Silly Question? - How do I know if im facing N/E/S or W?

Question

Ok, so im kind of embarresed about asking this with my whole interest with astronomy, but when ever there is something in the sky i wanna see, i find a constellation to go by - simplay because i cant tell which im facing! hehe

But Ive always wanted to know how can i know whether im facing north east south or west of the night sky without a compass!?

I dont understand!

Thanks in advanced =)

Answer 1

I'm not too sure about constellations but humans can tell the direction north by the nose.

There's a compass in my nose?

All humans have a trace amount of iron in their noses, a rudimentary compass found in the ethmoid bone (between the eyes) to help in directional finding relative to the earth's magnetic field.

Studies show that many people have the ability to use these magnetic deposits to orient themselves-even when blindfolded and removed from such external clues as sunlight-to within a few degrees of the North Pole, exactly as a compass does.

Though no one knows how this "sixth" sense is processed by the brain more then two dozen animals, including the dolphin, tuna, salmon, salamander, pigeon, and honeybee have been found to have similar magnetic deposits in their brains to help them in navigation and migration.

Just some info i found in the web.

Answer 2

You're doing it right.  Navigation by eye in the night sky is a matter of knowing the constellations.  In the Northern hemisphere the star Polaris is directly north.  If you don't have a compass (and sometimes even if you do) the stars are your best reference.  You find Polaris by following two pointer stars from the edge of the cup of the Big Dipper.

During the daytime, if you have an analog watch (the kind with hands), point the hour hand toward the sun.  Then half the angle formed by the hour hand and 12 o' clock on your watch face will be the north-south line.  In the Northern hemisphere, north will be the direction along that line facing away from the sun.

Answer 3

If you face where the sun rises, you are looking east. North will be on your left, south on your right. West will be behind you.

Answer 4

Point the hour hand of your watch at where the Sun is.  If you are in the Northern hemisphere, the '6' points more or less North.

At night, in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the North Star.  That's North.  But day or night, no matter where you are, things rise in the East and set in the West.