learn to recognize at least two constellation

Does it really matter what the constellations are called? I just like stars and watching them :)

And again, the fall is here and I really should go out to watch stars!

I started around Christmas about 10 years ago by getting a cheap and cheerful star chart and going outside for an hour at a time.

To start with you’re probably better starting in an urban location where you can see a hundred or so stars. If you go somewhere really dark and clear, you’ll be amazed at the glory of the milky way, but there’ll be that many stars it’s easy to get lost and confused.

Give your eyes a few minutes and as they adapt to the dark you’ll see more and more stars.

A red light helps you to look at your chart without ruining your night vision. A bicycle back light is fine, or cover a torch (US=flashlight) with something red, maybe a sweety wrapper.

Star charts are usually marked for the month or season (as they obviously change over time). Work out your orientation (North, South…) and compare what you see with the chart.

Ursa Major (Big dipper) is obviously a good one to start with (assuming you’re in the Northern Hemisphere), as it’s so close to the North Pole it’s visible all year around. Imagine it’s a saucepan and look closely at the second star in the handle, where it “bends”. Notice anything unusual?

Yeah, there’s two stars. It’s a binary star called Mizor and Alcor (Horse and Rider in Arabic). Cool huh? If your eyes are not quite upto seeing them both, use a pair of binocculars.

Now follow the arc of the “handle” quite a way to a bright star. That’s Arcturus. (It arcs to Arcturus – geddit?)

Arcturus is at the “bottom” of a constellation called “Bootes” the heardsman. But I think it looks more like an icecream cone.

At the other side of the North Star from Ursa Major you’ll see a big “W” shape. That’s Casiopea and can usually be recognised.

During most winter months you should be able to find Orion (the hunter) in the South. He’s the one with the line of three stars as a belt. Look at your chart and check where the main stars are.

Now look at the top left star of Orion (Betelguese). Notice that it’s a different colour to most other stars? (A subtle red-orange colour). That’s because it’s a red giant. Yeah, look closely and you’ll see that not all stars are the same colours. There’s another (above right of Orion) called Aldeberan, but I’ll let you find that yourself.

When you’ve found the three stars across Orion’s belt, look below it at his “sword”. See a bit of haziness around there? That’s the Orion Nebula – a nursery where young stars are being born. Look at that area through a pair of binocculars or telescope and prepare to be blown away.

If you get the chance to go out maybe once a week for a month or two at the same time each night, you’ll notice the movement of the stars, Westward. This is due to the Earth’s orbit. Eventually you’ll lose sight of specific constellations for a few months of the year, but when they reappear next year they are like old friends!

One final thing: if you see a bright star or two that don’t appear on your charts, they are probably planets. Yeah, really! Depending on the time of year and where they are in their orbits, you’ll be able to see Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter.

Hope that’s encouraged you to take some time to have a look and enjoy the beauty of the heavens.

Cheers,

Mark

The nights are getting darker so it’s that time again to start gaze up the starry sky again.

This is becoming a real challenge in the constant gloomy weather that we Brits adore so much!

I will have major problems soon to complete this goal. The summer is coming and the sun will stay up all night then. And I still haven’t find anyone cute to help me with this ;)

I went out with the dog and I realized that the sky was clear! But I hasn’t memorized constellations so of course I couldn’t find any. I found Ursa Minor of course but that’s it.

Well I did find two stars that really stand out of the sky. Now I just need to find out what constellations they belong. I just can’t make sense of this!

I can only recognize one: Ursa Minor (Little Bear). I love to watch stars and I hope that I will someday be able to recognize more. Ursa Major might be some where to start ;)