Learning Constellations: Its not too hard... really

Ursa Major (Can you find the Big Dipper?)

During every planetarium show there is this special moment when the lights dim and the stars appear on the domed ceiling.  Apart from a few young children who are afraid of the dark, this experience is exciting and memorable for almost everyone in attendance.  I say this because each time I bring the stars out I can hear the response in the audience.  In the dark, when identities become anonymous, they aren’t afraid to let out gasps of amazement and wonder.  These sounds continue as I use a laser pointer to draw constellation patterns above their heads.  I believe that planetariums and a good starry night are inherently interesting for most people of just about all ages.  Even so, most guests I meet never make it past learning how to find the Big and Little Dippers. 

“Why is that?” I’ve wondered many times.  I remember back when I was in High School and I wanted to learn the constellations.  My friend and I went out to the baseball field a few times and lay in the grass looking up at the stars.  I don’t think we got past learning the Dippers either.  At least I know I didn’t.

It seems to me that learning constellations appears too hard.  I’m here to say that it is not.  When I am training people in the planetarium, it only takes a couple hours for them to learn a number of constellations.  Sure they have to refer back to pictures to double-check later, and maybe some constellations stick while others don’t, but my point is that it might not be as hard as you think.  Especially with free programs like Stellarium (www.stellarium.org), learning constellations has never been so easy.

There are 88 official constellations.  Wow, that seems like a lot doesn’t it?  How could anyone learn that many?  The good news is that you don’t have to.  Learning just a few constellations is all you need to go out on a clear night and feel good about yourself.  There may be 88 constellations, but a bunch of them are for the folks on the other side of the equator to worry about, and many others are seasonal, so you don’t have to worry about them until their season.  I recommend starting with a few circumpolar constellations.  These are the ones closest to the North Star, and because of that they never set (depending on where in the Northern Hemisphere you are).  These will always give you a good idea about what you are looking at in the north.  Each season has some good beginner constellations which I find easiest to look for in the eastern and southern skies.  This means you only have to learn a few at a time throughout the year in order to start becoming comfortable.  Once you get to know them, some will pop out every time, looking obvious; while others will still give you trouble.  Below is my list of some of the best constellations to start with.

Circumpolar:  Ursa Major (Big Dipper), Ursa Minor (Little Dipper), Draco

Fall:  Perseus, Cassiopeia

Winter: Orion, Taurus the Bull

Spring: Leo the Lion

Summer:  Scorpius, Sagittarius, Cygnus (Summer Cross),