The Milky Way visible above a forest on a clear night
Learning the star constellations in the night sky is a superb way to get into stargazing and learn more about the incredible universe we find ourselves in. I bought a telescope about two years ago and since then have enjoyed many a night under the stars observing the moon and planets. Spotting galaxies however is harder — many are so dim that they appear like stars, or can’t be located with the naked eye at all. Having a detailed knowledge of where they are positioned in the sky in relation to the stars around them can help you centre them in the scope much faster.
It’s also a great way to nerd out and impress your friends (or date).
Here’s how I did it.
Step 1: Find a good star map
You’ll need a good interactive star map to be able to both learn the shapes of the constellations and test yourself. I love https://stellarium-web.org/, which uses a fish-eye technique to emulate what the sky above your location would look like on a clear night. You can also set it to specific dates and times.
Along the bottom of Stellarium are important tools that we’ll need later. Find the “Constellations” and “Constellation Art” buttons (the first and second buttons respecitvely at time of writing). Turn Constellations on and Constellation Art off.
Step 2: Choose your starting point
Find a star or constellation that you already know, or will be able to identify in the night sky. Don’t choose the moon or a planet since these move rapidly from night-to-night in relation to the stars around them. In the northern hemipshere, I would highly recommend Polaris, or the North Star. This can be identified by first finding the Big Dipper, which itself it not a constelltion but rather a part of Ursa Major. Imagining the Big Dipper as a large pan with a long handle, trace from the edge of the pan furthest from the handle directly upwards, a distance about five times the height of the pan. You will hit Polaris. Polaris itself is part of the Ursa Minor constellation.
Before you go further, make sure you can identify this constellation and Polaris in the real night sky on a clear night. It’s important to understand how what you see in Stellaris will look in the real world.
Knowing how to locate Polaris in the sky also means you can now find North without using a compass, a useful life skill :)
One other star worth considering at this stage is Arcturus. It’s the brightest in the northen hemipsphere and often one of the first to be visible. By default, it’s always labelled in Stellaris along with the planets and a couple of the other bright stars.
Step 3: Put in the hard work
Taking your starting point, it’s time to start slowly adding constellations. This is where Stellaris’ tools come in very handy. If you started with the Big Dipper, now is the time to memorise the rest of Ursa Major. Note that this constellation extends beyond the pan to draw the shape of a bear. Use the Consellation Art tool to see how this looks. Once you have an image of the constellation in your mind, turn off both Constellations and Constellation Art and trace Ursa Major on the screen.
Once you’ve done this a couple of times, go away from Stellaris and come back later in the day. Without reactiving Constellation, trace the shape. Once you can do it without needing to use the Constellation tool, you’re ready to move onto the next constellation.
Work outwards from Ursa Major, chosing the next closest or most distinct constellation each time. Memorise them one at a time, at a rate of 1–2 a day, being sure that you regularly come back to Stellaris to review all the constellations you’ve learned so far. Practice in the real night sky whenever you get a chance.
I’d recommend the following order for the first few consellations:
- Ursa Major
- Ursa Minor
- Draco
- Cepheus
- Cassiopeia
- Andromeda
Since our closest galaxy, Andromeda, appears within the constellation Andromeda, this will quickly get you to the point that you can locate it in the night sky and train your scope on it.
From here, continue working outwards in a circular pattern until you’ve learned them all.
Enjoy :)