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Branches of Astronomy

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As currently discussed, astronomy is divided right into 2 branches: astronomy of observation and academic astronomy

Monitoring astronomy concentrates on obtaining info and also assessing information using the fundamental physical principles. Academic astronomy is oriented to the growth of analytical computer system designs to define things as well as expensive sensations.

Both fields of astronomy enhance each other, to ensure that theoretical astronomy is accountable for seeking a description for the outcomes of astronomy monitoring.

Also, empirical astronomy is used to confirm the results offered by theoretical astronomy (Physics, 2015).

Starting astronomers have contributed many crucial expensive explorations. By doing this, astronomy is thought about one of the few sciences where beginning researchers could play an active and essential function, especially in the discovery and also observation of transient phenomena (Daily, 2016).

Observation Astronomy.

Observation astronomy is the field of astronomy that concentrates on the direct study of stars, earths, galaxies and also any kind of kind of celestial sphere of deep space.

For this field, astronomy makes use of the telescope, nevertheless, the first astronomers observed the celestial spheres with no aid.

The modern-day constellations were developed by the initial astronomers from the monitoring of the evening sky. In this means, 5 earths of the solar system were recognized (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) as well as the modern-day constellations were proposed.

Modern telescopes (reflectors and also refractors) were created to expose in better information exactly what could be discovered with the naked eye (California, 2002).

Theoretical Astronomy

Academic astronomy is the branch of astronomy that permits to assess the method which the systems have actually progressed.

Unlike numerous various other areas of scientific research, astronomers can not observe any kind of system totally from the moment it is born to the one that dies. The beginning of worlds, stars as well as galaxies go back to millions (even billions) of years back.

For that reason, astronomers need to depend on pictures of celestial spheres in various evolutionary states to determine how they were created, advanced, as well as died.

In this method, academic astronomy has the tendency to mingle with monitoring, as it takes information from it to produce simulations.

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Winter Constellations in the Northern Hemisphere

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A lot of people prefer to be indoors during the cold winter nights. In most cases, you will find people turning on the heater and wrapping themselves in a blanket. Well, star gazers in the northern hemisphere tend to defy this trend as this is the period in which some of the most beautiful constellations are visible. Other than being appealing to the eyes, these winter constellations usually drag along interesting stories with them. Here are three mythologies behind four constellations that will make you join the rest of the star gazers next winter.

Cancer (Scorpion)

While you can see this constellation from the late autumn months to the spring months, those in the southern hemisphere will see it during the summer months. It is usually upside down in the southern hemisphere. Its brightest star is Altaf. Other than the fact that the tropic of cancer got its name from this constellation, the Greek mythology behind it will amaze you. It got its story from Hercules, the son of Zeus. When he found out that his step-mom, Hera, was trying to kill him, he got furious and killed six of her sons. Once he recovered from his fury, he felt sorry and asked Hera to punish him for this act. She sent him to King Eurystheus, who was to give him some tasks to do. One of his tasks was to kill the Hydra, a serpent which had multiple heads. Despite the snake trying to distract him with some Scorpions, he was able to kill it. As a sign of honour, Hera sent the scorpions to the stars.

Leo (Lion)

In the northern hemisphere, you can see it between January and June. In the southern hemisphere, you ought to look for it in the summer months. Its brightest star is Regulus. Similar to the cancer constellation, it derives its story to that of Hercules and Hera. As part of his first task, King Eurystheus sent Hercules to the city of Nemea where he was to kill a lion that had been tormenting the people of this city. To his surprise, the lion had a golden fur that deflected any arrow that he shot during the first attempt to kill it. In the second attempt, Hercules covered the entrances of the lion’s lair and beat it to death with a club. The lion was later placed in the sky as the Leo constellation.

Gemini (Twins)

While having the most intriguing story ever, you can find this winter constellation between winter and spring in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, look for it during the summer months where it will be upside down. Its brightest stars are Pollux and Castor, which are named after the twins of the queen of Sparta. Apparently, the two twins were from different fathers with Castor being the immortal son of the king of Sparta. Pollux, on the other hand, was the son of Zeus. Despite their differences, the two twins grew fond of each other with people referring to the Dioscuri. However, they had a feud with some other twins in a different land which resulted in the death of Castor. To reunite the two twins, Zeus sent his son, Pollux, to the skies to live with his twin brother.

