Do you sing this traditional song with your children? You're giving them a great clue to help them identify what they see in the night sky. Stars appear to twinkle — and they're the only night sky objects that do.

On a dark, clear night, you can observe stars with the naked eye, with a pair of binoculars (especially easy for children to use) or with a telescope. Stars appear to twinkle because starlight travels through millions of miles of space and through the Earth's atmosphere before we see it.

Do you see some stars that are brighter than others? The brighter stars may be larger or they may be closer to Earth. Do any of the stars appear to be colored red, yellow or blue? Red stars are hot, yellow stars are hotter and blue stars are hottest! Stars are also classified by size. Dwarf stars are smaller than giant stars, and supergiants are the largest stars.

Ask your children if they know which star is closest to Earth. It's the Sun, the center of our solar system. The Sun is a yellow dwarf star. Why is the Sun the only star that you see during the day? Because Earth is closest to the Sun, it brightens the sky so that you can't see the other stars. They're still there — you just can't see them because it isn't dark enough during the day.

What else can you and your children see in the night sky? You can often see one or more of the planets in our solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars and Mercury can be seen without a telescope when they appear in our night sky. During June, Saturn and Mars will be visible.

You can distinguish planets from stars because planets don't twinkle — a planet appears as a steady point of light. Here's another tip: If you see the planet in or near a constellation or star pattern that you recognize, and if you observe the planet over several nights, you'll notice that the stars maintain their positions in relation to each other, but the planet seems to be in a different position each night relative to those stars.

Your children may enjoy making simple charts or drawings of the night sky over several different nights and comparing the drawings to see how their view of the sky changes over time.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center hosts free monthly skywatching sessions at Jordan Lake State Park (Ebenezer Church Recreation Area, off U.S. 64).  Planetarium educators and amateur astronomers bring telescopes to offer a closer look at stars, planets, galaxies and other objects in space.  Skywatching sessions are fun for all ages!  For more information, visit the skywatching page on MPSC's Web site. 

Every Thursday, local writers and museums offer tips for ways to play with your kids.

Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:

MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!

WEEKEND: Relax!