What makes us look up at the night sky with wonder? What are the stories behind the sparkle of the stars and the glow of the moon and the bump in the night? And what's the science?

This month we present three stories of the ways in which the night sky has been a part of our lives.

Dr. Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist, and science communicator based in NYC. She's written a science fiction novel, given hundreds of talks about science around the world, and helped design exhibits for the New York Hall of Science. Moiya's favorite way to combine her unique set of expertise is to build fictional worlds based on facts and science, which she does through workshops, classes, and her podcast Exolore. You can learn more about Moiya and her work on her website moiyamctier.com.

Dr. Katherine Strickler is an ecologist, teacher, and science communicator at Washington State University. In different eras in her life, her research has focused on aquatic ecosystems (particularly streams), birds (specifically aquatic birds and raptors), bugs (especially the kind birds eat), the viability of imperiled wildlife populations, and the best ways to use environmental DNA to detect rare species. She strongly believes that the best way to make science impactful is to tell stories about it that fascinate other people as much as they do her. She also believes that the world is a better place when you feed people and that there is, somewhere in the universe, a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and it's worth making as many batches of cookies as it takes to find it.

Online Story Hour: Night Sky