It was funny. When I got up this morning, I was actually searching the boards for an astronomy related thread. I couldn't find one, so I was going to make one as soon as I got home. But I see Stargazer has beat me to it.

I went out at 4:40 AM last night to go look at the sky, to see the meteor shower, and the space station pass by. I didn't see the space station that I know of. And I'm afraid I didn't see much of a meteor shower either. Although I did see one briefly out of the corner of my eye...

My mom saw 3.

Did anyone else go out to see it?

~Riella

Well, I'm no astronomer but I do enjoy looking at the stars at night. I live two miles away from town and there's no streetlights so when the lights are off in the house, I can see stars! I have always pitied people who live in cities and can't see stars because of all the light polution. I live where it's overcast a lot so seeing stars is somewhat rare.

It's a joke here in Alaska that we don't look North to see the North Star, we look up! Which is pretty accurate, actually.

This summer, when I was in Ecuador, I saw the Southern Cross for the first time! Despite being below the Equator when I was in Peru a few years ago, Peru was over cast most of the time because it was their winter so I never saw stars while there. Anyway, it was really cool to see the Southern Cross!

stargazer, your knowledge and passion of this awesome subject comes across so clearly in your warm and informative Intro. Thank you!

My love of the night sky goes way back, but unfortunately I never pursued it when I was younger as I now wish I had. Yet, any time the universe came up in school in geography, I always felt my heart beat faster, and that longing for learning more filled me. I say that as an adult, but as a child or young person, it was more "Woohoo, a unit on space!" I feel I know so very little, but am all the more fascinated by the night sky.

It has only been in the past decade, when I've had a bit more time, that I have actively pursued dabbling in furthering my very limited scope of this vast subject. Others on this forum are so much more knowledgeable and I have learned a fair bit from them. I particularly thank stargazer, as through PMs and emails, as well as on the forum here, he has imparted his love of the night sky, along his broad knowledge and his many own observing experiences. I remember looking for Comet Holmes, when it became visible to the naked eye in October, 2007: my family was outside, and I'd be running in and out, conversing with stargazer so as to pinpoint it directly, which, with his specific help, we finally did.

I do wish I had kept more specific logs over the years, which I know some have: they must be fascinating and nostalgic to review.

Ithilwen, I was outside between 3:30 and 4:15 (EDT) the other night, scanning the sky for meteors from the Perseid shower. The moon was very bright, 'though it was beginning to sink in the SW, but there was also a light, spotty cloud cover, which hampered the viewing, yet I did glimpse some very bright meteors over that timeframe ... always a treat.

Ithilwen, you mentioned the International Space Station passes. It looks like a steadily-moving star, and varies in magnitude. (From what I recall, a -3.5 mag pass is quite bright for the ISS.) Do you know the site heavens-above? You can plug in your location, and it will give you specific predictions for your area. I keep a running weekly chart of when ISS passes will occur, as well as the Iridium flares, another delight stargazer introduced us to: these are when the sun hits the satellite's solar panels just so, creating very bright flashes. At last year's Moot in Ohio, we had particularly one grand star-gazing evening, observing not only magnificentJupiter rising in the sky, but also a number of Iridium flares, as well as an ISS pass. Great memories! And even moreso because it was with other NarniaWebbers.

narnian_at_heart, how lovely you live a bit out-of-town. And very cool about the North Star. We have a lot of trees where we live, but thankfully there's a dip in the branches right where the North Star is.
And wow, you saw the Southern Cross. That would indeed be a treat and a thrill!

I could go on and on, but I must say I do recommend Peltier's book, Starlight Nights that stargazer quoted from above. He recommended the title to me a few years back, and it has become a beloved book: warmly-written, filled with astronomical information, yet a delightful read for laymen. Folksy, memories of a simpler time (early 1900s), it is nostalgic and makes one want to venture back to his world.

Well, I've rambled long enough for now, but I can see this becoming a favourite Spare Oom topic for me.

