I waited for this night for a very long time, when my daughter had reached 6 years old and was grown enough to start to apreciate the dark skies filled with stars. Me and my best friend decided that this is a good time to take our kids under the stars and first night was really remarkable and full of questions and of course the "WOW"s. Spotting the moving sattelites or even better a meteor for the fist time, yes, lots of excitement. Like a flashback, It reminded me of my self being a kid and see those things for the first time.

 

      For me it was great opportunity to leave the imaging equipment back home and simply enjoy the camping under the stars, showing the planets, constellations and bright Milky Way to the kids, trying to ignite their interest in our world  and  our place in this Universe. It is funny to see their reaction to all of this and how they try to understand it on their own terms.

 

       Luckily, we were not alone that night. There were another family with two young kids who came to camp under the stars. While I was setting up my telescope they approached to say "Hello" and were trully impressed by the equipment. After some explanation of what we are going to do here tonight, they were invited to join us after the sunset and have a tour of the night sky.

 

        At midnight, kids were already exhausted and it was time to go to the bed. While they were preparing their tents, I took my camera to mark this time with the picture of us and Milky Way in the background. After the kids fall a sleep we gave another "serious" run over the objects as a closure to this beautiful night.