parties, so I spend most clear nights beside someone looking up for the first time. Their first question is nearly always “Which one is Jupiter?” I teach from Flagstaff, Arizona, under some of the darkest skies in North America.
In this class I teach you the way I would at a star party. We start with your eyes, then pick up a pair of binoculars, and find Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn one at a time. It's made for beginners, so bring your questions and I'll answer them live.
Inside the hour
By the end, you'll know how to find all four
Tell a planet from a star
Planets shine with a steadier light than stars and shift against them from week to week. You'll see the difference on your first night out.
Find Venus, the brightest light after the Moon
You'll learn which way to face and what time to look for it.
Find Mars by its red-orange glow
You'll learn its color and the bright stars that lead you to it, so you can point Mars out to someone else.
Find Jupiter, then its moons in binoculars
You'll learn to hold binoculars steady enough to see Jupiter's small moons lined up beside it.
Find Saturn and follow it through the winter
You'll learn its pale-gold light and where it sits, so you can find it again on a clear evening this winter.
Ask your questions live
Put your own questions to our astronomer during the class and leave with the answers.
From a past student
I'd been looking at the same bright dot over my neighbor's roof for weeks without knowing what it was. Ten minutes into the class I knew it was Jupiter, and that night I saw three of its moons with my dad's old binoculars.