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PLANETS

Stars twinkle, planets don’t (because they’re so much closer to Earth, the atmosphere doesn’t distort their light as much). Planets are also bright, which makes them fairly easy to spot. Unfortunately, we can’t show their positions on this star chart, because planets orbit the sun and move in relation to the stars. To search for planets on your trip, visit a stargazing Web site (stardate.org/ or www.space.com/nightsky) before you head to the park.

The easiest planet to spot is Venus, the brightest object in the night sky besides the moon and the Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. Look for it just before sunrise or just after sunset; it’ll be near the point where the sun is rising or setting. (Venus and Earth orbit the sun at different speeds; when Venus is moving away from Earth, we see it in the morning, and when it’s moving toward us, we see it in the evening.) Like the moon, Venus goes through phases—check it out through a pair of binoculars. You can also spot Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury—with or without the aid of binoculars.

METEORS

It’s hard to match the magic of a meteor shower, the natural fireworks display that occurs as Earth passes through a cloud of debris called meteoroids. These pieces of space junk—most the size of a pebble—hit our atmosphere at high speeds, and the intense friction produces brief but brilliant streaks of light. Single meteors are often called “shooting stars” or “falling stars.”

Since our planet passes through the same patches of interstellar refuse each year, it’s easy to roughly predict when the major meteor showers will occur. Notable ones include the Perseids (mid-August), the Orionids (late October), the Leonids (mid-November), and the Geminids (mid-December); check astronomy Web sites for optimal viewing times. Each shower is named after the point in the sky where meteors appear to originate. If you’re not visiting during a shower, don’t worry—you can spot individual meteors any time of the year.

SATELLITES

Right now, according to NASA, there are about 3,000 operative man-made satellites (along with 6,000 pieces of space junk) orbiting the Earth—and you can catch a glimpse of one with a little practice. Satellites look like fast-moving, non-blinking points of light; the best way to spot one is to lie on your back and scan the sky for movement. Be on the lookout for satellites an hour or two before or after sunset (though you may see them at other times as well).

You can take the guesswork out of the search with a few cool online tools (www.nasa.gov or www.heavens-above.com). Select your location, and these Web sites will help you predict—down to the minute—when certain objects will be streaking overhead. It’s especially worthwhile to use these sites to look for the two brightest satellites: the International Space Station and the space shuttle.

ROCK CLIMBING Q&A

Curious about the sport of rock climbing? The national parks are prime venues for this adventurous, adrenaline-pumping pursuit. The best parks in the West for climbers are Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Grand Teton, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Rocky Mountain, and Canyonlands (just outside the Needles district in Indian Creek).

Answering our questions about rock climbing is Jason Martin, a climbing guide and author and the program coordinator for the American Alpine Institute (AAI) (1515 12th St., Bellingham, WA 98225 | 360/671–1505 | www.aai.cc), one of the premier rock-climbing and mountaineering schools in the United States.

Is rock climbing safe?

Contrary to popular belief, rock climbing is remarkably safe. A greater number of accidents occur in skiing, river rafting, even hiking, than in rock climbing. The consequences for errors, mistakes, and a lack of adequate training in rock climbing are severe, and so most people consider the sport to be dangerous. That said, most people participating in the activity know what they are doing and know how to stay safe.

What’s a safe age to begin?

To push one’s physical and mental limits within