Sky Quest is an exploration of the stars, planets, and constellations told from the viewpoint of an astronomer. Share her lifelong fascination with the heavens — from her childhood adventures on Mars (via a cardboard rocket) — to the discovery of her “birthday star” that led her to become an astronomer and build her own mountain-top observatory.

Our astronomer shares her telescope views of solar system objects and talks about manned landings on the Moon, future missions to Mars, Hubble Space Telescope studies of Jupiter, and the glorious rings of Saturn. Along the way she points out her favorite stars, and explains how she learned to find the constellations with simple star-hopping techniques. She encourages everyone to make the time to look up, even if it means stargazing in urban areas with light pollution.

Sky Quest is an entertaining and educational exploration of the night sky that appeals to family members of all ages. Grade-school children may identify most with the main character depicted as an 8-year-old “astronaut” in a charming opening “home movie” style vignette.