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Finding Constellations in the Night-Time Sky of Ann Arbor

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Finding Constellations in the Night-Time Sky of Ann Arbor http://74.6.239.84/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=bootes+constellation+same+as+Orion&fr=yfp-t- 715&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx ?q=bootes+constellation+same+as+Orion&d=4645926396364258&mkt=en CA&setlang=en-CA&w=be251a57,6a6d546c&icp=1&.intl=ca&sig=BAs9wPWbhM7eVXL8lR0cKw-- updated: 04/19/2000 Finding Constellations in the Night-time Sky of Ann Arbor Some man of yore . thought he good to make the stellar groups, That by each other lying orderly, they might display their forms. And thus the stars at once took names and rise familiar now. -- 18 th -century translation of Aratus, c. 3 rd -century BC Objectives • Become familiar with the mythology and location of the major constellations visible from Ann Arbor. Introduction You can see many wonderful things in the night sky, if you can find a place where it is dark and clear. Then you might be able to see the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon like a luminous cloud, or maybe even catch a meteorite flaming to earth out of the corner of your eye. However, we live in Ann Arbor. Here the weather is not clear very often and the lights of the city blot out all but the brightest of objects. We are left with only the bright stars, the nearest planets, and - of course - the Moon. This short guide will help you start 'looking up' at night to what we can see here. A sky chart from class or a constellation wheel will help you find the constellation shapes that are described here. The first thing to do is to get oriented. On campus, north is approximately the direction that State Street runs. You could also picture roughly the direction of North Campus. Once you find north, you should be able to find the Big Dipper fairly easily. If you managed to find someplace dark outside of Ann Arbor, you'll have just have to scan the sky until you find the Big Dipper. The Constellations In tabular form here . Circumpolar The Big Dipper (or Ursa Major, its proper constellation name) is one of the circumpolar constellations . This means that it circles close around the north pole, and we can see it year-round. There are four other circumpolar constellations , including the Little Dipper (whose proper name is Ursa Minor), Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Draco. Because these are visible year-round in the north, they are some of our most recognizable constellations . But anyway, you've found the Big Dipper in the north. Following the two stars at the end of the bowl in a straight line for approximately 30 degrees, or three fists held at arms' length, you end up on the north star. Polaris, the north star, is the star closest to true north. For this reason, it has long been used for navigation (and perhaps you could use it if you get lost in the Arb?). It is also the end of the handle of the Little Dipper , so now you have found a second constellation that you can see all year. Because the Little Dipper is made up of rather faint stars, Polaris might be about all you can see of it from Ann Arbor. On a clear night you should be able to make out the two stars at the end of the bowl of the dipper as well. Notice the handle of the Little Dipper bends the opposite way to the Big Dipper. The Big and Little Dippers are linked in their proper constellation names too. They are the big and little bears, Ursa Major and Minor. One legend explains why these bears have such very long tails (the handles) compared to ordinary earth-bound bears. The legend says that when the bears were placed in the sky by Zeus, the god didn't want to get bitten or scratched by the bears' teeth or claws. In order to prevent this, he held on by the tail and swung the bears overhead to catapult them into the sky. In the process of swinging them overhead, he stretched their tails out. Another circumpolar constellation is Cassiopeia , queen of a powerful land according to legend. In the sky Cassiopeia looks like a W or an M, depending on the time of year. The W is Cassiopeia's throne. All of her stars are bright, so this is another easy one to see. Find Cassiopeia by following the same two stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper past the north star and keep going another 30 degrees or so - that should put you near the big W. The other two circumpolar constellations are a bit fainter, but still visible from Ann Arbor. Cepheus , the King to Cassiopeia's queen, looks like a tall skinny house or a square with a triangle on top. You can find Cepheus by imagining Cassiopeia sitting on her throne (inside the W) looking at Cepheus. The roof-top of the house sits between the north star and Cassiopeia. Draco the dragon winds between the Big and Little Dippers, generally taking up all of the remaining bright stars between those two constellations . Draco's head hangs down near Cepheus. Draco is probably the toughest circumpolar constellation to find outside, but if you can find it you could tell the 'dragon heaven' story from the movie Dragonheart. All other constellations are far enough south that as the earth rotates, these stars rise and set. Different constellations are visible at different times of night. Since the stars rise 4 minutes earlier each night, different constellations are also visible in different seasons (at any particular time of night). The following seasons are based on what you would see outside at ten o'clock. Winter Winter is the season of Orion , the hunter. You can find Orion by looking for the three closely set stars in his belt a little further south than overhead. Once you have seen these a couple of times you will be able to recognize them anywhere. As well as the belt, Orion includes shoulders (the two bright stars above his belt, to the north), two feet (the two bright stars further south) and a scabbard hanging from his belt (which may be a little faint to see here). There are several legends involving Orion , many of them not so complimentary to the giant hunter. One involves Orion becoming enamored of the Pleiades (who were seven earthly women at the time, all daughters of a king). He eventually became so obsessed with them that the gods took pity on the girls and whisked them away to the sky on the back of a bull. They became the group of stars called the Pleiades and the bull became Taurus. Obviously Orion managed to follow them, and still chases them across the sky. Orion is the key to the winter constellations , because you can find most of the rest of them using reference points on Orion . Find Orion 's belt, and follow an imaginary line through it until you come to a very bright star. This star is Sirius, the dog-star. It is the brightest star in the nighttime sky. There are many stories involving Sirius. In ancient Egypt it was called the "Nile Star" or the "Star of Isis" because its annual appearance preceding sunrise on the day of the summer solstice marked the ensuing rise of the Nile River. In medieval Europe it was associated with the "dog days of summer" since it was thought that the summer heat resulted from the mixing of Sirius's light with that of the Sun. Its appearance was regarded was an evil omen. Sirius is also the nose or eye of Canis Major , the big dog. The rest of the body of the dog is closer to the horizon and fainter, but does follow a stick figure of a dog. Another dog, Canis Minor , is not so lucky. The little dog is indeed 'little' - only two stars. The brighter one of these, Procyon, can be found by following an imaginary line through Orion 's shoulders and approximately straight up from Sirius. Canis Minor and Canis Major are the two hunting dogs of Orion , following at his heels through the sky. An imaginary line through Rigel, Orion 's right foot, and up through Betelgeuse, Orion 's left shoulder, points toward the brightest star in Gemini . Gemini has a kind of box-like shape, but perhaps is best recognized by its two "twin stars". Castor and Pollux appear very similar, and are separated by only 4.5 degrees. Castor and Pollux are each the head of one twin. Stick figures descend from these heads towards Orion , making up the rest of the constellation . One legend claims that one day while Castor and Pollux lived on earth, Pollux had some kind of tragic accident and was killed. Castor was so upset by his twin's death he went to visit him in Hades. There he was given a chance at immortality: he could return to the earth and be immortal, but his brother would stay dead. Castor couldn't bear the thought of life while his brother Pollux spend eternity in Hades, so he asked if instead they couldn't share the immortality -- one would live on the earth for six months while the other took his turn being dead, then they would switch. The gods were so touched by his loyalty to his brother, they took them both and turned them into stars so they could be together forever. Taurus the bull, who carries the Pleiades on his back, is a large constellation in the winter sky.
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