Before recognizing the constellation with the naked eye you should first understand some basic concepts of the stars.
The stars in the sky are actually luminous stars similar to our sun, which constantly emits light, all we see it. But because of the distance and the intensity of the light, some are bright and some are dim, and some cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Stars are so far away that their relative positions are almost invariant. It is precisely because the relative positions of the stars remain the same that makes it possible for people to record the positions of the stars.
There is a star in the sky called Polaris because, from the Earth's point of view, it is located in the starry sky directly to the north at all times of the year, with a very small range of movement, almost stationary. Only people in the northern hemisphere can see it, and it makes a certain angle with the ground, 40° in Beijing, 35° in Hangzhou, and 30° in Guangzhou. (It is useful to rely on it to determine orientation when identifying constellations with the naked eye.)
In the northern hemisphere, from the Earth's observation point of view, all the stars are around the "Polaris" in the counterclockwise rotation, every day more than a week of rotation, is about 361 °.
The concept of a constellation is not that it consists of several neighboring stars in the universe. Rather, it is the brightest stars that appear to be close to each other from the Earth's point of view, and that can also be associated with one thing, that is called a constellation. So several stars in a constellation are likely to be very far apart from each other. So the concept of constellations as mentioned in some TV shows or games is completely wrong. For example: the definition of constellations in the EVE game only shows that the designers lacked general astronomical knowledge.
The "Big Dipper" is a well-known constellation near the North Star, as shown in the following figure:
Point A in the figure is the North Star, and the "Big Dipper" is a constellation near the North Star, as shown in the following figure:
Point A in the figure is the North Star, and the "Big Dipper" is a constellation near the North Star. The extension line of one side of the "Big Dipper", CB, points to the "North Star", in which the distance ratio of AB and BC is 5:1.
The observation time of this chart is January 1, New Year's Day, at 0:00 a.m., and the azimuth faces the "North Star". "The "Big Dipper" is located directly east of the "North Star".
"Polaris" is a star in the constellation Ursa Minor, and finding "Polaris" is the same as finding Ursa Minor. "The Big Dipper is a group of stars in the constellation Ursa Major, and finding the Big Dipper is the same as finding Ursa Major.
In the northern hemisphere, the constellations above people's heads can be seen with the naked eye in only six months of the year. The twelve constellations are in this position.
Here's the kicker. The key to recognizing the constellations with the naked eye is to memorize the characteristic stars and directions of the constellations.
In the spring, the easiest constellation to recognize would be Orion. It is characterized by four classes of stars surrounding a quadrilateral with 3 small stars slanted in the middle. It only appears in the starry sky from October to March in the Northern Hemisphere. See the following chart:
The observation time for this chart is January 1, New Year's Day, 0:00, facing the "North Star", and then head towards the direction of the top of the head to see. The white dots are stars visible to the naked eye, and the yellow circles are characteristic stars that need to be memorized.
The chart above identifies four constellations with yellow circles***, in addition to Orion, there are Gemini, Gemini, and Taurus.
Giovanni is also well characterized with five stars forming a pentagon. I don't know if you have seen the latest 2010 Doraemon Theater Edition of the Mermaid Sea Battle, which introduces the pentagonal constellation of Goves, which is this constellation. Along the extension line of Orion and Gobius, it is pointing to the "North Star".
Taurus is more recognizable, with five stars forming a triangle.
Gemini is a bit more complicated, but if you find Orion, Goliath, and Taurus, that's Gemini next to it.
Further east in Gemini is Cancer and Leo. See below:
Observe this chart on February 1 at 0000 hours, facing the "North Star", and look towards the top of your head.
Cancer is more difficult to recognize, and there are usually only 2 stars visible to the naked eye.
Leo is easy to recognize, the characteristic star is a "?" sign, and the head of the question mark points to the North Star.
For each of the twelve constellations, there is an optimal month to observe one of the twelve constellations, i.e., every month at midnight, one of the twelve constellations will be visible directly overhead.
They are January Gemini, February Cancer, March Leo, April Virgo, May Libra, June Scorpio, July Sagittarius, August Capricorn, September Aquarius, October Pisces, November Aries, and December Taurus.
People may wonder why the sign to which they belong to, they don't see their sign in the month of birth. It is because at the time of birth one's sign is exactly on the other side of the sun, blocked by the sun, and we cannot see one's sign even in the neighboring months because it is in the daytime. For example, people born on July 7, the sign of Cancer, and the sign of Cancer is on the other side of the sun, we can not see, can only wait a few months later, Cancer is generally the best time to observe the month of February, the actual observable time in November ~ May or so.
Four seasons starry sky - spring, summer, fall and winter stargazing guide!