Aah, I love looking at the stars. However, the only thing that I'm good at viewing is the big dipper and then the little dipper. We used to live out in the suburbs where there were not many lights, so the sky had so many clusters of bright stars. Over there I could notice Orion well, with his noticable belt.
Over here, it's pretty rural but there's a lot of lights, so stars are not terribly viewable.

However, tonight on a walk, I noticed the moon was larger, closer, and all red looking. What is this? I'd love to know what it really is!!

Seeing the sky when all the stars are out with no light to dim them is sufficiently beautiful to look at, but I'd really like to know more about the stars and all.
I am at loss in searching for suitable material to learn more about it. Would y'all know a good book that doesn't focus on astrology and all that stuff, that gives a good information on astronomy to a beginner? "Starlit Nights" I'll go check that one out!

I love amateur astronomy! I've been in love with space for as long as I've been alive, but it was seeing the original Star Wars in the movie theater in 1977 that really brought it all together, as well as getting to see some of the wonderful Voyager 1 and 2 probe pictures of Jupiter not long afterwards.

If you're thinking of getting into stargazing it's really not hard at all and all you really need is a dinky little star chart and some binoculars. Any size will do.

However, the only thing that I'm good at viewing is the big dipper and then the little dipper.

You're already halfway home . The Big Dipper in particular is a sort of intergalactic sign post to other constellations. Learning constellations isn't nearly as hard as one would think....it's sort of like learning the US States or European countries where the brightest stars are kind of like capital cities and then figuring out where the borders are. You start by learning the most obvious constellations (The Big Dipper (or Ursa Major), Orion, etc.) and and then looking at a star chart to see perhaps what's above it and below it, or to the sides. Then go outside and look for the key stars in that constellation and learn the adjacent constellations next to it. Pretty soon you'll have a dozen under your belt and will know them just by looking around for a few seconds.

Let's take the Big Dipper first

We'll start off with the basics. See the two stars on the extreme right of the image that make up the bowl of the dipper? *points* If you follow those two stars in a straight line they lead you right to Polaris, or the North Star (or Spear Head if you're in Narnia ) The second star from the left is Mizar, and is actually (if you squint) a double star, that is two stars that are so close together that they're often confused for one big star. On a real clear night you can "split" them with the naked eye, but if you're in a heavily light polluted area you may need binoculars.

Here's another way to use the Big Dipper as a signpost to other places ...remember this mnemonic: "Follow the Arc to Arcturus, then Speed on to Spica". Using the curve of the Big Dipper's handle you can follow the imaginary "arc" to it's conclusion.

Another is "the hole in the bowl will drip on Leo". If you take the star Megrez (the star that joins the handle to the bowl) and the star Phecda and run an imaginary straight line out from it you'll eventually hit Regulus, the brightest star in the Leo constellation. Also if you look just below the bowl of the Big Dipper this is the area where the famous Hubble "Deep Field" image was taken.

They pointed the Hubble telescope at a seemingly empty spot in space and let it sit there for a few days to gather light. When they got the images back they were astounded to find thousands of galaxies in this tiny little sliver of space. If this does not put you in awe of God's power nothing will! It'll take us eternity to explore it all.

Well, that's just a little snippet, and I'm nowhere near as experienced at this as stargazer is, but just wanted to point out how easy it is to get sucked into this wonderful hobby and that it doesn't by any means require a $2000 telescope to enjoy.

Oh fun topic! I love looking at the stars! Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (as pointed above the Big and Little Dippers) are both very easily seen from my house, and I've spotted Orion multiple times at college. Unfortunately my house is surrounded by trees, and at college there's a ton of light pollution and clouds thanks to our location, but I manage. I saw some constellation last year, but there was a disagreement between me and my dad as to what it was. And my friend who's the expert in these matters couldn't help...

This year is the second year in a row I missed the Perseid Meteor shower, thanks to the full moon and the trees located on every side of our house. Last year... suffice to say we got rained out.

One of these days (er.. nights) I'm gonna get my dad to take me on the trail where there is less trees and more sky... (and more animals )

The two constellations I really want to see and haven't yet are Leo and Scorpius.

The two constellations I really want to see and haven't yet are Leo and Scorpius.

