Requirement
4. The sky itself: ten constellations, eight stars, two sketches, the Milky Way
Required Often forgotten
All of it outdoors under the natural night sky. The requirement says explicitly that a planetarium does not substitute: if instruction happens in one, the stars and constellations still have to be identified outside.
Notes and warnings
Warning. NINE PARTS OF THIS BADGE NEED A CLEAR NIGHT AND NOT ONE REQUIREMENT MENTIONS WEATHER: 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 4(d), 5(d), 6(a), 6(b), 7(c) and most of requirement 8. In a great many places four usable nights in a week is optimistic. Every part of this badge is at least as long as the calendar suggests and often twice as long, so start the sky work first and leave the reading for the cloudy evenings, not the other way round.
Warning. A PLANETARIUM DOES NOT COUNT AS THE SKY, AND THE REQUIREMENT SAYS SO ITSELF: if instruction is done in a planetarium, Scouts must still identify the required stars and constellations OUTSIDE UNDER THE NATURAL NIGHT SKY. A planetarium visit is an excellent way to learn them, and it satisfies requirement 8(a) if that is your chosen route. It does not satisfy this one.
What this is made of
Where this step comes from
- Astronomy Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19), Requirement 4 · States that if instruction is done in a planetarium, Scouts must still identify the required stars and constellations outside under the natural night sky.