"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

Your step-by-step guide to winter 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 - listen while stargazing
  • Starry Sky Painting class
  • Nature Journalling prompts
BUY THE KIT

Start your awe-inspiring journey

Start the year 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. 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 Earth's Northern Hemisphere 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.

"I spotted Sirius!"

"I spotted Sirius! It was flickering in different colours like you said. I'm still amazed how I was able to immediately spot Orion just knowing very approximately where South was. Before yesterday I had no clue! "

- ALICE

  • 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.

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

"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

  • 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.

  • 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.

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.

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

"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

Start 2025 with awe and wonder in your winter stargazing adventure

Buy before 10 January 2025 for 55% off.

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 kit when I buy it?

You'll be sent an email with a zip file of PDFs to download and print/links to videos.

I have another question

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