Orion (the Hunter)

While you can see this constellation from spring to winter in the northern hemisphere, those in the southern hemisphere will see it during the summer months in an upside down position. Its brightest star is Rigel. The Greek named this constellation after a giant hunter whom Zeus sent to the stars upon death. Orion, the son of Poseidon, could walk on water. At a particular time, he walked on water to the Island of Chios and killed the daughter of the ruler of the island in a drunken stupor. In retaliation, the ruler blinded him. However, Helios healed him later. After this, he boasted that he would kill the entire creature on the earth to showcase his hunting skills. The earth’s goddess, Gaia, sent a scorpion to attack him to prevent him from killing the earth’s creatures. In the battle, the Scorpion ended up killing Orion. The ancient Greek refers to this constellation as Orion who is defending himself against the Taurus the bull constellation which is nearby.

With great appeals and breathtaking stories, these winter constellations have given star gazer in the northern hemisphere something to smile about during winter. You too can give yourself a reason to smile during next winter by looking at them.

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Summer Constellation

by Posted in Constellations

There are many misconceptions and myths about the constellations such as the story of the monsters and gods, tales of villains and heroes and many other stories about their legends. The universe consists of constellations that are very important on a daily basis. Summer constellations occur between eighteen hours and zero hours at the right of ascension. They are seventeen in number that falls in this constellation. The famous once are Aquarius, Sagittarius, Lyra and Cygnus.

Aquarius

Aquarius is typically referred to as the water breaker, Aquarius traits. This summer constellation has three primary messier objects; messier object two, Messier objects seventy-two, Messier object seventy-three. M-2 is about ten in diameter and is very bright. The objects are usually concentrated at the centre. M-72 is smaller than M-2 and is around 6-8 in diameter. It is moderately bright, and its concentration is at the centre. M-73 is typically referred to as the most disappointing object. It is y in shape and has four stars that are not gravitational to each other.

Cygnus

It is usually referred to as the swan. It has two mainly messier objects; M-39 and M-29. M-39 is very impressive open cluster when seen through binoculars. It is very bright and large that stand very well from the back ground. It is triangular, and the stars are not concentrated at the centre. M-29, when seen through the binoculars, is a diamond in shape and very small in size. It has a group of six to eight stars that are concentrated to each other in a nice field.

Sagittarius

It is usually referred to as Archer. It generally occurs in the month of June, August, and early September. It is known as “tea pot” because of its shape in stars according to the modern observers. It is seen in the dark because the stars are relative. Observers from the southern hemisphere have a better view because it usually flies over head. It has five main messier objects; M-8, m-20, M-17, M-22 and M-24.

M-8 is one of the finest open clusters in the combinations at the sky because it is scattered, large and lies on the edge of swirling large clouds. It can be seen by the binoculars and also through the naked eyes. M-20 is moderate in size and rather faintly when observed through a telescope. The stars are surrounded by a path light nearly one centimetre apart from each other. This type of messier object can be seen clearly in the north.

M-17 is usually referred to as omega and most favourite list in the Sagittarius to many observers. The stars generally form a curving arc that is connected to a straight path.  Photographs can only the smaller region of the large part. M-22 can be seen clearly in the northern latitudes; it is about 15-20 centimetres in diameter. The stars are loosely gathered and are second to omega because of its larger size and beauty. M-24 can be viewed easily by binoculars and consists of many countless stars that are connected by a dark path.

Lyra

Lyra is sometimes referred to as the harp because the observers using binoculars usually enjoy. It has two primary messier objects; M-57 and M-56. M-57 is the popular Lyra to many modern observers because of its ring shape. It is very bright that it can be seen in light and air polluted areas. M-56 is moderately bright and about 5 centimetres in diameter.  The stars are concentrated at the center. When seen through binoculars it is usually small in size. The other type of Lyra is the delta Lyra which is a double star, easy to split and very wide.

