How do you tell which stars are which in the night sky?

Question

When I look up, they all look the exact same, no matter where I am, and yet some people can tell where they are based on the stars! How do you tell which is which, and where each constellation is? I live in Ireland, if that matters.

Answer 1

look on the Internet and get a star wheel.  They show constellations for your area and what time it is.  Good Luck

Answer 2

look at them the big ones are dead ppl and the small ones are dead monkeys!

Answer 3

it depends on the pattren of a joint stars i guess ...u cant figure the sort of one star itself withouth a telescope

Answer 4

take an astrology class. go to your local planetarium.

Answer 5

There are patterns in the stars.  It helps to know which way is North before you start.  If you are in the Northern hemisphere, the big dipper is pretty easy to spot.

Not all stars are the same brightness.  Most of the stars of the constellations are the very brightest stars.  But you are right, it can be difficult to determine which ones are brighter than others.  That's where modern cities come in.  With enough light pollution, the only stars you can see are the very brightest.  This can make it much easier.

Link to great free star charts below:

Answer 6

http://www.stellarium.org/

AND

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

These are both great freeware that you can download to answer many questions that you have about the cellestial targets in your sky. These are what I use. Just tell them where you are and they will tell you what you see.

Another good free one is:

http://www.earth.google.com/

But on this one you have to click on the sky feature to see what is in the sky above you.

Enjoy

Answer 7

Sorry Dan you won't learn astrology at a planetarium.

The first thing they will do is tell you why astrology has no scientific basis and invite you do learn astronomy.

Having said that here are two sites which will help you id astronomical objects.

Also if you have the latest version of Google Earth you can download Google Sky.

Answer 8

look at them

Answer 9

Learn them.

Get a Sky chart, or do like I do, go outside with a laptop, start up stellarium, and just look up.

I usually find a constellation I've known since I was a kid, either the big dipper or orion, and use that as a guide point for the rest of the constellations and stars around it. Also, the ecliptic is a good tool to use as well. It's a line across the sky that has all the zodiac sign constellations.

After a while, you'll start to expect to see stars, constellations, and planets in particular directions. For example (constellation wise), Orion is usually in the southeast, the big dipper is more northwesterly, etc etc (depending on the time of the year).

Answer 10

Alot of peolple have this problem and it takes a long time before you can just whip out the names of each star and find constellations. I would go online or to a book store and get a star chart, then you can adjust it so the date matches up with the time (it should have directions). Or you could go to a local astronomical society (astronomy club) and they will help you and have 'star parties' where you go out all night and just look at the stars. Most people will have telescopes that they will let you use and some might have good enough ones that you can see deep space objects. You basically find stars based on other stars location. What I do is: first, I can't easily find the north star, so I try to find the big dipper (ursa major) and then I find the two stars that form the far side of the dipper, then I make a line straight from it and you will find the north star about 45-50% up. (I usually can't find it AT ALL). You could get a telescope or binoculars and look up, and if you think they are different then you would be wrong. You might be able to notice color changes and 'flickering'. A good example is in the Orion Constellation. It looks like a hunter, the most recognizable part is three close stars togehter (Orions Belt). The right and down star is Rigel, a young blue-white star. And the up and left is Betelguse, an old red star. Hope this helped, e-mail me if you have any other questions.

Answer 11

You use maps and charts. You get to know your way around. With time they become old friends.

Answer 12

Like an electronic circuit diagram,the stars look in complicated patterns for a new observer.There are systamatic observing technics using star charts(Maps).

Spend few night observing stars.Lot of information available in the form of books,inetrnet.Sky and telescope.com is a good website for begners.

Once you star t ,all stars will become your friends and family members(so familiar)

Answer 13

Stars differ in brightness, color and location on the sky. Polaris is close to the north celestial pole and the whole sky rotates around it. Polaris is always due north and people in the norther hemisphere have used Polaris and the Big Dipper as both a clock and a means to navigate at night. The rest of the constellations have distinctive shapes or patterns of stars, at least from a dark site. Light polluted sites will hide the fainter constellations or some of their stars and make them less visible. Star atlases will help you identify and recognize stars and constellations, and so will a handy little device called a planisphere. Take the month, day and local time and it will show you which stars and constellations are visible. There are many software programs that will do the same thing for any location on Earth, and they will also plot the locations of celestial objects from bright stars all the way to quasars. The more you observe the sky, the more you are familiar with the stars and constellations. It won't take long for you to familiarize yourself with the major constellations and bright stars.

Answer 14

I'm with suitti....it's all in the patterns. If you can learn to recognize even one constellation (and the "Big Dipper" is a great choice) you can learn to "Star-Hop".

Another good choice for a start is Orion because his "belt" is so easy to find and "he" will follow close to the path of the sun and moon in the sky. (the ecliptic). This "path" is also shared by all the planets so you know where to look for a "guest" star that will "travel" along the "Zodiac" of Astrology fame, which is also near the ecliptic.

Below is a primer using  Orion to find the Pleiades, or the "Seven Sisters" who befriend Orion and keep him company. I find it very helpful to learn and appreciate the mythological "stories" associated with major constellations. Orion is "the Hunter" and above and to the "left" of him is Aldeberon (which means "eye of the bull" in Arabic).  The bull (Tarus) is bearing down on him and after a while you will notice that his "eye" really is red and large (because it's a red giant).    

Also at Orions "heels" is his faithful hound Siruis, which is the brightest star in our sky. Again, after a while your eyes and brain will be able to see that it's  indeed "blue", because it's a blue giant.

Or....you could just keep looking up, make up your own stories based on YOUR life and pass them down to your children:) The most important thing is to get out there and spend time with the stars. Make them your friends, let them tell YOU who they are. Your brain will be helping you make connections and recognize patterns even without you knowing it.

A good book might help too, for daytime. There are some great, colorful and fun ones out there for beginners.

And by the way. You don't need to know ALL the names of all the stars, few do. Most people have their favorites and knowing even some will "amaze and amuse your (human)friends" as my Astronomy Prof used to say. Thank-You Prof M :)