Night Sky Tourist

Discover the wonder of the night sky from your own backyard, travel to a dark sky location, and listen to the star stories of other cultures and civilizations. Night Sky Tourist helps the entire family connect with nature by engaging with the stars, moon, and planets.

Night Sky Tourist is a society podcast hosted by Vicky Derksen, with 139 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Vicky Derksen hosts Night Sky Tourist, a society show with 139 episodes published.

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  Episode #139

  139- World Asterisms Project with Charles Ennis

  Sep 21, 202659 min

  Every culture that ever looked up at the night sky found stories in it. Hunters, ancestors, animals, boats. What if someone tried to collect them all before they're lost? That's exactly what Charles Ennis is doing. Since 2021, Charles has been building the World Asterism Project under the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, gathering sky cultures from around the globe for a website launching soon. In this episode, we talk about what asterisms actually are, why they matter beyond the science of astronomy, and what he's learned collecting star stories from cultures most of us have never heard of. Charles brings serious credentials to this work. He's president of the RASC's Sunshine Coast Centre, a past national president, and currently Vice Chair of RASC's National Council. He co-founded RASC's Inclusivity and Diversity Committee, wrote The Solar Observing Manual and Building a Small Observatory , and hosted ten seasons of the astronomy show Night Lights , along with the documentaries Starry Nights and The Stars Belong to Everyone . This month he launched a new YouTube vlog, “Asterism Detective.” LINKS FROM EPISODE 139: Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ Constellation Companion: https://nightskytourist.com/constellation-companion/ World Asterisms Project: https://www.rasc.ca/world-asterisms-project Asterisms Detective- Charles’ YouTube vlog: https://www.youtube.com/@AsterismDetective Azure Dragon of the East- Chinese cultural astronomy: https://yokai.com/seiryuu/?srsltid=AU7gw4WWnk0DG4i0OJ1WoFqIQXyJbp2OkcU950fkUgiNohzBxWyWf_x_ Episode 85- The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars with Duane Hamacher: https://nightskytourist.com/85/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ FOLLOW & SUPPORT Rate us : Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist Newsletter : Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates Questions? Email Hello@NightSkyTourist.com

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  Episode #138

  138- Keweenaw Mountain Lodge with John Mueller

  Aug 25, 202630 min

  Some places feel special precisely because they're hard to reach. At the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, a lodge built during the Great Depression by a federal jobs program sits under skies so dark you feel truly far from city lights and noise. Now privately owned by John Mueller, Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has earned Dark Sky Lodging certification and built out evening programs like Full Moon walks, star parties, and meteor watch nights. That kind of remoteness asks a little more of visitors, but it's exactly what makes the experience worth it. In this episode, John and I talk about the lodge's history, its dark sky programming, and his larger goal: helping people get closer to nature. LINKS FROM EPISODE 138: Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ Keweenaw Mountain Lodge: https://keweenawmountainlodge.com/ Visit Keweenaw: https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/ Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association: https://www.uptravel.com/ Travel Marquette: https://www.travelmarquette.com/ Quiet Parks International: https://www.quietparks.org/ Episode 103- Cultural Astronomy of the North with Travis Novitsky: https://nightskytourist.com/103/ Episode 98- Ojibwe Star Culture with Carl Gawboy: https://nightskytourist.com/98/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ FOLLOW & SUPPORT Rate us : Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist Newsletter : Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates Questions? Email Hello@NightSkyTourist.com

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  Episode #137

  137- Badlands National Park with Eric Veach & Marissa Marshall

  Jul 21, 202646 min

  Badlands National Park just earned its International Dark Sky Park certification, and that's reason enough to celebrate. But there's so much more happening out there. In this episode, I sit down with Park Superintendent Eric Veach and Marissa Marshall, Executive Director of the Badlands National Park Conservancy, to dig into what makes this place so special. We talk about the park's unique geology and deep natural history, the co-management partnership with nearby indigenous tribes, and what dark sky certification actually means for a park that boasts some of the darkest skies in the country. Marissa also shares details on the Conservancy's ambitious new project to build an observatory at Badlands, plus how you can help make it happen. Oh, and yes, we talk about the bison, too. If you've ever wanted a reason to plan a trip to South Dakota, this episode is it. LINKS FROM EPISODE 137: Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ Badlands National Park: https://www.nps.gov/badl/ Badlands National Park Conservancy: https://badlandsconservancy.org/ THE FILM- Connecting Across Time: https://www.badlandslegacy.org/ Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors: https://shorturl.at/nG0Xx (link to Bookshop.org ) Episode 57: Badlands Observatory with Ron Dyvig & Teresa Hofer https://nightskytourist.com/57/ Episode 36: Lakota Star Knowledge with Dr. Craig Howe: https://nightskytourist.com/36/ Episode 108: Cedar Breaks National Monument with Matthias Schmitt: https://nightskytourist.com/108/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ FOLLOW & SUPPORT Rate us : Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist Newsletter : Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates Questions? Email Hello@NightSkyTourist.com

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  Episode #136

  136- Kithship & the Art of Noticing with Steve Dudrow

  Jun 30, 202646 min

  What does it really mean to look up at the night sky? In this episode, we look at what it means to really know the place where we live and to be known by it. This relationship with place has a name in the Old English – kithship. And since half of the human experience takes place in darkness, this includes our relationship with the night sky. Steve Dudrow, author of The Art of Noticing and a desert night sky enthusiast, joins the conversation to explore how slowing down and paying attention can transform our relationship with the night. If you’ve ever felt like the stars were just a pretty backdrop, this episode might change that forever. LINKS FROM EPISODE 136: Subscribe to Night Sky Tourist: https://nightskytourist.com/ 2026 Stargazing Guide (FREE download): https://nightskytourist.com/guide/ The Art of Noticing by Steve Dudrow (available only on Amazon): https://shorturl.at/gkl7A The Art Box podcast (co-hosted by Steve Dudrow): https://theartboxpodcast.com/ Phenology Wheel: https://naturescalendar.com/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE Visit the Night Sky Tourist website to book private stargazing experiences, read inspiring articles, and find resources to take your stargazing to the next level. You can find us at: https://nightskytourist.com/ FOLLOW & SUPPORT Rate us : Leave a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nightskytourist/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NightSkyTourist Newsletter : Sign up at NightSkyTourist.com for exclusive content and updates Questions? Email Hello@NightSkyTourist.com

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  Episode #135

  135- Arizona's Pipe Spring National Monument with Nickie Wheeler & Mark Gleason

  May 11, 202641 minS0

  <p>Pipe Spring National Monument sits on the lands of the Kaibab Paiute Nation in northern Arizona, and the night sky there carries a story most visitors never expect. The Kaibab Paiute Nation holds a remarkable distinction as the world's first sovereign nation to earn Dark Sky certification, bringing that same recognition to the park itself. In this episode, guests Nickie Wheeler and Mark Gleason take us inside a place where the night sky isn't just something to observe but something deeply woven into daily life and tradition. From star parties and night sky events to a garden planted according...

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