Other types of summer constellations are Aquila which is referred to as the eagle, Capricornus the sea goat, the Cepheus king of Ethiopia, Sagitta the Arrow, Scutum the shield, Vulpecula the little folks, Pegasus the flying horse, Delphinus, the dolphin. All these types of summer constellations are different in size and can be viewed differently in telescopes. They appear differently during the month of summer.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, summer constellations are fascinating pieces of work. One only need to go outside on a clear night and observe the sky and study them. They are interpreted differently, and many people name them differently. Summer constellation can be studied carefully using the summer triangle. Many cultures understand the anthropology and history differently from other cultures. They use the constellations to explore the astronomy and weather forecast. In the modern days, it is hard to view the summer constellations using the naked eyes because of light and air pollution.  Constellations are also fun to study when it comes to the different zodiac signs and what they mean.

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All You should know about Our solar system

by Posted in General Tagged

Long ago, human being knew very little about the universe except for the sun, moon, and stars which seem to be far away. With the emergence of the lenses, the humans were able to have a more clear image of the universe and more how the universe system. Before the 17th century, people use to believe that the earth was at the center of the universe and all heavenly bodies revolve around it. Later, astronomers were able to prove that the sun was in the center of our solar system. Further research and improvements in lens technology lead to more discoveries and enable us to see the surface of the moon clearly and to discover other new planets like Mercury the Venus. After further research, the scientists discover that each planet which is spherical in nature as another object revolving around it as moons. Some planets have one while others have several. Our universe is estimated to be 4.6 million years old. Other celestial bodies such as comments and asteroids and meteoroids were also discovered. So far, a lot of information has been gathered about our universe.

The sun

This is our immediately star in the located at the centre of our solar system. All the heavenly bodies revolved around it including the planets, asteroids and the comments. It’s surface at a temperature of 2milion degree Celsius which is then transmitted to a whole solar system through radiation process. The sun is big, its size and thermodynamic activities can generate greater gravity to hold our solar stem in position. The sunlight we receive on earth is the radiation that occurs 8 minutes ago on the surface of the sun.

Mercury

Mercury is 70 million kilometres from the sun. Its surface resembles our moon surface; it is shared by many impacts of craters from collisions with meteoroids and comets. Its surface receives a temperature of 430-degree Celsius during the day and drops to -180 during the night since the planet lacks the atmosphere. Traveling at a speed of 50 kilometres per second, mercury goes round the sun in 88 days. Marine 10 is the first spacecraft to the moon.

Venus

Venus and the earth are similar in size, mass, density, composition, and gravity. There is evidence of volcano in its surface around 700 billion years ago. Its atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide and sulphur. Magellan mission was the first spacecraft in its orbit. Venus retrograde (east to west) in its axis and revolve around the sun in 255 days.

Earth

Earth is the 5th largest planet in the solar system with its surface covered by 70% of water. It rotates about its axis causing day and night it takes 365 years to revolve around the sun. The earth is the only planet that supports life in its thin atmosphere. The earth as one mood that orbits it in 28 days.

Mars

This is the most studied planet in the solar system. For decades, people speculate that bright and dark areas are patches of vegetation. There are waters in its poles. Mars is working as two moons, Phoebes and Deimos. It has the largest volcano in the solar system.it are no magnetic fields.

Asteroids

These are a rocky remnant left behind during the formation of the solar system about 4.6 million years ago. Located between Mars and Jupiter. Their size varies from 950 kilometres to 1 kilometre.

Jupiter

This is the largest planet in the solar system. It has 64 known moons including IO, Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto. Its atmosphere is helium and hydrogen.

Saturn

This is the second most lag planet. Saturn as a ring which is 10meters wide consisting billions of individual particles mostly ice. It has 62 moons including Titan, Iapetus, and Phoebe. At Saturn’s centre is a dense core of rock, ice, water, and other compounds made solid by the intense pressure and heat

Uranus

First observed by William Herschel. It rotates like Venus (east-west) It takes 84 years to make a complete revolution. Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium and small traces of methane of water and ammonia. It has 27 known moons including Miranda and Italian. It is 2870 million kilometres from the sun.

