Pictures in the Sky

One of the earliest tasks we engaged in when we first got into astronomy is the same one we like to show our children just as in a while as their excitement about the night sky begins to surface. That is the fun of finding constellations. But finding constellations and using them to navigate the sky is a self-control that goes back virtually to the dawn of man. if truth be told, we have cave pics to show that the more primitive of human societies could “see pictures” in the sky and ascribe to them significance.

Constellations additionally have been essential in culture and navigation long before we had complicated systems of navigation. Early explorers, specifically by sea, relied exclusively on the night sky to assist them find their alternative to their destination. if truth be told, when “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492” and “discovered” America, he couldn’t have done it without astronomy and the help of navigation of the cosmos, much of which is produced possible due to the important constellations.

When learning to find the splendid constellations in the sky, we use the “find one, you discovered them all” system. That is for the reason that the easiest constellation to find will guide us to the rest of them. That constellation is The immense Dipper. Look to the northern sky on an apparent night and widen your area of vision from just focusing on one superstar and it will as good as jump out at you. In will look such as a big kitchen pot or ladle, right side up in the fall, upside down in the spring.

When you have the immense dipper under control, you can pretty simply find the North superstar. This is the superstar that those elderly sailors depended on the most to find their alternative to land. come out with the far edge of the bowl of the immense Dipper, the side that is opposite the handle. There are two personalities that make up that side of the bowl. So come out at the bottom of the pot and mentally draw a line to the highly rated star of the bowl. These two personalities are “pointing” to the North superstar. Just keep going after that line, curving a bit with the sky and the bright superstar that you come to is the North superstar. You can impress your friends or family if you know the scientific name for this superstar is Polaris.

The North superstar can then take you to The small Dipper. The key here is that Polaris is the hint of the handle of The small Dipper and the bowl hangs down from the handle like it was hanging up in the kitchen. Be patient with this one as the personalities that make up The small Dipper are dimmer than The immense Dipper. But it pretty nice once you find it.

These are the evident starting places but from The small Dipper you can find the constellation known as “The Swan” or Cygnus. Just use the same system you used to find The North superstar but begin again drawing that line that started in those pointer personalities in the bowl of The immense Dipper. Go about half as far as you went to find Polaris and you are there. You will see a trapezoid of personalities about as immense as The immense Dipper. This trapezoid forms the tail of The Swan.

That line that we are drawing from the pointer personalities is our roadmap to another well-known constellation which is Cassiopeia. If you use that line and imagine you are completely under the two pointer personalities, you will se a immense “W” just off to the left of the line. This is the constellation Cassiopeia, the wife of the king of Egypt, Cepheus, in Greek mythology. There are so multiple more incredible constellations to find and a good superstar map can begin again your quest.

Like Cassiopeia, each and every one of the constellations have incredible stories and myths relevant to Greek culture. It is just as fun to find the superstar clusters themselves as it is to be pleased of the wealthy culture relevant to that constellation. For each and every one of the signs of the zodiac, for example, there is a relevant constellation in the sky. So whether you are serious about astrology or not, its fun to find the constellation that refers to your “sign” (or that of your children) and be able to see how the ancients relevant to these pics in the sky.