"When we feel awe we suddenly feel like we are part of an integrated community...it is a compass...to bring back meaning"

- Dacher Keltner, Awe Scientist

A step-by-step guide to stargazing

The e-guidebook will take you through:

  • Planning your stargazing
  • The benefits of stargazing
  • Identifying Sirius, Orion & Pleiades
  • Why stars are different colours
  • The lifecycle of a star
  • Ancestral stories of the stars

Also included:

  • Podcast
  • Painting class
BUY THE PACK

Start your awe-inspiring journey

Imagine sitting around the firepit with your loved ones gazing up at the stars knowing you have everything you need to identify and learn the ancestral stories of Sirius, Orion and the Pleiades star clusters printed out in front of you. No screens. No faffing about looking things up. No feeling like you haven't got a clue what you're looking at. Just stories, loved ones and the stars.

During winter the Northern Hemisphere of our Earth is tilted away from the centre of the Milky Way, making the night sky the darkest it will be all year – perfect for seeing the stars burn bright. 

The winter stargazing adventure pack is filled with all the information you need for an unforgettable stargazing experience. The easy-to-use printable pack is great for families and beginners alike! During your evening of stargazing you will:
  • Deepen your understanding of the twinkling lights in the night sky
  • Wonder at what our ancestors thought of these celestial bodies
  • Remember how we are all part of everything through our atoms forged in long-dead stars.
Your stargazing experience will be awe-inspiring - an emotion shown to improve our creativity, boost our immune systems and help us feel a greater sense of connection to people and planet.
 
So wrap up warm, prepare a flask of hot tea and some snacks, light a firepit in your garden or snuggle up on your doorstep or by your window with a duvet and hot water bottle, it’s time to gift yourself an evening of winter stargazing...

Included for 2024 | LIVE Winter Night Sky Night Sky Nature Journaling Project!

When you purchase the pack you will also get access to the LIVE Winter Night Sky Nature Journaling Project running from 5-16 February (New Moon is on 9 February and this is when the skies are darkest). You'll get 4 days of prompts and videos as well as a supportive community of folk that get you out and looking at the night sky (because it's easy to buy the thing and then never get round to actually doing it)!

  • I am exhausted - There's never enough time to do something beautiful like this

    You've always wanted to get to know the night sky - an incredible display that has enchanted our ancestors since the beginning of time - yet there never seems to be enough time to get yourself out and looking up at the stars.

  • It's all too overwhelming and I feel stupid

    Whenever you try the stargazing apps or want to understand a constellation and look it up it all feels a bit "well, that's nice but..." somehow the magic is lost or everything is written in technical astrophysics-speak. So in the end you just don't bother.

  • I can't find the right gift - they already have everything!

    You're looking for the perfect gift for loved ones who already have all the things. You could get some more socks, or perhaps nice coffee...but it just feels a bit flat.

  • Download and go stargazing

    I've done all the hard work for you. The Winter Stargazing Adventure Pack contains all the information you need to take you and your loved ones on a magical stargazing adventure from the comfort of your garden, local park or South-facing window, even in the middle of the city! Complete with a kit list and a night sky chart to help you identify and learn the stories of stars in the winter night sky

  • Just magic and wonder, no alienating astro-speak

    Pulling together science stories as well as ancestral tales of the stars this Pack isn't your usual technical-speak blog or app. Instead it is filled with magic and awe as well as accessible science, written by science communicator Agnes Becker, that brings the stories of the stars to life.

  • Gift a lifetime of wonder

    es, socks and coffee are nice but gifting an awe-inspiring stargazing experience is something that will stay with you and your loved ones for a lifetime.

The knowledge will stay with us forever

“We lit our fire pit and spent a couple of hours stargazing. We were so excited to find all of the constellations in Agnes' guide! ...I found the guide so helpful and read sections as we looked at the constellations...Such a gift to know these things. We'll never forget this knowledge and it's going to enrich our stargazing forever.

- CAROLYN

"Experiencing the night sky...triggers a host of physical and psychological benefits, from boosting creativity and lowering stress to making us care more about the wellbeing of our planet."

- Jo Marchant, Author of The Human Cosmos

Step back from exhaustion and sink into the wonder of our night sky

  • Awaken your creativity and curiosity

    Research has shown that experiencing something beyond our comprehension gifts us the ability to break out of our everyday thinking and assumptions, see the world afresh and come up with new ideas. Which worlds will open up for you when you go stargazing?

