Instagram DM opener for a girl who is a meteorologist and loves stargazing nights

Read the photos for what she made, not what she was in. A sky she shot herself, with a caption about the conditions, tells you she cares about the sky for its own sake and probably knows more about it than you. A group photo at a bar with a sky in the background tells you almost nothing. The job post matters too. A meteorologist talks about forecasts all day and can usually spot a generic weather line in one read, so anything you say about the weather should show you noticed something particular, like a specific cloud or a night she clearly chased. The stargazing posts are a better bet than the forecasting ones, because they are personal and she has chosen to share them. If the feed is mostly work, she may be tired of talking shop, and a message that asks about something else she posted will do more than a comment on her day job.

Think about what she is signalling by posting at all. People who post night photos often want someone to ask about the photo, not just like it. Pick one image and ask one thing about it that she could answer in a sentence or two. That gives her a clear reason to reply and a topic she can carry.

The first message should do one of three jobs. It can ask a specific question about a photo she took, which works well when the shot looks like it took effort or patience. It can share a small piece of your own experience that she can react to, such as a time you saw a meteor shower from a rooftop, as long as it is short and leaves room for her to add to it. Or it can point to a detail in her bio or a caption that you find interesting, and ask her to say more. What a draft is doing right if it is one of these: it names one thing you saw, it ends in something she can answer easily, and it could only have been sent to her. What to leave out is any line about her being cool, any joke about the weather, and any second question stacked on the first. A message with one clear hook is much easier to answer than one with three.

Avoid trying to show off what you know about astronomy. If you bring up a constellation or a planet, keep it to something you could say as a passing comment, and let her correct or expand on it. She may know far more than you, and letting her be the expert is more attractive than trying to match her.

Send the first message in the late morning or early afternoon, when she is most likely to be between things and not in the middle of a night shift or a broadcast. Her work probably means early starts and odd hours, so sending late at night, when she may be sleeping or getting ready for a 4am forecast, can make your message easy to miss. If she replies quickly, match her pace for a while. If she takes a day, that is normal for someone whose schedule is built around the weather. Give it two days before following up, and keep the follow-up short. A single line that points back to the photo or the conversation is enough. If there is still nothing after that, leave it. A third message is usually where things start to look like pressure, and a meteorologist who doesn't want to reply will not change her mind over a fourth ping.

If she does reply and things are going well, start moving toward a plan within a few exchanges. Stargazing is a concrete thing to suggest, and a clear night is easy to name. Suggest a specific evening or two rather than asking 'when are you free' so she can answer in one word. If she says the weather looks bad for that night, that is a good sign she is paying attention, and you can pick another night.