Our second discussion forum is about looking up and posting some interesting observations of the sky made by you. Get into the habit of noticing the sky every time you are outdoors, even the day-time sky. This forum will remain open for the entire semester and is worth 30 points. You are required to write at least 6 posts, about one each week, from week 2 to week 7 of the semester.

Here are some ideas for your posts, although you are not limited to these topics. It would be great if you can add a picture that YOU take to show your observation. Look under the Star Gazing button in the left hand menu column for a star map and other information. Include the date and time for the observation.

Week 2: Color of the Sky. Is the color of the daytime sky pale blue or bright blue? Does the color vary from one horizon to the zenith? What about the color at sunset or sunrise?

Week 3: Clouds. Did you see any interesting cloud formations this week? Look up different cloud names and see if you can identify what you saw.

Week 4: Planets. Jupiter & Saturn are easily visible with your naked eyes between S and SW at sunset. Notice the spacing between them. Does it change through the next few weeks? And Mars is also easy to see rising in the east.

Week 5: The Moon. From Nov 16 onwards is a good time to see the waxing Moon. Notice its phase and its position relative to the planets.

Week 6: Constellations. Try to identify some constellations. If you live in the city, your choice is probably very limited! Count how many stars you can see on any given night at any given time.

Week 7: Your choice. Use any of the ideas above, add to something you wrote a few weeks ago.