1. Spring night sky
Observers at different geographic latitudes, the starry sky is not the same, the further south, the more stars you see the southern sky. Sanya City, Hainan Island, China's geographic latitude is close to 18 °, where you can see all the stars north of the equatorial latitude -72 °; while Beijing's geographic latitude is about 40 °, you can only see the stars of the equatorial latitude greater than -50 °.
Because the Earth rotates while it revolves, creating seasonal changes in the starry sky, the constellations in the starry sky are different at the same time at night in different seasons. Therefore, people often according to the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons to distinguish the starry sky as the four seasons of the starry sky.
ppppBut it must be pointed out that the so-called four seasons of the starry sky, refers to the dusk of each season of the starry sky. In fact, you can see almost all the constellations throughout the day in one night in any season, if you're willing to stay up all night.
Spring Nights
The Big Dipper, which hangs high in the northern night sky, is the most familiar star, so start by learning to recognize the spring constellations. The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation and consists of five bright second-magnitude stars and two third-magnitude stars in the shape of a spoon, just like the ancient wine vessel "Dou", hence the name. As to call it the Big Dipper, but also in order to distinguish it from the Sagittarius low in the summer night sky, also arranged in the shape of a bucket of the six stars of the Southern Dipper.
ppppThe seven stars of the Big Dipper correspond to the waist-to-tail portion of Ursa Major. Four of these stars form the spoon of the dipper, and the other three form the handle of the dipper, see Fig. 39. In the twilight of spring, the spoon of the Big Dipper is pointing to the east.
Take a straight line between Tianxuan and Tianshu at the front of the Big Dipper, and extend it five times further, and you'll come across a bright second-magnitude star, which is Polaris. This is the easiest way to find the North Star. Therefore, the stars Tianxuan and Tianshu are also called the "Finger Star". Since the Big Dipper constantly orbits around Polaris, and its altitude and position change from time to time, you should practice how to quickly find Polaris through the Big Dipper at any time.
The handle of the Big Dipper is slightly curved, so if you follow the arc of the three stars on the handle, you'll encounter a bright orange-red star that belongs to the constellation of Mako, or Big Horn in Chinese. Shepherd's Seat is a large constellation, but it is not easy to recognize because of its scattered structure. But it's not hard to spot it when you're guided by the Big Dipper.
If you continue to follow this arc, you will encounter another 1st magnitude star near the ecliptic that emits a greenish-white light. This star, whose Chinese name is Kakushu I, has been impressive since ancient times for its bright, clear light. It is the main star of Virgo, clear but not cold, beautiful but not colorful, just like a dignified and handsome maiden, and in the ancient constellation books, Virgo appeared as the image of a goddess.
The stars belonging to Virgo are scattered, and can be recognized in stages, first learning to identify the first horoscope, and then from the local to the whole, and slowly become familiar with Virgo in the regular observation.
In the west of the angle of the first big sky, a white 1st magnitude star shining brightly, this is the main star of Leo, the Chinese name of Regulus XIV, it with the angle of the first - the same, the same belong to the navigation of one of the nine stars. In addition to Regulus, Leo also includes two 2nd magnitude stars and four 3rd magnitude stars, making it an easily recognizable constellation.
The constellations that can be seen in the evening in spring are Cancer, the Serpent, and the Raven, in addition to those mentioned above. However, these constellations are not easy to recognize. One of them is the Serpent, which is known for its long serpentine formation, and when the head of the serpent has risen to the south, the tail of the serpent has not yet fully emerged from the eastern horizon.
2. Summer Stars
The best place to start learning to recognize the summer constellations is Scorpio, which shines near the southern horizon. A constellation of enormous strength consisting of one fiery red 1st-magnitude star, three 2nd-magnitude stars, and ten 3rd-magnitude stars, Scorpius is one of the most magnificent constellations on the ecliptic.
In all the constellations, to be counted in the Scorpio most in keeping with its shape, its lower left a long string of stars to form a curled scorpion tail has been, the upper right of several stars composed of the scorpion head, as well as in the side of the head of the two poisonous needles, in addition to the waist and rounded face of the scorpion living like a fangs and claws, will not be made of the second imagination. I am in the heart of the scorpion's heart with the second of the heart (also known as the Great Fire) as it was said in ancient times. In the evening when you see the bright Scorpio in the southern night sky, that tells you that the long summer has come.
The unusually bright Milky Way is particularly striking in the summer night sky, but the brightest part of the Milky Way remains Scorpio and the area around Sagittarius to its east.
Sagittarius has no bright stars of 1st magnitude, but there are two 2nd magnitude stars and eight 3rd magnitude stars, which are relatively tightly packed but not easy to spot for beginners, but it is a famous constellation in astronomy.
