Polaris and me

Looking into the night sky in the northern hemisphere our major signpost is Polaris.

When you know the pointer stars, it is easy to find, it lays due north, whatever your location in the Northern hemisphere. If you were to take a line from your position down to the centre of the earth, and then continue that line at 90º from the centre of the earth it would meet up with Polaris. This is a constant, no matter what latitude you are from 0º to 90º

Knowing your latitude will allow you to set up your viewing instrument to that angle, in the picture above the location is 45º therefore by setting the incline of your telescope, Polaris will be viewed at 45º in a Northerly direction.

(The reverse method was used by sailors to calculate their latitude on the open seas, using a sextant, they took the angle of degrees of Polaris above the horizon, there was their latitude in the northern hemisphere)

Below is another way of finding Polaris, look north for the Plough, or Big Dipper two of the pan stars furthest from the handle, will lead a slight arc line to Polaris on through to the distinctive "W" formation of Cassiopeia

The orientation around the stars will be dependant on the time of viewing.

Remember that stars rotate anti-clockwise around Polaris

So to recap, we have covered Latitude, and it's relation with our Pole star Polaris. How it can be used crudely for navigation given both northerly direction and latitude above the equator.

Finally how by looking further out, it's relationship with both The Plough and Cassiopeia

Stars in the Skies

Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ-MD

In my early days, just like all kids, the sky used to be a fascination, some nights there would be only the brightest of stars shining in the darkness, and then as if by magic, another night their would be too many to count. Like most other kids, once gripped by the wonders of the night skies, it leaves a little nagging voice in your head.

Having grown up with the Patrick Moore Sky at Night programmes, the depth of stars displayed in my sky was only a fraction of the wonderment they lay out there.

Over the many years that followed, in all the changes in my life and those around me, the moon still appears, and the stars pick their moments to share their wonder and beauty. There is still that wonderment on those clear night skies away from the light pollution of the towns and cities, our solar system.

So join me as I share what I learn, and how to remain in awe of the greatest light show ever seen from this planet.

There is wealth of technical and factual information to budding enthusiasts, available for all on the Internet. I will share my own personal learning of the stars and planets.

Growing up as a kid, there was the Apollo space programme, which saw man/men stand on the moon, followed by such things as the Shuttle missions. This will be my only acknowledgement to what has been sent into space by mankind, from now on it is just the stars, planets, and all those wonderful heavenly bodies.

Points of interest

• I live in the Northern Hemisphere at a Latitude of 51º North.
• Polaris is the pivotal star for the Northern hemisphere
• For me this lies due North, as it will for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere
• It is not directly above me, it is 51º above the horizon
• Deg Latitude = Deg Polaris is above the horizon
• Those in the Southern Hemisphere have a less obvious "Signpost" 
• For those that live South of the equator I will learn and share with you in a future blog

If there are tips you wish to share with me, feel free to include me on any posts on twitter  rod1871@twitter.com

Tonight there will be no star gazing, cloud fills the sky tonight, and the next few nights look the same, so for now it is back to learning, and in the next blog I will talk about "Pointer stars as we begin to map out the night sky.

Remember, you can still enjoy these wonders with the naked eye, but looking deeper costs money, it is up to you where you want to go with your own interest and budget.