Astronomy

The Big Dipper and the Little Dipper are asterisms that are a part of the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, respectively. Look for the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper in the northern sky...

Orion is one of the most easily recognizable constellations due to the three stars that form the belt of Orion. Look for Orion almost due East in the fall with help from an astrophotographer in...

The planets inside of Earth's orbit, Mercury and Venus, are so near to the Sun that they are often only visible close to sunset and sunrise--especially Mercury. The planets outside of Earth's...

There are many reasons you might want to find stars in the sky. Perhaps you are taking a class on astronomy. Maybe you are on a trip to a new place and looking for an interesting activity. Or...

Although it is an area of the sky devoid of bright stars, the ancient Greeks looked at the constellation Cancer and saw a giant crab. The crab is part of the myth of the great hero Hercules, one...

Constellations are groupings of stars that resemble a pattern when an observer looks up into the sky at night. Ancient civilizations designated 88 constellations, giving them names corresponding...

Cancer is one of the 88 recognized constellations, or groupings of stars, and dates back to ancient times. Cancer is a faint and hard-to-identify constellation even for those people who regularly...

To locate the planet Saturn, a stargazer needs to understand a few things about the evening sky. She first must acquaint herself with the ecliptic. After accomplishing this, she must familiarize...

The Zodiac is a long recognized group of constellations that lie in the same plane as the orbits of the Earth and the other planets. This plane is known as the ecliptic and as the planets make...

Constellations were originally named by ancient farmers. Ancient astronomy is closely linked to ancient agriculture. These ancient civilizations noticed that certain groupings of stars resembled...

Of the 88 constellations in the night sky, most lie in the southern hemisphere. Explorers of the 16th and 17th century used them to guide their ships. Most of the constellations that were visible...

The constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer represents the eleventh sign of the Zodiac. It is one of the oldest constellations recognized by the ancients. It takes a sharp eye to find Aquarius,...

There is a triangle of bright stars in the night sky that are your guide to the constellations of summer. These three stars are all in different star groups and each one lies within that part of...

The northern circumpolar constellations circle the north celestial pole in the sky in a counterclockwise motion. The northern celestial pole is an imaginary point in the sky that is directly above...

Autumn is the perfect season for stargazers, with cool and crisp weather offering clear skies at night to observe theconstellations. If you live near an open field far away from bright city lights...

Winter in the northern United States is an exciting time for astronomy buffs. The night sky is full of a dazzling array of constellations featuring some of the brightest stars visible and with...

Perseus is easy to find in the night sky, as it's one of the largest constellations in the northern hemisphere. This collection of stars appears in the northern sky during the winter and can best...

Puppis, or the Stern, is one of the biggest constellations in the southern hemisphere. It is one of four parts of the super-constellation Argo Navis (or "Ship of the Argonauts"). The Stern is...

The Centaur is one of the largest constellations in the sky. This collection of stars is visible from 30 N degrees latitude down to the South Pole. The best month for viewing is May.

The Crane, or Grus, is a small constellation that can be viewed with the naked eye, although it emits a faint illumination. The Crane is visible from 35 N degrees latitude to the South Pole. The...

The Indian or Indus is visible from 25 N degrees latitude to the South Pole. The best month for viewing this collection of stars is in September. The Indian constellation is between The Toucan and...

The Microscope is one of the constellation founded by the astronomer La Caille, who eschewed the common practice of naming star groups after birds and mythical figures. You can view this...

Of the 88 constellations in the nighttime sky, 12 have very special meaning. They reside in the sky on a rotating basis, spaced about the lunar calendar. Cetus is not part of he Zodiac but lies...

If you're a star gazer, you should add the constellation Octant to you list of "must-sees." The Octant is visible from five S degrees latitude down to the South Pole. The best month for viewing is...

The constellation Cetus originally was called the "sea monster," but that evolved into "the whale." Cetus is not part of the Zodiac but lies just below the belt of the Zodiac. The best month of...

The Toucan, or toucana, was among the dozen constellation discovered by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. The Toucan is visible from 15 N degrees latitude...

Of the 88 constellations in the nighttime sky, 12 possess a special meaning. They reside in the sky on a rotating basis, spaced about the lunar calendar. Cetus is not part of the Zodiac but lies...

Most of the names for the constellations come from the Greek traditions. Camelopardalis or "The Giraffe" appears in the northern sky in the late winter. It is best seen in February. Look for it...

Even before people understood what stars were, they gazed at the night sky in wonder. So many points of light! So many familiar shapes, even when they changed position with the passing hours and...

Have you ever wanted to be able to find constellations in the night sky? Then, here are some helpful hints for finding a set of constellations that wrap around the earth in one big circle! The...

Have you ever wanted to be able to find constellations in the night sky? Then, here are some helpful hints for finding many constellations easily seen around the North Star! The group of...

The !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari called it the "Backbone of the Night." The Chinese saw it as the river that separated the lovers Niulang and Zhinu. We know it as the Milky Way, the galaxy that...

Chinese star maps differ greatly from those known in the West, where the constellations were named for figures from Greek mythology. Chinese astronomers and astrologers saw the night sky through...

For thousands of years, people have used stars as a means of navigating. They have also fostered some of our most common myths. Astronomers have created 88 groupings of stars and galaxies into...