Check out the night sky by checking out a library telescope

Are you a wannabe stargazer without the tools of the trade?

Thank your lucky stars, because the Fraser Valley Regional Library has a new telescope lending program which allows you to use your library card to check out a telescope.

Christa Van Laerhoven, a post-doctoral fellow in physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia, helped launch the project.

She says using your own backyard telescope is better than looking at images on a cell phone or computer, because you're making your own observations.

"It allows you to explore other worlds," Van Laerhoven said. "[Exploring space] gives us context. If we want to understand Earth, then we really need to understand other planets both in our solar system and beyond."

Listen to the interview with Christa Van Laerhoven on CBC's The Early Edition:

And what can you see with a library telescope?

"You can see Saturn's rings and you can also see some of its moons [and] you can see the moons of Jupiter very well," she said.

"[And] if you see them night after night, you can see the moons orbit around Jupiter because the closest moon, Io, only takes a few days to go around Jupiter."

There are 50 different telescopes available to the public as part of the program.

Library patrons can borrow a telescope kit (which includes a telescope, eyepieces, an introductory astronomy book, instructions and carrying case) for a three-week loan period, two weeks if there are holds.

With files from The Early Edition