Stargazing

It’s warm. The campfire burns low. The sky is dark and clear outside the city lights. You lie back on a cozy blanket with some snacks and look up. At first all you see is a confusing mass of white lights. But, up in the star-speckled space above you are animals, heroes, monsters, and hunters. Can’t see them? Don’t worry, you just have to know how to look.

Thousands of years ago, sky watchers discovered that if they connected the stars as if they were dots, they saw shapes and patterns that resembled animals and people. There are many stories attached to these patterns or constellations. You may use a star chart to find your way.

Summer Stars

Start at the Big Dipper – Best Viewed in April

Start your sky watch at the Big Dipper. It has seven very bright stars and looks like a pot with a long bent handle. In the summer you can find it by facing north and looking to the left of the sky. It is part of the constellation, the Big Bear. The stars mark the bear’s tail and hind quarters. It’s not as easy to see the bear’s head and body.

African Americans followed the Big Dipper (Drinking Gourd) to freedom by memorizing the lines of this song:

The riverbank will make a mighty good road
The dead trees show you the way
Left foot, peg foot travelin' on
Following the drinking gourd
Follow the drinking gourd
For the old man is a waitin'
For to carry you to freedom

Not too far to the right of the Big Dipper is the Little Dipper. It is part of the constellation called Little Bear, or Ursa Minor. The Dippers look a lot alike, except that the Little Dipper is smaller. In the summer it looks like it’s sitting upside down in the sky.

The last star in the little Dipper’s handle is very important. It’s called Polaris, the North Star, and if you know where it is, you will never get lost. Once you know which way is north, you can figure out the other directions.

Cassiopeia Queen of the Heavens - Best viewed in November

The queen in the sky is named Cassiopeia (kas-ee-oh-pee-ah). To find her, look to the right of Polaris to a cluster of five stars in the shape of a squished W resting on the number 3. That’s the queen (some think the W is her throne). Cassiopeia is famous for boasting about her great beauty. Because she was so proud, the gods chained her to a throne in the sky. Sometimes, she hangs upside down as extra punishment. Her constellation helps you tell star time (Sidereal Time). When Cassiopeia is above Polaris, it is noon. When Cassiopeia in the West at right angles to its first position, it is 6:00 pm; at midnight Cassiopeia is in the Northern horizon; when Cassiopeia is in the East, it is 6:00 am. Cassiopeia is one of the circumpolar constellations; that is, she never sets below the horizon when seen from a northern location on Earth.

Bootes – The Plowman – Best viewed in June

Follow the tail of the Big Dipper to Arcturus, a very bright star. This star forms the bottom of a kite. This constellation is called Bootes which means ox driver or plowman.

Winter Stars

Orion Mighty Hunter - Best viewed in February

This is the easiest constellation to see in the winter. Look for three bright stars in a line. These three sisters form Orion’s belt. The two bright stars north of this form Orion’s shoulders. The bright red star is called Betelguese (Beetlejuice). The two bright stars to the south form Orion’s legs.

Orion was a skillful hunter. He could shoot so accurately, he hit every archery target. He provided meat for many meals. However, one day he became so pleased with the praise he received, that he decided to kill many more animals. Rising early in the morning, he shot every animal he found. He made a large pile of the animals. In revenge, a large scorpion came out of the dust and stung Orion on the heel. After he died, in honour of his great archery skills, the Greek god Zeus placed Orion’s constellation in the sky.

Ancient people used Orion to predict the seasons. If the constellation appeared at midnight, the grapes were ready to harvest. If the constellation appeared in the early morning, summer was beginning. If it appeared in the early evening, winter had arrived.

Taurus The Bull – Best viewed in January

Draw a line from Orion’s belt to the right and you will reach a V-shaped pattern with a bright star in the middle. Five stars fairly close together form the V shape of the bull’s head. The brightest star is Aldebaran which forms the right bull’s eye. The V extends up to two final stars to represent the bull’s horns.

The king of Crete received a bull as a gift from the gods, but it caused trouble by attacking people, so he locked it up in a labyrinth, a maze. Hercules wrestled the bull to the ground. He eventually set the bull free but Greeks remembered the story of the bull when they looked at the stars.

The Pleiades – Seven Sisters – Best viewed in November

The Seven Sisters are seven very bright stars that form part of Taurus the bull’s shoulder. The Pleiades, according to Greek myth, were the seven daughters of Atlas, the giant who “bore the world upon his shoulders”. These seven sisters were kind and therefore, remembered in the stars. In November, these stars shine all night. The Pleiades have served as a calendar for many cultures.

Aries The Ram – Best viewed in December

In Greek mythology, Aries is the ram whose fleece became the Golden Fleece, a symbol of kingship and authority. One needed to find the golden fleece to claim the throne and win the prize. The easiest part of the ram to see is its back. Four (sometimes five stars) form a curved line from the ram’s head down its back.

Finding the constellations takes practice. To recognize the shapes, study a star chart. Then, go out on a clear night and find them. Don’t forget to connect the dots.

How to use a star chart to identify constellations.

Step 1: To use a star chart, use the appropriate one for the season (summer, winter). face north and find Polaris on the northern horizon.

Step 2: Compare the stars on the star chart and the stars you see in the night sky.