The Sagittarius is also called the Archer. In ancient horoscope books, Sagittarius was depicted as a monster with the upper half of a man and the lower half of a horse, drawing a full bow and aiming at its western neighbor, Scorpio. When we observe the stars of Sagittarius today, we would not come up with such a monster shape in any case. The richness of the imagination of the ancient people really makes today's great sigh of relief.
Sagittarius right to the upper end of the bow of the six stars arranged in the shape of a spoon, called the six stars. The six stars of the Big Dipper are not as famous and brilliant as the seven stars of the Big Dipper, but they have the same beautiful shape as the seven tails of the Big Dipper.
The Milky Way stretches northward from the east side of the constellation Scorpio across the sky with great momentum. Along the way, exactly halfway up from the eastern horizon, two crystal clear white 1st magnitude stars look across the Milky Way. One of the lower height, located in the Milky Way on the east bank of the bright star is the Eagle's Altair, is the Chinese folklore looking forward to the seven coincidental festival with the Weaving Maiden meeting the Altair. The higher star on the west bank of the Milky Way is Vega in Lyra, which is inaccessible to Altair and is extremely painful to miss.
The stars Altair and Vega each have distinctive features, and it is not difficult to recognize them even if they appear by chance through a gap in the clouds. Let's start with recognizing Altair. There is a fainter star on each side of Altair, and the three stars are nearly in a straight line, which is the most obvious sign to recognize Altair.
Next we look at Vega. To the east of Vega there are two small stars which form a square triangle with Vega, these are the two attendants of Vega. Legend has it that Vega is the Celestial Emperor's concubine, and it is quite fitting for her to be followed by two attendants behind her concubine.
Tracing up from the constellation of Cygnus along the north side of the Silver River, about near our heads, there is a white 1st magnitude star, a bright star called Tientsin IV, bright-eyed and colorful in Cygnus. If you look closely, Cygnus resembles a large cross, and Tientsin IV sits at the top of the cross, with the foot of the cross facing in the direction of the constellation Cygnus. This cross is called the Northern Cross to correspond with the Southern Cross in the southern sky. However, the Northern Cross is not as glamorous and famous as the Southern Cross.
If the foot of the cross is regarded as the head and neck of a white bird, the cross is regarded as the wings of the cross, Tianjin IV is the tail of the bird, and the dark stars gathered around the cross form the feathers of the bird, then on a moonless night, it looks like a big white bird soaring on the wings of the Milky Way, and the name of Cygnus comes from it.
According to Chinese folklore, when it rains on the night of the festival, the Cowherd will fly across the Milky Way in a big bird to meet the Weaving Maiden, and Cygnus should be the lucky bird of beauty.
In addition to the above constellations, the starry sky on summer nights can also see the small and delicate Corona Borealis and large constellations such as Wuxian and Serpentine. However, these four constellations are not prominent enough, so it's better to leave them for the second period.
The Celestial Seed is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac, but it is also a small and dimmer constellation, so it will also be identified later.
3. Autumn night stars
The best place to start learning to identify the constellations of the fall night is Cassiopeia, which shines brightly in the Milky Way in the northeast. Cassiopeia consists of three second-magnitude stars and two third-magnitude stars in the shape of a W. Because of its distinctive shape, it is easy to recognize, and once you recognize it for the first time, you will never forget it again.
After recognizing Cassiopeia, it is easy to find Polaris. The way to do this is to connect the two stars on each side of W and extend the line until it intersects, then connect the star in the center of W with the lead from the intersection point a, and then extend the line forward about five times the distance to the location of Polaris. See Fig. 43.
None of the other constellations of the fall night are as easy to recognize as Cassiopeia. Half of Perseus encroaches into the Milky Way, and it resembles the shape of a person's right hand as it makes a fist and spreads out the thumb and index finger. The shape is rather abstract, and to memorize it you have to observe it over and over again.
Andromeda is the daughter of Cassiopeia and Perseus in Greek mythology, and the fact that Andromeda is arranged in a square triangle with Cassiopeia and Perseus can be used as a clue to identify it.
Southwest of Andromeda is the constellation Pegasus. Pegasus is a large constellation, but it is not easy to recognize it because it lacks a bright star that could be the dominant one.
The one 2nd-magnitude star at the western end of Andromeda and the three 3rd-magnitude stars on the eastern side of Pegasus roughly form a square called the Pegasus Square or Pegasus Quadrilateral. This quadrilateral is quite large, and if one were to take the full moon and arrange it on one side of it, it would hold about 3 full moons. Such a huge square obviously doesn't escape us very easily, so if you identify this square through Andromeda, you can follow the trail and recognize Pegasus.
The western neighbor of Cassiopeia is the constellation of Cepheus, which is shaped rather like a chess piece, making it a relatively easy constellation to recognize.
Autumn night in the southern starry sky is a lonely and desolate, Scorpion is sinking, Sagittarius trapped in the southwest sky, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and other constellations on the ecliptic, although adjacent to stand, but they are dark, it is not easy to see their true face of the mountain. So for beginners, should make friends with them in the next step.