Neptune

It is the furthest planet in our universe with 14 moons including Triton. It takes 164 years to orbit the sun.

Kuiper Belt

This is a belt similar to asteroid belt, but it is larger.  It exist beyond Neptune and is a home to draft planets including Pluto and Eris. It is also the source of comments due to collision or passing by a star.

 

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Black Holes – Strange Entities in Space

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Regardless of its name, a black hole is a huge amount of matter and energy, packed up in a small space. They are the most fascinating and weirdest things of the outer space. The density and gravitational force is so strong that nothing, even the light, can escape its attraction.

Formation

Black holes are the cold remnants of big stars. When a star reaches the final stage, it undergoes a massive explosion. As a result of it, most of the matter of the star scatter into space, but a large and cold part is left behind where no more fusion takes place.

In a star, the process of nuclear fusion produces energy and an outward pressure that counter the inward gravitational pull of the star. As a result of the explosion, the cold remnant is left with gravitational pull only. This gravitational pull forces the star to collapse upon it, resulting in an object of large mass and infinite density with zero volume. The high gravitational pull blocks the light in its orbit thus making it a dark star, known as a black hole. The mass of a black hole is ten times the mass of the sun, packed in space equal to a big city. As the light is trapped in their orbit, hence, black holes are not visible. However, there are other methods scientists use to detect its presence. Special tools are used to find black holes with the help of space telescopes. These special tools help to study how stars around black holes act differently as compared to other stars.

Structure

Black holes have complex structure and properties that are difficult to understand. The main structure of it is described here. A black hole consists of two layers important to be mentioned:

  1. Event Horizon

The event horizon is the point that makes the boundary around the mouth of black holes. The event horizon is that point which a particle once cross can never go back.

  1. Singularity

It is the single point where all the mass of the black hole is concentrated, and the space-time curvature becomes infinite.

Types

Black holes vary in sizes. According to the scientist the smallest black hole can be of the size of an atom, but with the amount of mass equal to a giant mountain. The gravitational pull makes it shrink in size despite large mass. There are three types of black holes according to their sizes:

  1. Supermassive Black Holes

These are the largest and are usually found in the centres of galaxies. Our Milky Way also has a supermassive black hole. Scientists are still completely not sure of their formation process, but according to the theory, they were formed during the formation of galaxies. As they are placed in the centre of galaxies, between tightly

 

packed stars and gas clouds, they continue eating up the matter and growing up. There is another theory that they might have formed as a result of merging of thousands of tiny black holes together.

  1. Steller Black Holes

These are the ones formed as a result of massive star collapse. They usually have a mass of three times of sun or even more than that packed in a big city-sized area. Hence the gravitational pull is very strong. They also consume dust and gases from nearby galaxies.

  1. Miniature Black Holes

Although none of their kind has been discovered yet, scientist believed them to be formed as a result of the Big Bang. As per the theory, they have a small mass, even less than the sun.

History

Though the term “Black Hole” was coined by John Wheeler in 1967 and the first was discovered in 1971, the

concept is much older than that. John Michelle was the first one to propose something resembling a Black Hole in 1783-84, but the theory was proved to be wrong later on. However, the theory of General Relativity, developed by Albert Einstein in 1915, describes a lot about the Black Hole phenomenon and is widely accepted by modern

scientists.

Danger to Earth

One might wonder whether Earth has some danger from these Black Holes or not? Well, the fact is that there is no black hole near earth close enough. Even if a black hole replaces the sun, still its gravitational force will be equal to what the sun has now. The earth can cancel out its gravitational force just the way it does to the sun and will keep orbiting around it. However, the sun is not a star big enough to turn into a black hole.

Misconceptions

Where the world of fiction has helped people understanding the concept of black holes through the move, there prevail some misconceptions about it as well. The concept of tunnels and wormholes that take you rapidly through space and time do not evidently exist in reality.

