In Depth |
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Here we see the constellation names, with a few
bright stars labeled. One thing to look for
are the colors of stars; one of the square
stars in Pegasus is orange, the others a
uniform blue white. Try looking with
binoculars; while you're at it, be sure to look
for the Andromeda Galaxy M31.
The Pleiades (M45) are wonderful binocular targets as well; while these stars are often referred to as the "seven sisters", only six are easily naked eye visible, leading to speculation that one may have faded slightly since classical times. How many can you spot? A little hunting will show you other constellations: Aries has a bright star (Hamal), and is due south of Andromeda; just next to it is the diminutive trio of stars marking Triangulum (the triangle).
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In the darkest skies, you might spy another large galaxy lurking there, M33. The Zodiac star groups of Pisces and Aqaurius stretch west from Aries, but these are hardly obvious if you live in the city and will take practice to find. Two of the most obscure constellations can be seen (barely) to the east and west of Cassiopeia's "W": Camelopardalis the giraffe, and tiny Lacerta the lizard.
The far north offers a few interesting targets, including the north star (Polaris) and the curving snaky form of Draco the dragon in the northwest. On the opposite horizon, faint star groups like Sculptor (the Sculptor, duh) and Fornax (his furnace for firing clay) are hard to spot but are favorites of serious amateurs with larger telescopes because of the many distant galaxies that lurk thereabouts.
Fortunately, our constellation feature is easy to find: Perseus, the hero of ancient Greek myths. Many of the constellations of this time of year figure in his story: Andromeda is his girlfriend, Cassiopeia and Cepheus are the in-laws, Pegasus is his preferred mode of transportation, and Cetus is a sea monster that once gave Perseus a bad time. To find our hero himself, look for the "W" of Cassiopeia high overhead. Turn yourself so that Cassie looks like a "W" and not an "M", and then simply scoot your view to the left. You'll know you've struck paydirt when you see Mirfak, a bright white star at the top of Perseus. Mirfak is attended by a swarm of smaller stars that make an elongated oval in the sky. To find out more about Perseus, click on our constellation feature heading.
Remember, planets are not shown on this chart - for information about them, see our "planets this month" section.
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