But in all darkness, but there is a proud star alone, alone in the southern low altitude, it is the South Pisces north fall division. North fall division crystal eye-catching, like set in the dark sky on a beautiful white jewel, because in the vast area around it there is no bright star, so at a glance. When you see the North Falling Division already rising in the southern sky when you leave school in the evening, it means that autumn is deep. And in the eyes of some sentimental people, see the former prosperous starry sky, now only a cold star left in the shadow of self-pity, may cause "that can cold fall clear autumn, melancholy red decline line reduction" of the bleak mood it. p
4. winter starry night
Winter is the starry night of the year is the most lively season, the many constellations The constellations compete with each other, as if they were having a meeting of the starry world. Let's start with Orion in the southern sky. The majestic Orion constellation is located in the center of the three bright stars lined up and known since ancient times, the famous "three stars" in the ** the name of the constellation has not yet appeared before they have shown their existence. Both in ancient and modern times, people praise and value it as a symbol of victory and glory. Since the three stars are so tactile and overpowering, recognizing Orion is very easy.
To the east and west of the three Samsung stars, there are two bright 1st magnitude stars distributed roughly symmetrically, a red 1st magnitude star to the east called Samsara IV, and a blue 1st magnitude star to the west called Samsara VII. The surface temperature of Sagittarius 7 is about 12,000°, and its radius is about 50 times the radius of the sun, which makes it very large, but it is only a dwarf compared to Sagittarius 4, which has a temperature of only 3,000°. The temperature of Sagittarius 4 is only 3,000°, but its radius is 700 times the radius of the Sun at the smallest time, and 1,000 times the radius of the Sun at the largest time, so it should be called a superstar. It is constantly and irregularly contracting and expanding.
To the southwest of Samsara, three other smaller stars are winking at you, the Lesser Samsara. Observe these three stars carefully on a clear, moonless night (without a telescope), and you will notice that the central star is different from the normal ones, not having a sharp outline, but only resembling a foggy speck, with a blurred light spreading out in all directions, the famous Great Nebula in Orion. Orion is the name of a brave hunter. In ancient star charts we can see depicted a stout hunter with a stick and shield in his hand; a sword hanging from his waist as he meets the fierce golden bull that is swooping down from the north.
Lengthening the line of three stars of the Sagittarius star about eight times its distance to the north, it meets an orange 1st-magnitude star, which is Pisces V in Taurus. Bijou V forms the right eye of Taurus. Nearby, a dozen or so fainter stars form a V-shape with Bi V. This is the famous Bi Cluster, one of the twenty-eight constellations of ancient China. Not far from the Bi Cluster, six or seven mixed stars form another group called the Pleiades, also known as the Six Stars and Seven Sisters Cluster. Those with excellent eyesight can see nine stars.
Note that the stars of the Pleiades are all greenish-white. On cold days in the middle of winter, the Pleiades add to the chill by emitting a cool, ghostly light near our heads. Some people say that these stars are responsible for the coldness of winter.
Looking eastward from Taurus, two of the brightest stars of the first magnitude are glued side by side in an affectionate way. The particularly bright 1st-magnitude star to the south is called Three Rivers of the North, and the slightly fainter one to the north is a 2nd-magnitude star called Two Rivers of the North. According to Greek mythology, Pollux (the Latin name for North River Three) and Castor (i.e., North River Two) were twin brothers born to Zeus, the god of the sky, and Leda, the nymph, from which the name of Gemini is derived.
North of Taurus spreads the constellation of Mikado, whose leader is the golden-colored second-magnitude star Five Car II. Southwest of Two of the Five Rooks are several small stars forming an elongated triangle, which are reliable introducers to Two of the Five Rooks.
About seven times as far southeast as the lead of Samsara in Orion, one encounters one of the brightest stars of the day, called Sirius. The blue-tinged light reminds one of the gaze of a coyote flickering in the darkness, hence the name. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, and the only stars brighter than it are Venus (the familiar evening and morning stars) and Jupiter, and sometimes Mars.
Sirius is in the constellation Canis Major, which corresponds to the constellation Canis Minor to the south of Gemini. Canis Major is indeed small, with only one 3rd-magnitude star waving a flag for it, in addition to the commander-in-chief, 1st-magnitude star Nanhe San, who picks the lights. According to Greek mythology, both Canis Major and Canis Minor were two hounds that followed the hunter Oraion.
Additionally, the constellations that can be seen in the winter sky are Boeotia, Lepus, Dove, Boatswain's Tail, and Sailfish. But these constellations are more obscure and dim, so let's get to know them next.
The starry sky is like a book, often in front of you, who knows how to read it, who will be able to get infinite knowledge
.