How to Identify the Spring Constellations

Leo the heavenly lion

As northern winter winds calm down and the days and evenings finally begin to warm up, it is fun to go outside at night and look for the spring constellations. These star groups, most visible in the spring, represent a lion, a herdsman, a crab, a hero, a maiden and a crown; some need more imagination than others to see. Learning the spring constellations will give you much enjoyment as you look for them over the years, knowing that nicer weather is going to be around when they are out.

Things You'll Need

• Binoculars or telescope

Instructions

1. Use the Big Dipper to find Leo the Lion. The Big Dipper is an unmistakable constellation that is always close to north. Run an imaginary line through the two stars of its “bowl” closest to the handle and look downward; they will point to the bright star Regulus which is the heart of the lion. Leo really does have the appearance of a lion, one that is lying down. Stars that form a backwards question mark, known as the “Sickle,” comprise his head and mane while a triangle of stars makes up Leo’s rump. Denebola is a brighter star than most, located in Leo’s tail.

2. Follow the sweeping arc of the handle away from the Dipper through space until you see the very vivid Arcturus, which is the fourth brightest star in the night sky. Bootes is a late spring constellation and is supposed to be a farmer or herdsman, but it looks more like a giant kite; Arcturus is found where the kite’s tail would be tied on. Some myths say that Bootes is chasing Ursa Major, the constellation of the “Bear” of which the Big Dipper is part of.

3. Draw a line through Big Dipper's handle where it attaches to the bowl and follow it to Cancer. There are few luminous stars in Cancer, but if you are in an area away from bright lights, it does look like a crab with legs everywhere. If you have binoculars or a telescope, look in the center of Cancer for a cluster of a multitude of stars known as the Praesepe, also called the Beehive Cluster.

4. Hercules, the fifth largest constellation in area, is above Bootes, depicting the heroic strongman of myth. It takes a dark night to really make out a human figure, as Hercules consists of few bright stars. There is a trapezoid of stars that form Hercules’s torso, while the rest make up his arms, legs and head. The brightest globular cluster of stars known to us is the one in Hercules, just within the boundaries of his torso. It can barely be seen with the naked eye but is easily viewed with binoculars or a telescope.

5. Virgo the Maiden or Virgin is “behind” Leo’s tail and “below” Arcturus in Bootes. Virgo is the largest spring constellation and the second largest in all the sky. Spica is a very beautiful and bright star in Virgo, made even more outstanding by the fact that no other bright stars are near it in this section of the heavens. Virgo’s head is by the back end of Leo, Spica marks her left hand, and her legs and feet are below Bootes--try to picture a woman floating in space on her back.

6. Corona Borealis is a tightly grouped constellation between Hercules and Bootes that looks like a big “C” in the heavens. Corona Borealis is a crown of jewels and certainly does look like one. Its seven stars are by no means as dazzling as say Spica or Arcturus, but they are distinct enough for you to see a crown. The area of Corona Borealis is worth a look with your binoculars, as it is a gorgeous spring constellation.