Two new moons and two new rings have been observed in orbit around Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun. One of the moons has been named Cupid!

What does this have to do with things to try? Well, have you ever looked at some of the really amazing pictures of the heavenly bodies, and wondered about the universe? Have you ever looked up at a really dark, moonless, cloudless night sky, and marvelled at the vast expanse of stars?

Astronomy is a wonderfully relaxing hobby to take up, and it can be quite romantic, too! Just picture the scene. You are with your partner, and there’s nobody else around. You’re in the middle of a field, away from all the city lights. Everything is silent, apart from the quiet sounds of crickets in the night. Lying down on a dark, warm, summer’s day, you and your partner take turns to observe the night sky through a pair of binoculars, or even a telescope. You see Saturn’s rings; the Great Red Spot of Jupiter; the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, a cluster of stars that contains hundreds of stars rather than just seven; and lots of nebulae, the pictures of which really are beautiful and even magical. Just look at some of the images on the astronomy picture of the day archive.

If you don’t know much about astronomy but would be interested in seeing what planets, star clusters and nebulae look like through a telescope, look up your local astronomical society and find out what public observing sessions they have. If you’re looking to meet someone, again, this is a good idea to try; you get to meet others who have an interest in astronomy. This tends to attract more men in my experience, so might be a better option for women to try if you want to meet people.

You could learn your way about the sky well enough to locate some bright and beautiful objects like the Pleiades. It’s not hard; you’ll just need a basic book on getting started in astronomy, of which there are hundreds. You’ll need a decent pair of binoculars; don’t buy a telescope unless you get seriously into star-gazing. They don’t have to be bulky, although the ones with larger lenses tend to be better for astronomy. If you do that, you could always surprise your partner by taking them out during the evening, and showing them some really amazing sights! Do make sure that you’re well-practised at finding everything that you want to look at. If you come across something and you’re not sure where it is, just have a look for it before you say anything about it. Then, if you can’t find it, you don’t have to say that you were looking for it.

I can’t imagine anyone not being touched by the sheer calmness and stillness of the night sky, complete with the beauty of it all. Now that they’ve given the new moon of Uranus the name Cupid, astronomy has become even more romantic! I wouldn’t try to find Cupid, though; the Hubble space telescope has only just found it, and you can’t even see Uranus without optical aids. Stick to the prominent objects in the night sky, and you’ll not go far wrong!

Night school is an excellent way to meet like-minded people. Some people go to a class just to learn, but many people will be open to other possibilities like dating! To be successful with this approach, this is what you need to do:

1. Choose something that you enjoy, or think you will enjoy. If you go to a class on something that you don’t enjoy, you will not be in the best of moods for flirting or dating.

2. If possible, your choice should be attractive to your target audience, usually members of the opposite sex. For example training as a pilot would put you in a group that consists mostly of men; excellent for most women, as long as you are confident enough in such company!

3. You should be interested in what is being taught in itself, and believe you have an aptitude for it. Whereas you may wish to meet someone and start dating and flirting, ideally it should not be your main objective. If you adopt this approach, you will seem less desperate.

4. You must not disrupt the class with any flirting! This will not go down well at all with anybody, and will not be impressive to anyone with sense. Do remember that some people are there purely to learn.

You can do your dating and flirting both before the class begins and after the class is over! Many people achieve success in finding somebody using this approach. You will meet people who are interested in at least one thing that also interests you (the course topic), and that will help with small talk and communication.

One statistic banded around in the sales world is that you need an average of seven exposures to a product before most people will buy it. In the world of dating and flirting, you’re selling yourself! This is one of the things that makes night school a good choice for dating; people get to see you several times in a row, and they will get used to you; they will learn about you; and if Cupid’s arrow does happen to strike, the chances are reasonably good that the match that you have made is a good, compatible one. This can be contrasted with going to a night club; you may meet somebody and start dating them, but it’s unlikely that you will form a long-term relationship with them, simply because shared interests are unlikely from this type of situation.

If you’re looking to meet people and like pets, then walk a dog!

If you take a dog for a walk, you will probably meet other people en route. Dogs are like magnets for other people who like them! I’ve seen plenty of times where somebody has stopped to pet the passing dog, and the owner has got talking with the stranger.

It can be especially effective where somebody else is also walking a dog, and the two dogs fancy each other! All you need is for the other owner to be single, and for you to fancy that person!

Whether the person you meet has a dog or not, you find that you have a subject to talk about already! It makes small talk much easier if you have a common interest, and you have identified one if the other person likes dogs. The other good thing about doing this is that anybody you come across who does stop to pat your dog will have already been vetted in terms of being pet-friendly, if this is important to you.

I was walking a poodle today. It wasn’t a long walk; the route took about 20 minutes. Near the end of the journey, a woman was walking a westie! The poodle went from being arthritic and slow to having an instant spring in her step, and the westie stopped her owner from walking on long enough for the dogs to meet. We had a quick chat about the age of the dogs. I wasn’t looking for anybody at the time as at present I have a partner, but if I had been then this was an ideal, simple way to meet this woman!

If you decide to do this, either borrow somebody else’s dog and take them out for walks (the owner will probably be grateful), or get your own dog. If you get your own dog, make sure you know how to look after it. Find out how much it’s likely to cost and how much of your time it will take up before you get the dog. It’s too late once you’ve got one! In any event, remember to clean up any solid excrement the dog leaves behind. Not only is it a health risk to people, but it will not look good to any potential dating prospects if you are seen leaving the droppings lying around!