How to Read the Stories of the Sky: Part 2

I’m back with part two of the constellation blog series! Previously I posted one about the stories behind the constellations. This one is about how to find constellations in the night sky. Enjoy!

Part 2: How to Read Constellations

When you first look up at the night sky it can be very daunting. There are so many stars!  But take a deep breath and follow these simple steps to locate the constellation of your choice.

1. Go to this website http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/starfinder/ and open up the star chart for the current month. (I would suggest printing it too.) 

   - Every month you are actually looking at different stars because of the rotation of the Earth around the sun. That is why each map is different.

2. Go outside on a clear, cloudless night.

    -The darker it is the better. Light pollution can block out some stars. Clouds also block what you can see. It is really fun to look for constellations when backpacking or camping!

3. Open up your star chart and align the horizons of the sky to the horizons on the star chart.

   -The stripe of dots in the middle is the edge of the Milky Way! Cool, right?!

This is the star chart for January from the above website. (http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/starfinder/) The underlined purple words are what should be aligned with the horizons.

4. Pick a constellation on the chart.

   -The ones on the chart are the most common and easiest to find.

5. Hold up the star chart and use it to help search for the constellation.

    -Do this by holding the chart aligned with the horizons and seeing where the constellation should be. Look in that approximate location in the sky for the constellation. Remember that this map is 34 degree north latitude (Los Angeles) so if you are north of that everything will be slightly south and vice versa.

If finding the constellations with your eyes and the star chart just doesn’t seem to be working out for you then there is another option. :) 

-For people with an iPhone, iPod, or iPad go here to and search constellation in the app store to find many wonderful and helpful apps.

-For people with an Android device go here to and search constellation finder in the store to find many wonderful and helpful apps.

Have fun finding the constellations and keep an eye out for shooting stars and UFOs!

How to Read the Stories of the Sky

For centuries humans have been gazing up into the night sky and telling the stories of the stars. All across the world different peoples have concocted reasons as to why the stars are placed where they are in the sky. To do so different cultures have told stories about the creatures they see in the sky. Some of the most common stories are about everything from princesses, to dogs, eagles, twins, and even peacocks. (Bet you haven’t heard that one!) The combinations of stars that people tell stories about are called constellations.

I want to share with my readers (YOU!) about the stories of the constellations, and about how to find certain constellations in the night sky. However, because there are so many interesting stories and finding the constellations takes some effort I am going to divide the post into separate posts. One about the stories of the constellations and one about how to find the constellations in the night sky. Maybe I will even add another after that!?

Part 1: The Stories of the Stars

Most of the stories about the constellations that are most commonly talked about today are those of the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures. They often combined their stories about the stars with those about their gods. If you are like me, then you have read the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Mount Olympus books and learned all your mythology from them. If you have yet to read those books and you want to learn a bit more about Greek and Roman gods before digging into the constellations click here.

Photo Courtesy of nationalgeographic.com

One of the many stories told about the stars, this story is the one that I find most interesting. It is about the hunter, Orion, and his nemesis, the scorpion. The tale tells of a hunter who offends a Greek god (Apollo). The god then sends a scorpion down to fight Orion as his punishment. Orion soon realizes that it is impossible to break the outer shell of scorpion so he fleas into the  ocean. As he is swimming, the god who is mad at him dares a fellow Olympian, the goddess Artemis, to shot the speck of black in the ocean, that is Orion. When Artemis realizes that she shot Orion she begs for him to be brought back to life but Zeus refuses. So that she will always remember him, she then places him in the sky and places the scorpion on the opposite side of the sky, so that Orion will always be ahead of the scorpion.* 

Photo Courtesy of smokymtnsastro.org

Another story I have always liked is that of Queen Cassiopeia. She sits in the sky in her W shaped throne. One story about her describes her claiming that she was more beautiful that the Nereid nymphs. (That was a huge accusation in Greek culture.) Poseidon (God of the Sea) was infuriated by this and banished Cassiopeia to live in her throne in the sky while circling the North Pole so that half of the time she is upside down and has to hold on to her throne desperately to avoid falling off.*

I hope you have enjoyed hearing about Orion and Cassiopeia and now know to NEVER EVER fight a scorpion because you will die and to NEVER EVER say you are more beautiful than a Nereid because then you will have to spend half of the year upside down!

*There are many stories about each constellation. I picked the one that appeared to be the most commonly told story but there are definitely others!