 

A Brief History of NASA

by Posted in Overview

At this day, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is undoubtedly the leading civilian agency of the world in space exploration. The journey from its birth to today carries a series of incidents behind it. Through its robotic spacecraft, it has studied the various areas and aspects of earth, visited other planets, imaged the various wavelengths of the universe, etc. It has to lead the astronauts to reveal the cosmos of space, built International Space Station, set foot on the moon and much more. We know a lot about the various contributions NASA has made to space exploration, but many are unaware of how the agency came into being.

Creation

It will not be wrong to say that the establishment of NASA was the need of that time. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were still in the competition. Though the war had stopped, it was still there in the form of cold war between them. On October 4, 1957, Soviet Union launched their first satellite in space, Sputnik I, to orbit around the earth. The basketball sized satellite weighed 183 pounds and took 98 minutes to complete its orbit. The US who were at the front of technology were taken aback with shock at this launch. By launching the satellite, Soviet became a threat for them as with this technology; it might be able to send nuclear missiles to the US.

Just after one month, on November 3, 1957, they launched another satellite, Sputnik II, with a dog, Laika, into it. The America sped up their efforts and finally launched their first successful satellite in space, Explorer I, on January 31, 1958. On July 29, 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, giving birth to the new agency and disestablishing the old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. However, it started operating on October 1, 1958. It had to be the federal space agency to conduct non-military space activities.

Objectives

Following were the objectives stated in section 102 of the Space Act:

  • To expand human knowledge about the atmospheric and space phenomenon.
  • To improve the performance, safety, usefulness, efficiency and speed of aeronautical and space aircraft.
  • Developing and operate vehicles capable enough to carry equipment, instruments, supplies and living organisms in space.
  • Establishing long-ranged studies to get benefit from aeronautical and space activities, for peaceful purposes.
  • To preserve the role of US as the leader in aeronautics and space science and technology, and application of the knowledge to conduct experiments inside and outside the atmosphere for peaceful purposes.

Initial Achievements

During the first twenty years of its creation, NASA conducted the following important programs:

  • Human space flight initiatives to explore whether a human can survive in space or not.
  • Robotic missions to Moon, Venus, Mars and few outer planets.
  • Astronautic researchers to improve the efficiency, reliability, speed and safety of air transport.
  • Remote-sensing earth satellites.
  • Application satellites to communicate and for weather monitoring.
  • Establishment of Skylab, an orbital workshop for astronauts.
  • Development of space shuttle, which a reusable spacecraft to travel to and from earth’s orbit.

Project Mercury

The first high profile project of NASA to involve human spaceflight was projected mercury.it was to determine whether humans can survive in space or not. Alan B. Shephard Jr. gained the privilege to be the first American to fly in space on May 5, 1962. He was sent on a 15 minutes suborbital mission in his mercury capsule. On February 20, 1962, John H. Glenn Jr. orbit the earth, being the first US astronaut to do so. The project mercury went successfully with successful earth orbiting and then retrieving the astronauts back to earth safely.

Moon Landing Conspiracy

On May 25, 1961, the speech of President John F. Kennedy motivated the NASA astronauts to carry out the project Apollo to set foot on Earth’s moon. Among one of the many privileges NASA has, is to send a first human, Neil Armstrong, to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969, in Apollo 11. But his “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” gained the status of a big controversy for almost 40 years. It was claimed Apollo program, and the five other manned moon landing was faked by NASA. Various individuals have claimed that no astronauts have walked on the moon, rather it has been faked to mislead people to win the space war by the US and to get increased funds for NASA.

These conspiracies remained in hot debate for almost four decades, until 2012, when the high definition photos of Apollo sites taken from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) were released. The photos showed the erected American flag on five out of six sites, placed there by the astronauts of Apollo missions.  The flag of Apollo 11 was accidentally blown over due to rocket take off and lay on the surface of the moon.

 

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Astronomy

by Posted in General, Overview Tagged ,

What is astronomy?

