About — Learn To STARGAZE

Learn To Stargaze is hosted by John A. Read, a writer, astronomer, and YouTuber on all things Space.

John Read’s journey into astronomy began with a small and rickety telescope purchased at his local pharmacy when he was about 27 years old. He found it fascinating to observe the Moon and Saturn using such meagre equipment. After two years volunteering with his local astronomy club in California, he decided to share his newfound knowledge with others by writing his first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope.

Since then, he has written several other books including 50 Things to See on the Moon (with David M. F. Chapman), 50 Animals That Have Been to Space (which he co-wrote with his wife Jennifer Read), and 50 Space Missions That Changed the World. In 2021, he released 110 Things to See with a Telescope (with Chris Vaughan). John recently founded a private stargazing park, called Stargaze Nova Scotia, and is in the process of resurrecting the Abbey Ridge Observatory. On the side, he hosts the Learn To Stargaze channel on YouTube and is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying Space Systems Engineering.

LearnToStargaze is proud to partner with…

Passage (Science to South America)

Passage is an organization that takes telescopes to schools in South America. LearntoStargaze is partnering with them to send Spanish translations of John A. Read’s books along with the telescopes. If you want to support this endeavor, please consider donating to Passage. The future is looking up and we can all make it a little brighter!

Donate

Deep Sky Eye

LearnToStargaze partners with Deep Sky Eye Observatory in Quinan, Nova Scotia in many of its outreach efforts. Our goal is to provide educational content to Nova Scotia schools, as well as advocate for light pollution awareness, and light-trespass bylaws, as well as the creation of Dark Sky Preserves. Deep Sky Eye is home to the "Blind Astronomer," Tim Doucette. Tim had cataracts as an infant, and his eyes never fully developed. His vision is hypersensitive to UV light, and he wears dark glasses all day, but because of this, he also experiences unparalleled views of the night sky!

Visit

In the Community

Discovery Centre and beyond

John’s passion isn’t just space; it is sharing that love and wonder with others. Events at places like The Discovery Centre, libraries, schools, or parks are all places that John brings telescopes and his enthusiasm for the stars.

Book Signings

Who doesn’t love having their book signed by the author? When doing book signings, John always makes sure to bring a telescope so that he can demonstrate how to use it and what kind of scope is good for beginners. If you’re interested in hosting a book signing event, contact us!

John also signs any copies of his book that he sees at a bookstore or gift shop; so open that book, it just might be signed.