I got interested in
stargazing when I was about 14 years old.
I found the star charts difficult and frustrating to use, but
managed to find a few constellations,
my favorite being Orion. I have always wondered why star
charts
include many stars that cannot be seen with the naked eye, at least
where I live. This is
very confusing especially for a beginner. The charts I have made
only
contain stars I can see on a clear night from my backyard. I
find
the scientific names for
these stars boring and hard to remember. There is a lot to be
said
for
the names the ancients gave them. For example Antares, the
bright
red star in Scorpius,
was named because it is the anti-Mars or anti Aries. For me this
makes a
lot more sense and is easier to remember. There are several
things to take into
consideration when trying to find constellations. As it moves
through the sky it will appear to rotate. For example the 3 stars
in Orion's belt rise vertically.
At mid way through the sky the stars are closer to horizontal and as
they set they continue to rotate toward vertical again with the first
star to rise, the first to set.
You need to know where it is in the sky to know it's orientation.
The second thing to take into consideration is the time of day.
As time goes on they change position
in the sky much the same way the sun and moon do. The third thing
to take into consideration is the date. Each night a star will be
in the same position it was the
in the night before 4 minutes earlier. This seems insignificant,
but after 1 week it is in the same place 28 minutes earlier and after a
month about 2 hours earlier.
On the same date one year later it will be 24 hours ahead putting it in
the same spot at the same time it was the year before. In order to find
the stars in these
charts you need to know the location and time. These will be
listed on the charts.
1) The location, for example, South West 40 degrees. To find this
you will face South West and look up 40 degrees. Degrees can be
easily determined by either
estimating, 0 degrees being the horizon and 90 degrees being the zenith
(straight up). 40 degrees is almost half way up. Another
way is to make a fist and extend
your arm in front of you. Close one eye and hold your fist so the
bottom of it is on the horizon. The top of your fist will be 10
degrees above. Move your fist up
up so that the bottom of your fist is now where the top was and the top
of it will now be 20 degrees. Repeat until you get the correct
height. One fist equals 10
degrees so a half fist is 5 degrees.
2) The date and time, for example March 20, 8:15 PM. The date and
time are tied together because this is the only night that these stars
will be exactly here. A few
nights before or after you won't notice much of a difference, but 2
weeks later on April 3 the stars will be there at 7:15 PM. With
this information the exact time the
stars will be in this location can be determined by the date. On
February 20 you would find them here at 10:15 PM and on April 20 they
would be here at 6:15 PM (you
wouldn't be able to see them because it would still be day light).
Scorpius
