Summer nights with your lovey dovey favorite person, or your more than average bright kids can be enlivened with just a pair of binoculars. No, we aren't talking about anything with the word "peeping" in it and you can't get arrested for it.
Just plop down on a blanket in your back yard or park and whip out the binoculars. You'll get a look into the past and the future as you galaxy gaze. Just scan the sky with the binoculars and with the right conditions you can see other galaxies ten, twenty or even fifty million light years beyond our Milky Way.
The galaxies will look like smudges and the darker the sky, the better the viewing. Begin at the Big Dipper and then find the Whirlpool Galaxy whose light you are seeing took 30 million years to your eyes.
Before you trek out to your backyard, go to the library and get a good sky watching guide to orient you and let you know what you are seeing. Or log on to www.astronomy.com for some help. Give the song "Starry Starry Night" some new depth this summer.