2021-SSP Star Chart-V3
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CAROLINA SKIES APRIL 2021 NORTH Lacerta N 10 350 To use your star chart, hold it over your head. To avoid ruining your 20 LyraLyra 340 night vision with a bright flashlight, use a red light. Or stretch a red VegaVega 30 330 Andromeda balloon or brown paper bag over your flashlight for a muted CEPHEUS Andromeda glow. Cepheus 40 320 ~75 minutes after sunset CASSIOPEIA DRACO Cassiopeia April 16–17, 2021 Align north on the chart with north in the night sky by Draco Pisces A R Pisces ST H RT Larger dots mark finding Polaris, the North Star. Begin by locating the 50 N O 310 E HERCULES T H Hercules T O brighter stars. Big Dipper. Draw a line between the Dipper’s Ursa Minor PolarisPolaris Triangulum “pointer stars” to guide you to Polaris, going URSA MINOR TRIANGULUM Little Dipper about four and a half times the distance between 60 300 R A T S PERSEUS Algol the two pointer stars. The Dipper’s handle CAMELOPARDALIS H Camelopardalis PerseusAlgol CORONA BOREALIS T Corona Borealis R O “arcs” toward the orange star Arcturus, where N ARIESAries E 70 H you can “speed on to Spica” and then “curve Mizar T 290 O Mizar T on to Corvus.” Capella BOÖTES Capella S U R U Ursa Major T Boötes C Auriga R URSA MAJOR The winter constellations Orion, Taurus, and SerpensSERPENS A AURIGA 80 O CANES VENATICI Big Dipper 280 T Canes Venatici C Gemini are still visible in early spring in the R A TAURUS west. Tracing a line through LYNXLynx MOON (4/16) Taurus WE Orion’s belt Arcturus T MARS Aldebaran S will lead you westward to Aldebaran (the Aldebaran S Mars E Castor W A LEO MINORLeo Minor T orange “eye” of Taurus) or eastward to COMAComa BERENICES Berenices Castor A E MOON (4/17) C I Pollux P S Pollux Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky). GEMINI O T Gemini ORION N O CANCER D These winter stars and constellations are E Cancer E 260 100 P S LEO Orion Betelgeuse followed across the sky by the spring Leo Betelgeuse LibraLibra patterns Leo, Ursa Major (which includes the Regulus CANIS MINOR VIRGOVirgo Regulus Big Dipper) and Virgo. Find Leo the Lion just Canis Minor ProcyonProcyon EridanusEridanus 250 110 S Rigel U I R Rigel south of the Big Dipper by locating the I Spica S Spica O T MONOCEROSMonoceros T backward question mark that outlines Leo’s L SEXTANSSextans E B ’S N head and mane. O CORVUS I R 240 120 Sirius O LEPUSLepus Corvus HYDRAHydra Reddish Mars appears in the west at nightfall. CRATERCrater Sirius CANIS MAJORCanis Major 230 Where’s the Moon? The Moon’s apparent position 130 changes as it goes through its phases from new to full COLUMBA PYXISPyxis Columba and back again in about a “moonth.” During theLupus Caelum 220 140 Caelum Lupus MOON PHASES Statewide Star Party on April 16 and 17, 2021, the waxing ANTLIAAntlia Puppis April 4 – last quarter 210 crescent Moon will be visible in the afternoon and evening sky. Centaurus 150 PUPPIS Centaurus April 11 – new moon 200 Norma 160 VelaVELA April 20 – first quarter The International Space Station orbits Earth everyNorma 90 minutes at Pictor 190 170 CanopusCanopus Pictor April 26 – full moon 17,000 mph. When can you see it? Check http://spotthestation.nasa.gov S Horologium GacruxGacrux Horologium Crux SOUTH www.ncscifest.org/starparty The Statewide Star Party is made possible by the generous grant support of North Carolina Space Grant. © 2021, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to duplicate for educational purposes only..