Where to find constellations in the sky

The easiest constellation to find is the Little Dipper. Usually constellations have stories of how they came to be in the sky.

The god, Zeus, sent them into the night sky to be together forever. The brightest stars in this constellation are Castor and Pollux and are part of the head of the twins. Here is a video talking about the legend of Gemini the Twins Castor and Pollux , and how to find it easily in the night sky. This is a good constellation to find in the spring. Those looking for Leo will start by looking for a backwards question mark in the sky. The bottom of the pattern is marked by Regulus.

Leo is easiest to find when you can hop there from the Big Dipper. Receive news, sky-event information, observing tips, and more from Astronomy's weekly email newsletter. View our Privacy Policy. By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists.

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Learn about the Moon in a great new book New book chronicles the space program. Dave's Universe Year of Pluto. Groups Why Join? Astronomy Day. The Complete Star Atlas. Constellations can help you sort the twinkling dots scattered across the night sky. Connect the stars to see what deep-sky wonders emerge. The richness of the summer sky is exemplified by the splendor of the Milky Way.

Stretching from the northern horizon in Perseus, through the cross-shaped constellation Cygnus overhead, and down to Sagittarius in the south, the Milky Way is packed with riches. These riches include star clusters, nebulae, double stars, and variable stars. I f you're a newcomer to amateur astronomy, eager to begin exploring the night sky, you'll have to overcome one of astronomy's biggest hurdles — learning to identify the constellations.

After all, you can't find the Andromeda Galaxy if you can't find Andromeda. Trying to make sense of those myriad stellar specks overhead might seem intimidating, but making friends with the stars needn't be a "mission impossible. Even on that first day, you probably made a few friends. Through them, and with your day-to-day exposure to the classroom, you gradually became acquainted with all of your classmates.

Learning the constellations is like that. With a little help from your friends easy-to-find guidepost constellations and a willingness to "show up for class" on successive nights, you'll soon feel comfortable in your nighttime surroundings. So relax. It's time to go to school and meet some new friends!

North circumpolar constellations We begin in the northern sky, realm of those always-visible star groups known as the north circumpolar constellations. These bright stars — four forming the "bowl," three more tracing out the "handle" — create one of the most recognizable patterns in the night sky, an ideal guide for locating surrounding constellations.

As any good Boy or Girl Scout will attest, you can find Polaris , the North Star, by tracing a line between the stars Dubhe and Merak at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper and extending it about five times the distance between them.

Its stars are also faint and relatively hard to see. Also it kind of looks like a pitcher pouring water if you squint hard enough at it. Ah, the Gemini. The story goes that they were once the twins Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda.

It also is one of the best-known constellations. The belt is one of the easiest to spot asterisms, with its three bright stars. Finding the belt and those two stars is enough to pinpoint the constellation. But on clear, dark nights you can see the full constellation looks like a man holding a bow, from which it takes its name. Orion is said to have been a giant, superbly gifted hunter, and son of Poseidon — because all Greek gods liked to sleep around to some degree.

He often hunted with Artemis the goddess of the hunt and once boasted he will kill every animal on the planet. The scorpion killed the hunter, which is the reason why Orion and Scorpius are said to never be visible at the same time. The mythos further says that Orion was revived by Ophiuchus the serpent bearer which is why this constellation comes between Orion and Scorpius. While duking it out with Orion, Zeus saw that the scorpion fought fiercely and was impressed by its courage.

So he rewarded the animal by lifting him up to the stars. Antares is the brightest star and probably the easiest to spot. The Taurus is large and distinctive during winter months. Taurus is actually one of the first constellations recognized by humans.

Western cultures probably had it passed down from the ancient Greeks, either from the story of Zeus who would turn into a bull to — surprise, surprise — seduce women without his wife finding out or from the 7th labor of Hercules.

Auriga, the Charioteer. Cancer, the Crab. Cassiopeia, the Queen. Cygnus, the Swan. Gemini, the Twins. Leo, the Lion. Libra, the Scales. Lyra, the Harp. Orion, the Hunter.