In this video, we go over the top 5 recommended educational apps for hiking, that I noticed the community putting out there. Navigation apps are cool, but learning skills while you are out there, or something about your surroundings can help enhance your hike.
For SkyMap, the reason I brought it up is: there’s something amazing about being out on a hike, getting to camp on a clear night, and staring at the stars miles from city lights for a little bit after dark.
A few things you can see without a telescope or binoculars (using SkyMap’s label with the names we’ve given them):
M31 – Andromeda Galaxy (must be fairly dark)
M45 – Pleiades Cluster (you can see this one under city lights too!) Double Cluster (look for Cassiopeia – it’s a blob near the “left” of the W)
M13 – Hercules Cluster (must be very dark) M42 – Orion Nebula (fairly dark, but chilly – winter skies!)
M8 – Lagoon Nebula (must be very dark) – looks like a blob in the galaxy core.
The planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.
Before Sunrise or shortly after Sunset, the planets Mercury and Venus
Double Star Mizar and Alcor in the handle of the Big Dipper
Check out the astrophotography page to see the images I have taken!
