PLANISPHERE The purpose of a planisphere is to aid the user in spotting bright patterns in the night sky. These could be in the form of famous constellations or asterisms. An asterism is any pattern in the sky, easily recognised, that is part of one or more constellations. The Plough is an asterism in Ursa Major, and Orion’s Belt is an asterism in Orion. HOW TO USE THIS PLANISPHERE • Cut out the circle with the stars on it (from now on this will be referred to as the star wheel), and cut out the outline on the sheet with times of day and night on it (the viewing template). • With the star wheel and the template now cut out, centre the template on top of the star wheel so that the dates of the year can be read around the outside. • Rotate the white midnight until it points to the current date. • During and between the months of March and November, you may be in daylight savings time. If that is the case, turn the template so that the yellow midnight is on the current date. • The star wheel will now show the stars that would be visible at midnight. • Stay on the scale you are using (white or orange) and turn the template so that the current time falls on the current date, these are the stars which should be visible in the sky.
Some of the best things to look for first are the Plough/Big Dipper, Orion, Leo, Cygnus or Pegasus. These patterns are all distinctive and have some very bright stars in them. Remember the night sky is much bigger than the planisphere suggests. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To be able to recognise the Plough and use it to find the North Star. 2. To recognise that the Plough and the North Star should always be visible from Glasgow at night time. 3. To be able to find some seasonal constellations in the correct conditions. LEARNING EXPERIENCES
SCN 2-06A STAR WHEEL Remember, we are only showing relevant stars. Only stars are shown on the star wheel. Planets will appear to remain still for a whole night, do not twinkle and will only be found close to the ecliptic plane. The real night sky is much larger, what appears to be less than a centimetre on the star wheel will appear to be several inches in the night sky. The Plough will always be visible in Scotland.
ER DECEMB 20 25 30 0 15 5 JA 1 10 NU 5 1 A 5 RY R 25 2 BE 0 M 0 2 E 2 5 V 5 O 1 30 N Scorpius 0 1 5
5 F 1 E 0 B R U 0 1 3 5 A
R Y 5 2 2 Altair 0 R
E 2 B 0 2 5 O
T Vega 5 C C 1 ygnu
O Arcturus 5 0 s
1 Spica Deneb 1
0
5
1
M 5
Pegasus/ Great Square
A
R 2 5
C 0 2
Corvus
H
R
2
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0
Cassiopeia
Androm
5
2
B
Big Dipper Big Plough/
M
3
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0
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E
Leo
0
S
1
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5 Capella
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Seven Sisters Seven
Gemini
Pleiades/
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L
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aurus
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Procyon G
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J U N E
KEY
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Looking South
VIEWING TEMPLATE