  • Boost your wellbeing

    Studies have shown that people who have experienced awe are happier and less stressed, even weeks later. Although the research is in its early stages, when scientists looked at the relationship between the cytokine system (triggered when stressed, leading to inflamation) and various positive emotions, they found that of all the positive emotions, only awe seemed to show reduced levels of cytokines.

  • Feel part of something greater

    Viewing the night sky is a way to connect with something greater than ourselves. To realise we are part of something much bigger – so vast we can barely comprehend it. This realisation helps to take us out of ourselves and focus on a bigger picture, feeling more connected to each other and to the messy, beautiful universe in which we find ourselves.

  • Create a more loving world

    The feeling of connectedness awe triggers in us has been shown to have a knock on effect on our actions, making us more altruistic and ready to help others. Other studies have found that awe—more so than emotions like pride or amusement—leads people to cooperate, share resources, and sacrifice for others, all of which are requirements for our collective life.

  • A beautiful stargazing guidebook

    Get to know the winter night sky with this stunningly illustrated guidebook full of information on the science behind awe, inspiring quotes from scientists and authors, a story about the life and death of two star sisters, a star chart and scientific and mythical stories about three winter star formations: Orion, Seven Sisters and Sirius.

  • A magical, meditative 20 minute audioguide

    Listen as you gaze at the stars or as an imaginary experience if stars are hard to see where you live (there is an image of the night sky if you watch it on YouTube too).

  • A starry night sky painting class to awaken your creativity

    In this 30 minute encouraging and playful class you will learn three techniques to paint the night sky (this is a recording of a live class).

  • Nature journaling prompts to awaken your curiosity

    Record and reflect on your experience with simple prompts to do before, during and after your stargazing experience.

  • LIVE 'Stories of the Stars' Winter Nature Journaling Project

    When you purchase the pack you will also get access to the LIVE nature journalling project running from 5-16 February. The project will see us get to know the night sky with simple prompts and videos from me and a nourishing, supportive community in Circle.

"The best thing I have done in years"

"The best thing I have done in years; sitting in the dark, in a deck chair, wrapped in a blanket with a thermos of hot chocolate gazing at our amazing universe. It felt very humble and I realised how often we go about with our eyes and hearts shut to our surroundings. Thank you."

- SUSAN

About Agnes

Agnes Becker is an an artist, science communicator and creator of We Are Stardust - a place where art and science collide to enrich your experience of and relationship with our messy, beautiful universe.

Are you ready to gift yourself and your loved ones an evening of awe and wonder?

Buy before 5 February to take part in the LIVE Winter Night Sky Nature Journaling Project running from 5-18 February 2024.

INVESTMENT: £97 one time payment or £33 x 3 monthly payments
INCLUDE THE STARDUST COLLECTIVE: £97 one time payment followed by £29 monthly payments (get the first month FREE)

Questions

What do I need to go stargazing?

All you need is:

  • unobstructed view of most of the night sky via a garden, park or your (preferably south facing) window that opens
  • warm clothes
  • the stargazing pack!

Optional:

  • Deckchair or thick blanket if outside so you can look up
  • Binoculars
  • Hot chocolate!

Can I get a refund?

Unfortunately, as this is a digital printable download I am unable to give a refund so please buy with intention.

I don't know anything about stargazing - is that OK?

This pack is perfect for anyone - seasoned nature lover or beginner - who is curious to know more about the winter night sky and our human relationship with it through story.

There is lots of light pollution where I live, can I still go stargazing?

Yes! Two of the three stars/constellations highlighted in the Winter Stargazing Adventure Pack (Sirius and Orion) can be seen in central London!

Obviously, the darker the sky the better you can see the stars but it is possible to see Sirius and Orion in areas with high light pollutions.

How do I get access to the Pack when I buy it?

You'll be sent a link to join the We Are Stardust Community space in an online software called Circle. Once you are inside, you'll have access to all elements of the pack.

If you also choose to join The Stardust Collective, you will automatically get access to the Collective spaces on Circle too.

I have another question

Please email me at agnes@wearestardust.uk and I will answer as soon as possible.