Stargazing can be a romantic activity that brings you and your significant other together. A night out alone under the stars, peering deep into the heavens together. What could be more invigorating than stargazing with your girlfriend?
But asking out your favorite person might not be so easy. What if you end up staring up at the sky bored? What if it doesn’t turn out the way you think it should? These are legitimate concerns that can derail a perfectly fine night. What sounds good in your head might not pan out in person.
Here are some great ways to ensure that your stargazing date goes as planned, and you wow the person as intended.
Pick Your Motivation
Decide on what your motivation is for your stargazing date. Do you want it to be intimate and romantic? Maybe you want it to be casual and fun. Does your significant other enjoy outdoor activities? Are they a night owl? Do they have any background in astronomy or stargazing at all?
These are things you are going to want to decide before making a plan. Not every stargazing date needs to be super romantic but maybe that is what you are going for. Choosing your motivation going into the date will make sure your plan goes off smoothly and there is no confusion or mixed signals when it comes to the date itself.
Once you have settled on the tone of the date, planning it out will be that much easier. You don’t want something to appear super romantic if you’re trying to be casual. On the reverse side, you don’t want to leave your significant other wanting if they expected romance and you deliver an educational tour of the visible planets.
Make a Plan
If you are planning on actually looking at the stars or picking out specific things to point out or feature during your date, you are going to want to make a plan. If you promised romantic views of Jupiter, you best know where Jupiter is when you two get ready to begin the viewing session.
Make sure to do your preparation and research, as you would with any intentional stargazing session, and pick out things that your significant other would like to see.
Maybe they have always wanted to see the rings of Saturn and the night is perfect for it. Maybe you’ve boasted about being able to focus in on a distant galaxy, thousands of lightyears away. Whatever the object in question is, make sure you plan ahead so you know how, when, and where to look for it.
Nothing will kill the mood faster, whether that mood is romantic or casual than fumbling around with your telescope or getting lost in the sky and not knowing where you are looking.
Be sure to be prepared and make a plan, that way you are sure to be impressive.
Pick a Location
Next, you are going to want to pick an appropriate location in which to go stargazing. There are plenty of options but you are going to want to pick somewhere dark, easy to get to and that has plenty of open sky for the stars to appear in. If you choose someplace with a lot of trees or a lot of light pollution, it might ruin the ambiance and your plans for viewing.
You can easily search for nearby parks that allow visitors after dark. You can also lookup dark sky parks that are certified to offer true dark skies for ultimate stargazing. For some of us who live in rural areas, it is easy to find a familiar field to layout in where you won’t be disturbed.
Like real estate, astronomy can sometimes be boiled down to location, location, location.
Choosing the perfect spot for you and your date to view the sky can elevate a good date to a great date depending on the mood. Maybe you want to view from your car, or maybe you want to lay out on a blanket. Take all of these things into consideration during your planning for both the location and the tone of the date you want to set. Preparation is key!
Make It Special
Lastly, if you want the date to be unforgettable, go out of your way to make it memorable. You can achieve this in a variety of ways. If you do a little extra legwork and put in the effort to make the night special, the results can be amazing.
You could surprise them with a special celestial event that they didn’t know about. Tell them you want to show them a super-bright planet, but instead, as you arrive and settle in, a meteor shower begins. Surprise! It would make for a magical moment.
Maybe you want to plan your date around an eclipse and show them how cool a lunar eclipse can be. This can be educational, casual, or romantic. Probe them beforehand to see if they’ve ever seen certain events. If they’ve never witnessed a full lunar eclipse, the experience could be truly amazing for both of you.
Or, you can pony up some money and buy your significant other a distant star. There are plenty of services that allow you to attach your significant other’s name to a far off star that only has a string of numbers as the name. This isn’t for everyone, and it’s not official, but it could be a special way to get your significant other interested in the night sky. You could blow them away.
Spend on something special…
They also have similar services where you can buy a fictional plot on Mars. A fun way to spend the evening could be stargazing through your telescope at Mars when you whip out your plot of land and present it.
Really, the possibilities are endless but before you drag someone out into the middle of a field in the middle of the night first make a plan and plan to make it special. Neither of you will be disappointed if you do.