Astronomy is the science of celestial objects, the space, and the universe as a whole. Astronomy studies the sun and the moon, along with the stars, comets, galaxies, dust, planets, gas, and all other bodies or phenomena that is non-Earthly. Astronomy has been around since the ancient times. For example, in 200 B.C. the Babylonians are known to of documented the positions of many stars and predicted events that would take place on earth. Astronomy is used in physics, mathematics, and chemistry, to help explain the evolution, origin, and phenomena of the object. Astronomy is split into two categories: observational and theoretical. Observational astronomy is when data is acquired from observing astronomical objects. Theoretical astronomy is the development of the computer models that describe astronomical phenomena. One cannot be used without the other due to the fact that one confirms the results of the other. In the beginning, astronomy was used to help predict that objects that could be seen moving. These observations are how we came about having seasons, when the right time is to plant a certain crop and understand the year and why some are longer. That also has explained the motion of the planets along with the Sun and Moon. At that time the Sun and Moon we believed to rotate around the Earth. Astronomy was used to estimate the size and the distance of the Sun and Moon.

What kind of astronomers study stars?

A stellar astronomer is an astronomer who studies the sun and stars. Stellar astronomers study how stars get their light and what they are made of. Stars are used to help determine the distance in the universe. They study novas and supernovas which are stars that just suddenly brighten. One problem stellar astronomers have a hard time in this field is the distance from Earth to the closest star. Many astronomers have helped in the documentation of stars throughout history. A well-known Polish astronomer is Nicolas Copernicus the reason is he discovered that the Sun is the center of the universe instead of the Earth. An astronomer named Hipparchus documented 1020 stars and almost all the constellations in the northern hemisphere. The number of stars in the universe will always change. The naked eye is thought to be able to see about 6,000 stars on an average night. The northern hemisphere the number dramatically drops to 3,000. The reason this is because of no matter where you are you are never going to see the whole sky. Another well-known astronomer is Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille he documented 9,766 stars in just eleven months. He invented fourteen constellations that are still recognized today but are made from very faint stars. One that is still seen in the sky today is the Air Pump that he created around 1750. This constellation is now known as Pump. Although believed to be the same stars and constellations are very different. Stars are balls of plasma that lets off light because of nuclear fusion and its gravity holds it together. A constellation is a group of stars that have a certain region in the sky and create an image if created by a line.  A star moves, unlike a constellation.

What are constellations?

Constellations are a group of stars that are in a pattern. They usually represent mythological gods or creatures, animals, or manufactured devices. Over 2500 years ago the Greeks identified the first constellation. Constellations vary from night to night due to the rotation of Earth allowing them to be used to help determine a season. Constellations have changed in size and shapes through the years and others have disappeared while others are only used by certain cultures. There are eighty-eight constellations that are named and most known. The largest constellation is Hydra; it is named after the multi-headed sea serpent that Hercules encounters. The most known constellation is called the Ursa Major which contains the Big Dipper. The constellations are separated into the southern and northern sky. The constellations in the northern sky are from Classic Greek legends. The southern constellations are modern inventions. Each constellation is different in size and shape. After the telescope astronomers have documented so that they can be used to navigate in the 14th to 16th century by sea travelers. Around the Milky Way is a dark cloud constellation that looks to be an emu. There are twelve constellations that are known as the zodiac signs that date back to prehistory. Although believed to be the same stars and constellations are very different. Stars are balls of plasma that lets off light because of nuclear fusion and its gravity holds it together. A constellation is a group of stars that have a certain region in the sky and create an image if created by a line. A star moves, unlike a constellation.

What is the relationship between constellations and the zodiac signs?

The zodiac signs are the constellations that mark the path the sun travels throughout the year. The zodiac signs use to align with the sun. For example, Aries is the zodiac sign for March 21 through April 19 which would mean the sun would appear in this sign through these dates. This has changed because of the way that we have determined the time, such as a year is 364 days and not 364.25 days. Also, the signs are not equal signs and shape. Most of the today’s constellations are more known to the Greek culture. Although we only use twelve zodiac signs there are actually thirteen signs that the sun travels through. The thirteen signs are:

  • Capricorn
  • Aquarius
  • Pisces
  • Aries
  • Taurus
  • Gemini
  • Cancer
  • Leo
  • Virgo
  • Libra
  • Scorpio
  • Ophiuchus
  • Sagittarius

The thirteenth sign is known as the Ophiuchus, or the Serpent Bearer, it sits between Sagittarius and Scorpius. The zodiac signs are great to help understand the orbits of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. The zodiac signs are all based on of Earth bound elements such as air (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius), fire (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius), water (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces), and earth (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn).

