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Cabo de Gata has one of the best preserved skies in Andalusia, which allows you, just by looking up, to enjoy an impressive starry sky.
Today we would like to encourage you to go stargazing, you don't need to be a great expert in the field to spend a pleasant evening.
looking at the sky and trying to understand what is going on in it or finding out the name of that star that shines so brightly.
Here are some tips, techniques and tools that you can use to start practising in the fascinating world of amateur astronomy.
To begin with, find a suitable and comfortable place for stargazing. It is important to stay away from nearby light sources that will blind you and prevent you from stargazing. And don't forget to bring a mat or blanket to stretch out on the ground.
The first practice would be "dolce far niente". That's all. Stretch out on the ground and look at the sky. Don't do anything, just watch. It is amazing how many things happen in the night sky... shooting stars, groupings of stars that remind us of something, the moon and its phases, a satellite moving, the different planets that can be seen depending on the time of the year...
Take time to observe carefully and you will see how the stars and all celestial objects move slowly across the sky. What is here now will, in a little while, have moved to another place. Pay attention, you will see that the movement of all these bodies in the sky follows a specific direction. That direction will always be, wherever you are on the planet, the East-West direction. This is because the Earth, with its rotational motion, causes everything in the sky to appear in the east and disappear in the west. Everything, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets.
We propose one more step, think about whether all you see in the sky are stars. Look closely, there might be a different object, something bigger and brighter, with a different light that doesn't twinkle like the stars. If everything matches, it is probably a planet. This is a clue to distinguish planets from the multitude of stars in the sky by looking at their size and the light they emit (light that is not their own but a reflection of the light they are receiving from the Sun).
The second practice we propose is to locate north and the North Star. You may already know where north is, if you are out stargazing in a place you are familiar with, but if not, we suggest that you take a compass with you or use one of the Apps that have one. Once this cardinal point has been identified, we take a good look at this area of the sky and try to locate the Chariot, a group of stars belonging to the constellation Ursa Major.
The Chariot will help us to locate the Pole Star. To do this, we will have to look at two of its brightest stars, Dubhe and Merak, and extend a straight line equivalent to five times the distance that separates them to reach the Pole Star.
If we stretch out our hand, place the two stars between our fingers and count five times that distance in a straight line. Once we have located the Pole star we can also locate Ursa Minor, the last star in the tail of this constellation.
At wecamp Cabo de Gata we contribute to the conservation of the darkness of the night sky, maintaining the spaces with efficient and environmentally friendly lighting, providing you with an experience that will not leave you indifferent, an authentic connection with nature and the night sky that surrounds us. These measures adopted for the conservation of the night sky have led to the certification awarded by the Starlight Foundation, which distinguishes wecamp Cabo de Gata as a tourist destination for observing the firmament.
