Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains How Many Stars You Can See In the Night Sky

How many stars can you see in the night sky with your naked eye? A million? A Billion? As Carl Sagan liked to say, “Billions and billions?” On this StarTalk explainer video, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are investigating how many stars you can really see.

Neil explains why the number of stars you can see might be drastically lower than you think. Find out why the Moon poses a problem for seeing stars. Neil tells us how a full Moon can wash out a good amount of visible stars. Find out more about “dark time” and “bright time” when using telescopes.

We discuss how binoculars can help you see a lot more stars. We dive into the evolutionary history of our eyesight. Also, Neil gives us a way to use your fist to calculate how many stars you can see in the sky. Lastly, discover more about how Andromeda went from being what we thought was a simple nebula to an entire other galaxy.

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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[TSMM-xdyn]

It's great to see how Chuck's involvement has increased over the course of these videos from someone just asking questions to an interested and knowledgeable participant. Chuck and Neil have a very nice on-screen rapport. My favorite YouTube video series ever!

[applicableapple]

I like how Neil actually makes Chuck ask the questions

[otakuman]

Seeing everything is one thing I miss about living in the middle of the New Mexico desert.
About an hour away from the nearest city, which had less light pollution than many to start.
In the winter (but not frigid temps) I would go out and lay on a trampoline with a blanket, pillow, and supplies, and just stargaze for hours. You could see an absolutely stunning sky, surrounded by nature. Hearing coyotes and other animals running around, while seeing tons of stars, and some of the milky-way, was absolutely beautiful and awe inspiring.

[davidrobine]

The thing I like about looking at The Andromeda Galaxy is that the light from it that we see left there before we were even human. That’s awesome to me.

[BlairCoron]

I fear as a whole we are losing our connection with the night sky and it is bearing such negative consequences upon us. If more of us tried witness the stars a little more regularly we would bathe in their cosmic perspective and literally shine a light upon how trivial many of our daily problems are. Thanks Startalk for existing and also being the voice of reason during these hard times.

[IchigoKurosakicool]

for me it's actually less than 10 given the light pollution, and 4 OF THEM ARE PLANETS

[tekkalirahul]

He is one of the most interesting yet inspiring person..

[rysacroft]

Until today I had never seen StarTalk. Wow! Educational and humorous in one package, these guys are a hoot. Subbed now.

[flexable]

Full Moon screws the night stars. I know worse than that: The Sun.

[freeforall]

I love this conversation because it makes people think. We don't have enough of that today. Do things that make you ask questions. No one is a know it all.

[OCGGVENOM]

I'm an amateur amateur astronomer and the moon being out is great to help locate constellations using an app in the city. But drive out to Joshua Tree Park in California during a new moon and the sky is breathtaking with the amount of stars that are visible. Get a pair of binoculars and the amount of stars becomes astronomical.

[ForestPantherGod]

"Yeah....I'm not going to do that." LOL, I kinda felt the same way, Chuck.

[AJD...]

Love how easily Neil plays with Chuck.

[kymmzej]

When you, a nerd, tell a "Nerd joke" to one of your non-nerd friends. 5:56

[MrZenmancer]

Forget binos, I use to stare at the sky with Night Vision Goggles while I was in the Army. The number of stars you can see is amazing when you can also see in infrared.

[envenenadocalculandosemsab]

I really do appreciate your work here...
Thank you for your time sharing !

[joesikic]

The most amazing night skies I've been lucky enough to have seen are in Africa (Hwange national park?), Rocky mountains Colorado and near Uluru (Ayers rock). Absolutely amazing. Would be nice if we had less light and particulate pollution everywhere

[technician]

I live in Newfoundland, not long ago the sky was so clear I was actually able to see the Milky Way galaxy. It was soooo cool. Happens once in town away from heavy lights... and another 2 times further in land and away from the main city

[Chris-hxom]

2:30 "the moon has light, reflected form the sun.
Thousands of years ago people thought the moon had it's own light."

Check out some of the flat earth videos. I think you'd be surprised.

[spaceman]

Question: How many stars can you see in the night sky?
Tyson: The sky is the limit