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The Top 10 Biggest Constellations

by Posted in Constellations, General

As a navigation tool and a spiritual guide in the ancient times, the constellations are a reminder that the night sky and stars are the big sources of knowledge and mysteries. Every one of the constellations has its special meaning, shape, visibility, stars within them that are highly important, place in the universe and a beautiful folklore story behind them. Use your eyes and observe the night sky to find the mysterious and unique beauty of the constellations and the stars within them. How to find them in the sky? Which are the biggest constellations?

What are constellations?

For constellations to be described simply, you should know that they are a group of particular stars together in one place as patterns of imagination on the celestial sphere. In Latin, the word for constellation has the meaning of a ‘’group of stars’’.

They always have a special spiritual explanation behind them. Many of them through history represented kinds of animals, a mythological creature, a mythological person or gods. Today, the real purpose of the constellations is discovered, they help people to find about stars and how to differentiate them.

Really dark and highly clear sky can give you the chance to see from 1500 to 2000 different stars. That many stars in one place are hard to difference. Because of that, the constellations allow you to differentiate the stars better by breaking manageable bits of the stars up in the sky. Giving you a star atlas of the sky with grouping the stars by its belonging

Aside from the clear and dark sky, different constellations can be seen in different parts of the year, different seasons and months, and some of them can be seen only on a specific hemisphere of the Earth.

 

The top 10 biggest constellations

 

Astronomers spent many years researching the sky, the stars, and their grouping into constellations, finding and ranking the constellations that are the biggest. Every one of the constellations has a name based on the form on the sky their form.

The top 10 biggest constellations are:

  • The Hydra, also known as The Sea Serpent. Not only this constellation is the biggest but also is the largest in the sky space.
  • The Virgo, or known as The Virgin.
  • The Ursa Major, known as The Great Bear. Highly popular and known among people, its name comes from the fact that the shape on the sky formed by this constellation looks like a bear.
  • Cetus, also known as The Whale or as The Sea Monster. Forming a whale shape in the sky gave the name of this constellation.
  • The Hercules constellation, fifth in ranking and known as The Hero Hercules. This name comes from the shape in the sky like a warrior that holds a sword in the hand, looking like the mythological half god Hercules.
  • Eridanus also known as The River Eridanus. The stars in these constellations, one by one in a line, are forming a shape as the river Eridanus.
  • Pegasus or The Winged Horse. The amazing and breathtaking constellation that got its name from the fact that the stars in the constellations form a beautiful winged horse.
  • The Draco or known as The Dragon. The stars contained in this constellation form a huge dragon on the sky.
  • The Centaurus, also known by its other name The Centaur. This constellation forms a mythological creature in the sky, half person, and half a horse.
  • And the tenth constellation based by its bigness is Aquarius known as The Water Bearer. Similar as The Centaur, this constellation also gives a mythological form on the sky, creating an Aquarius.

 

How to find constellations in the sky?

Knowing the names and placement of the constellations on the sky and the specific shapes they form on the sky, you can use the clear and dark sky to explore their beauties.

For better assistance, you should try and use a sky map. The map will help you to look for constellations in the right direction and specific time of the year suitable for a particular constellation.

You can see constellations better far from the city, where the sky is clearer. Also, darker sky helps too. If you want detailed experience, try using a telescope or maybe binoculars to see the features of the constellations better.

Trying to find easier the constellation you are interested in, try to orient yourself towards the North Star. With finding the North Star you will be able to find every constellation on the sky faster.

Which constellations you will be able to see depends on the season, time of the year, month, and your location. Using your sky map, learning about the shape and location of the constellations would definitely help you with your night sky exploring of the stars and their beauty.