Look up: Your guide to summer stargazing in Arizona
By Daniel Stolte, University Communications
Southern Arizona offers many options for stunning views of the stars, including this look at the Milky Way over the Ajo Mountains in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Kyle Mittan/University Communications
With the Milky Way on prominent display, summer is prime time for stargazers. Few locations offer views into the universe as crisp and dark as Arizona. The university offers multiple ways for community members to connect with the cosmos, including SkyNights and Astronomer Nights at the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter and a regularly updated Skywatchers Guide from Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.
For those planning their own night of stargazing, whether at a state or national park or in their own backyard, university experts are here to help.
Erika Hamden, director of the Arizona Space Institute and 2026 Guggenheim Fellow, shares tips for enjoying the night sky without expensive gadgets or pressure. After the Q&A, you will find useful tips on how best to plan a stargazing trip away from the city lights.
Erika Hamden, a tenured professor of astrophysics at Steward Observatory and director of the Arizona Space Institute, specializes in building space and stratospheric telescopes and developing technology to make telescopes better.
What makes Arizona such a good destination for stargazing?
Because of the dry air, there is not a lot of moisture to absorb or scatter light. Being in the desert, we have more clear nights than most places. There is a lot of open space, and many municipalities have laws about light pollution, which means even in a city like Tucson, it's darker at night than it is at other cities.
What is there to see in summer versus the winter season?
Here in the northern hemisphere, the winter constellations are like actually the real flashy ones. For example, that's when it's easiest to see Orion or Gemini, and there are a bunch of really bright stars in that part of the sky. In the summertime, there's still great stargazing. You can see what's called the Summer Triangle, three bright stars that belong to different constellations, but they really draw the eye. And if you're in a really dark location, you can see the Milky Way best in the summertime. This time of year, we are looking toward the denser parts of the Milky Way, where it's much brighter and denser with stars. One thing to keep in mind is that in summer, nights are shorter, so you have to stay up later to get a good view.
Where is your favorite place to go stargazing?
I stargaze in my backyard every night! It's really incredible. Many people feel like they need to make stargazing into a special occasion, but I always try to encourage them to just incorporate it into their day-to-day life. You don't have to buy anything, you don't have to download anything, you don't have to go anywhere. All you need is to go outside, maybe lay down, and look at the night sky. A lot of people want to buy a telescope, but that just adds an extra barrier, it adds complexity. So just pretend that you're in ancient Greece, there's no electricity, and go outside and look up.
The constellation Orion, recognizable by the three stars of Orion's Belt, is visible to the right of the large saguaro near the center of this image taken at Saguaro National Park East.
Rob Sparks
Do you have tips on identifying constellations, with some of the shapes bearing little or no resemblance to their name?
Oh, for sure! Like Canis Minoris, the 'Lesser Dog' constellation – it's basically two stars, they're never going to look like a dog, no matter how much you look. The scorpion, Scorpio, or the Swan, Cygnus, those are some of the more obvious ones. Location matters, too. If you have only ever seen the belt and the shoulders and the knees of Orion, you're like, 'okay, I guess that kind of looks like a person,' but if you're in a really dark location and see the full constellation, the details become so much more real, and you'll notice the bow and arrow, for example.
Do you have any favorite objects in the night sky?
Definitely Orion! I like him, because when you start to be able to see him in the evening, that means wintertime is coming, and in Tucson, that means nice weather. I also really enjoy finding Andromeda, which is a nearby galaxy, with just my eyes. It's hard, but to me it's such a treat, because it is the most distant object that human eyes can see. In general, though, I like to stargaze without putting a lot of pressure on what exactly to look for.
How can you tell stars apart from planets?
If you are looking at something that looks really bright, it's probably a planet. Another way to tell is that stars will twinkle, whereas planets appear solid. This is because the distant star is truly just a point of light, whereas a planet is actually a disc of light. So the light beam from the star is easily disrupted because it is infinitesimally small, whereas the planet has a little bit of size to it.
With the fading sunset still aglow, Jupiter and Venus loom bright above the desert studded with Saguaros, while the first stars appear around them. Even Mercury is visible for a short time just above the horizon. Arizona offers clear skies and many places away from light pollution, like Ironwood Forest National Monument just northwest of Tucson, where this photo was taken, allowing for stunning views of the night sky.
Daniel Stolte
Are there any celestial events that people should look for this summer?
In early June, Jupiter and Venus will be very close together in the West, as the sun is setting. There's a partial lunar eclipse at the end of August. Almost every month there's some type of meteor shower, and the Skymaps.com calendar, has a really nice list of celestial events every month.
What does the night sky mean to you personally?
To me, looking at the night sky is a fundamental part of being a human. I like wondering about space, about what is happening on those other worlds. I think about the vast distances, and it also makes me feel connected to people in the past who looked at that same night sky. I feel like part of living on planet Earth is that you're drawn to the night sky.
Useful tips to make the most of your stargazing evening
If you are looking to take your stargazing beyond your backyard, Rob Sparks, senior communications, education and engagement specialist at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab has some tips on how to make the most of your evening.
- Try to get away from city lights. Saguaro National Park East and West both have reasonably dark skies, while the summit of Mount Lemmon offers cooler summer temperatures. Oracle State Park is recognized as an International Dark Sky Park.
- Bring layers, bug spray and a reclining chair or blanket so you can enjoy the sky in comfort.
- Pay attention to moon phases, moonrise and moonset times. When the moon is not in the sky, you will see substantially more stars.
- Ordinary binoculars can enhance your viewing greatly and are often very affordable. Stick to low magnification – 10x or less – because they're easier to hold steady.
- Over the course of the summer, the band of the Milky Way crosses the sky. If you scan near the Milky Way, you will stumble onto many star clusters near the center of our galaxy. Apps like Star Walk and Distant Suns can guide you to planets, constellations and some of the brighter star clusters in the night sky.
- Keep an eye out for meteors and satellites. Websites such as In-The-Sky.org will show you satellite passes for your location.