Summertime, with its warm evenings and generally clear skies, simply lends itself to star gazing. Sitting by the campfire, out on a night stroll, or anywhere away from the glare of the city, and you’re likely to see a slew of stars against the black sky. While up in the Sierra Nevadas recently, I was able to see the Little and Big Dippers, the Milky Way, and a handful of other constellations, but it made me wish I could identify more of the many that were out there.
It does take some practice, but identifying constellations is rewarding. In the Northern Hemisphere, some constellations, like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Cassiopeia are circumpolar, meaning they can be viewed year round and are easier to learn. Other constellations depend on your location, latitude, and season, and because of the earth’s rotation, the constellations will change position throughout the night. But if you head outside on a summer night in the Northern Hemisphere, these are some of the constellations to look for.
The Big Dipper
Orienting yourself due north, the easiest thing to see is the Big Dipper, which is part of the Ursa Major constellation. The dipper looks like a square pot with a long handle, with its handle pointing towards the horizon.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper)
Using the two stars at the top edge of the pot of the Big Dipper, draw a straight line out and you’ll find Polaris, or the North Star. The North Star is at the handle of the little dipper. The Little Dipper is harder to make out than the Big, since it’s composed of fewer stars. But if you know that the North Star is the end of the handle, and the two stars below it make up the right side of the pot, you can find it a little more easily. The Little Dipper and Big Dipper are always facing each other, with the handles pointing in opposite directions.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
