Starstruck in South Dakota

By Esther Noe

Realtor by day, astronomer by night, Cody Norberg is excited to introduce the community to the wonders of the night sky through his new business, South Dakota Stargazing.
Norberg grew up in Rapid City and later attended the University of Montana in Missoula for a bachelor’s in astrophysics. That wasn’t the original plan, though.
“We did a lot of camping when I was a kid, especially here in the Black Hills. The night skies are so amazing out here,” said Norberg. “I just really loved it as a kid, going out and looking at stars. When I was in college, they had a planetarium on campus there in one of the buildings. So I started going to that. I got super interested and switched my major from biology to physics, and we got really involved in the observatory with telescopes. I just fell in love with it. It was really amazing to learn and experience a new field.”
After college, Norberg did his first stargazing tours in Teton National Park in Jackson, Wyo., with a team of people. They would go out with a telescope and laser pointer, set up a campsite and talk about space and the universe. The night sky would change from day to day, allowing them to see planets, galaxies, star clusters, craters on the moon and so much more.
Norberg continued giving stargazing tours in Jackson for two years before moving back to Custer four years ago. Now he works as a realtor for Lewis Realty.
“This past fall, I decided to really get back into it and start sharing it more with people. I have my own setup. It’s all portable. So I’ve done some tours over the fall and winter, and this is my first official summer doing South Dakota Stargazing,” said Norberg.
“The Black Hills have very unique sights and attractions. You’ve got the hot air balloons, horseback riding, rock climbing and fishing. I feel like stargazing is another unique experience to tie into the area and to offer as something to do for people out here,” he continued.
South Dakota Stargazing is a one-man show featuring two-hour tours through the night sky. Since the equipment is portable, Norberg often goes to private residences, provided they have a clear view of the night sky. Norberg has a few other locations in the Black Hills National Forest that he enjoys taking clients to and is working on getting permits to do tours in Custer State Park as well.
For a tour, Norberg and his wife arrive shortly after sunset to set up chairs, blankets, heaters and a table to make sure everyone is comfortable. Norberg also sets up his 11-inch diameter telescope for viewing the night sky.
“We start out talking about the first bright stars as they poke out and start talking about constellations. Everyone knows the Big Dipper, so that’s always a good place to start,” said Norberg.
Norberg said his tour style is free-flowing, focusing on what interests the individual group and what questions they may have. With his laser pointer, he can also point out the different consolations.
“It’s really fun to paint a picture of what you’re actually looking at up there at night, and it’s something I really enjoy. As we talk about stars, there are all sorts of little points of light up there. They’re different colors, and that corresponds to different temperatures of stars. You just kind of go through all sorts of different fun facts with them.”
Some of the different topics Norberg has discussed include dwarf stars, giants, red stars, blue stars, star clusters, binary star systems, how small the sun is in comparison to other stars, the craters and shadows on the moon, deep sky objects, meteor showers, plants, the story of Pluto and shooting stars.
Another topic of conversation is the history of the constellation names, which come from ancient Greece and Greek mythology.
“Ptolemy wrote this book called the ‘Almagest.’ He was a court astronomer in Egypt back in the second century B.C., and from his book is where we get a lot of the modern-day constellations in the night sky. You have Hercules, you have Orion the Hunter—that’s really popular. A lot of the different constellations that you see are prescribed to Greek mythology. Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus—all those names that people have heard or might be familiar with. You can actually find them in the night sky and associate their tales and myths with them, and that’s always a fun thing to do, too. A lot of star names come from Arabic. There’s-kind of a mix of Greek, Latin and Arabic names, and those are always very interesting to talk about as well,” said Norberg.
“They all have their own unique story, personality and character to them, and that’s always fun. It changes with the seasons, too. It’s just really neat to go on and talk about them in different ways,” he continued.
Norberg’s telescope enhances the experience.
“Generally, I point the telescope, and I go through the alignment process as well,” said Norberg. “It has its own clock and GPS, so it knows where it is on the earth and what time it is. So it tracks with the Earth’s rotation…It’s really neat to use this telescope and its catalog of thousands of objects to just click point, and it will go exactly where I want it to.”
Through the telescope, clients can get a closer view of the stars. Some look like a bright diamond, and others reveal there are actually two stars close together. One of Norberg’s favorite things to see is the Orion Nebula, which is a spectacular nursery of stars.
“The planets are always a real treat in the night sky when they’re up. The rings of Saturn, I’d say, would be the most spectacular object to see at night. A really unique one is Jupiter. You can see that the equatorial bands of Jupiter…and the Galilean moons around Jupiter are a real treat too. They look like four little bright stars really close to Jupiter through the telescope, and they change orientation night after night, too. That’s always fun to show people,” said Norberg.
Since the night sky changes with the seasons, Norberg said there is always something new and exciting to experience.
When asked why he decided to start giving tours again, Norberg said, “It’s my passion. I love stargazing. I love astronomy. I love talking about it and sharing my knowledge with people. It’s a very fun experience, and it’s just fun to share a unique experience at night that people don’t often think about, to just take time to think and look up at the night sky and really marvel at the wonders of the universe.”
South Dakota Stargazing tours are specifically curated for the age range, size and interests of the clients.
“I like to encompass a kind of a full scope of the sky as much as I can, talking about our solar system and going farther and farther out with the objects and stuff that we’re seeing in our galaxy,” said Norberg. “The scale is absolutely massive, and it’s absolutely incredible to start people here on Earth with the few stars you see poking out at sunset, and then step further and further out to try to get a sense of the scale of the universe because it really is mind blowing to try to wrap your head around it.”
At most, Norberg can host 10 to 12 people per tour.
“I like to keep them kind of a nice, private group, because then people can get really involved and engaged, ask a lot of questions, and it feels like a more personal experience. I try to cater it like that as a once in a lifetime, really unique experience at night where you get to learn about the universe, and these stars that people look up at night and have so many questions about. It’s very thought provoking and enjoyable in that way,” said Norberg.
Norberg said his tours are for anyone and everyone. Thus far, they have been a hit with families and children, who have an interest in space and lots of questions about the stars. His tours are also geared toward tourists coming from big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, where they cannot experience the night sky like we can in South Dakota.
“That makes us very blessed and fortunate to be where we are and to enjoy the stars in a way that a lot of people can’t, and just to be able to share that experience with them,” said Norberg.
Ideally, Norberg would like to do multiple tours a week, but they are heavily weather dependent.
“I’ve kind of become a meteorologist, watching the weather and tracking the cloud patterns,” said Norberg. “I am in contact throughout the day with weather updates, especially as we get closer to sunset. And if we have to cancel due to the weather, it’s one-hundred percent refundable.”
To learn more about Norberg’s tours and price structures, go to sdstargazing.com. Norberg can be contacted directly at 605-939-4300 or info@sdstargazing.com with any questions.