n
1

My daughter's unprompted shout for Cassiopeia from the backyard

We've been practicing with a basic star chart for weeks. She kept calling it 'the crooked chair' instead of the queen. Out of nowhere tonight, she looked up and yelled 'there's the W!' I was so surprised I sloshed my coffee. Just two lawn chairs and a clear sky... nothing special. But her getting it right on her own? That's a win I'll remember.
2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
2 Comments
susan_nguyen
That "crooked chair" thing got me lol. I always thought those star names were just random words adults made up. Then my niece started calling Orion's belt "the three guys in a row" and it clicked. The real names don't matter as much as just seeing the pattern yourself. Your daughter nailing that W is way cooler than just repeating a name from a book.
7
gray_ramirez
Your point about the real names not mattering hit home. I always figured you had to learn the proper terms for everything. But hearing how your niece sees Orion's belt, it clicked for me too. Now I just look for shapes that stand out, not what some book calls them.
1