Leo can be tough to spot sometimes (along with a lot of other constellations). Sometimes it's easier to use what's called "asterisms" which are basically familiar shapes people come up with to assign to a grouping of stars. Leo has a number of stars which form the shape of a sickle. In fact sometimes it's called the Sickle.

The Sickle makes up the head and front legs of the lion, like so:

Scorpius is a summer constellation but even so it's still hard to see at times because it tends to be down close to the horizon. The guide star you're looking for is Antares, a bright orange star (its name means "rival of Mars" as they both look similar) that forms the center of Scorpius. Antares is sometimes called the "heart of the Scorpion".

I love watching the night sky. The only constellations I can find easily are the Dippers and Orion, but I am trying to find the rest of them. I have spotted Leo a couple of times.

What I really like watching is the moon, odd as that may sound. For one thing, it's easy to find. For another, it's appearance changes quite a bit. I shall never forget the awe of staying up late to watch a lunar eclipse.

I suppose part of my love for the night sky has stemmed from my love of science fiction. Exploring strange new worlds and all that jazz fascinates me.

What I really like watching is the moon, odd as that may sound. For one thing, it's easy to find. For another, it's appearance changes quite a bit. I shall never forget the awe of staying up late to watch a lunar eclipse.

Oh I love looking at the moon... I also like watching the eclipse. I especially like the full moon, because I can see outside better (in the winter it's especially wonderful!) And when it's at either crescent it looks stunning!

I suppose part of my love for the night sky has stemmed from my love of science fiction. Exploring strange new worlds and all that jazz fascinates me.

Same here... although if I was given a choice between a trip in space and a trip to the bottom of the ocean, I might just pick the ocean... though it's it's similarities to space that first got me intrigued in the Mariana Trench...

But that's another topic.

Thanks for the tips SL! They were helpful.

Nice to see so much practical advice on learning the constellations!

Thanks, jo, for your kind words. Your post made me think about when I first became interested in the night sky - but I don't remember when that was. I do suspect it had something to do with the space program - Project Gemini, perhaps; but it was solidly in place by the time Apollo 8 returned that classic picture in December 1968.

I have so many memories tied to things in the sky:

- Seeing Skylab for the first time, days after its launch, through the back window of the car as we drove to my grandfather's funeral.
- crazy college days, when I went on a road trip with a friend to see the total solar eclipse of February 1979 in Brandon, Manitoba.
- my long-awaited first view of Comet Halley, on a cold Friday the 13th in December 1985, shortly after a "Hallmark moment" reunion when we secretly flew my brother home from Seattle to surprise our parents.
- the Grand Tetons glowing softly in the full moon's light on an early camping trip.
-the pleasure of pointing out things in the sky, and answering questions, to curious little nieces and nephews and friends' kids.
-the pleasure of observing with other NarniaWebbers in person.

But I digress. It's great to read other peoples' stories and experiences with the heavens.

I am a complete noob when it comes to stargazing. I hear stargazer and johobbit talk about ISS passes and Iridium flares and other things and I have to run to google to see what they're talking about.

But I do love going out in the country and looking up in the night and stars.

My favorite constellation (and I didn't even known it was a constellation til a few years ago) is the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. I don't know why, but that little cluster always makes me happy when I can pick it out.

My favorite constellation (and I didn't even known it was a constellation til a few years ago) is the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. I don't know why, but that little cluster always makes me happy when I can pick it out.

.... Hey! That looks a lot like the "disputed constellation" I mentioned earlier. Is it (or does it seem) rather small? I remember I couldn't pick it out unless I had my glasses on...

I used to call it (ok, ok, I still do ) the mini-dipper because that's what it looks like to me. And yeah, the constellation is tiny.

I love the Pleiades! It's my absolute favorite star cluster. When you look at it through binoculars on a really clear night you can just make out the reflection nebula that it's in. I've read that they're actually travelling through space at a fixed speed and that at some point in the distant future they'll pass by relatively close to us. And FK, it's funny that you called it the mini-dipper, I've always felt it looked like a miniaturized version of the Dippers .