Gemini

Do the names Castor and Pollux right any bells? The minor god twins who were immortalized in the night sky by their father Zeus? Well, it didn't for me until recently either. The stars Castor and Pollux did ring a bell, as I knew they were the two bright stars that are so close together that are thought to be twins. These stars are the basis of the northern sky constellation Gemini.

Gemini, or Latin for "twins", is often more widely known as an Astrological symbol for the people born during May 21 and June 20. The constellation was actually known before astrology claimed it. It was discovered by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Ptolemy discovered 44 of the modern 88 constellations that we know and recognize today.

The constellation Gemini is most easily found by first spotting the stars Castor and Pollux. The rest of the constellation is somewhat nondescript, which makes finding it somewhat challenging. Finding the constellation Taurus (which we will cover soon) will place you in the ball park for finding Gemini. Taurus can be found by looking east of Orion's Belt.
Star with Orion's Belt and move east, and you should find something like this below:

Happy stargazing!

December Moon Phases

I am sorry for being behind this month, but it is time for December's moon phase calendar. As I sit in my room and watch the small meteor shower outside of my window (most people call it snow), I think about how important the moon will be during this month. I shouldn't be silly though, as the next clear night, I'm heading back outside.

December moon phases

Now, I have a few interesting tidbits of knowledge for the fishermen and hunters reading this today. Did you know that the moon phase has an impact on hunting and fishing? If you are interested, please check out the links below!

Fishing by Moon Phase

Hunting by Moon Phase

Taking your own pictures of the stars

Have you ever looked at the beautiful pictures of the stars and thought, "That looks like a scene I saw one night!". I have on numerous occasions. It made me wish I had the capability to take pictures like those astronomers do. The great thing is, now a person like you and I can. All that is needed is a digital camera.

Check out this video from BBC Two. It will show you how to take pictures of planets, constellations, and so on, using digital cameras, and even webcams!
Another perk to this video: it is British. Awesome.
Enjoy, and start taking your own breathtaking pictures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pcXi1VL6Q

Canis Major

Remember the Orion's Belt navigation trick I mentioned in the Orion post? The first practical use for stargazing will be present in this post! Go back and find the star Sirius on the diagram, and make a note of the direction of it. The star Sirius is pretty easy to find, as it is the brightest star in the night sky. Period. No other star is brighter. Sirius is also known as the "Dog Star" as the the star is the center of the constellation Canis Major, or the Greater Dog.
See how Sirius makes up the foundation of the constellation?

Canis Major is closely following the constellation Orion, and is known to be one of his hunting dogs. This constellation should not be confused with Canis Minor, a very similar but smaller constellation. Part of the reason why Canis Major is easily spotted, aside from the star Sirius, is the absence of deep-sky objects in that sector of the sky. A deep-sky object is defined as a celestial body (like a galaxy, nebula or the like) that can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye.

Go out and try to use Orion's Belt to find Sirius and the rest of Canis Major. It is a good feeling when you get a hang of the it. This blog post also may have cleared up something for those of us who wondered why Sirius satellite radio's logo is a dog.

Orion

Do you recognize this? Can you see the bright stars illuminating the popular constellation that we all have heard of? The belt will hopefully give it away. Yes, we are talking about The Hunter, Orion. This is perhaps the highlight of the winter constellations.

Now, by finding the belt, we can fairly easily assemble the rest of the mighty hunter, but the belt is actually extremely useful for some other stargazing opportunities. I will use the Wikipedia article's way of explaining the navigation points it brings:
"Orion is very useful as an aid to locating other stars. By extending the line of the Belt southeastward, Sirius (α CMa) can be found; northwestward, Aldebaran (α Tau). A line eastward across the two shoulders indicates the direction of Procyon (α CMi). A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse points to Castor and Pollux (α Gem and β Gem). Additionally, Rigel is part of the Winter Circle. Sirius and Procyon, which may be located from Orion by following imaginary lines (see map), also are points in both the Winter Triangle and the Circle".

 

Keep this info in mind, as these stars will be reappearing in future posts about other articles. Being able to find and identify stars will help you find said constellations, and it will just make you look rather intelligent.

It is important to note that once you find Orion's belt, his torso is due north of the belt, legs south, shield west, and club east. This also makes the constellation helpful for navigation. Just scan the sky, and Orion's belt will stand out. Become familiar with Orion, and the winter sky will begin to unlock itself.

Winter Constellations

Love it or hate it, the winter months are now upon us. Now, this time of year has some great advantages if you are willing to endure the cold. It is one of the times of the year when the stars are most clear (please see my post about the cold air affecting the night sky), and the second half of the sky's constellations come into view.

For those that may not know, there are four groupings of constellations across the globe. There are the Northern Hemisphere summer and winter constellations, and the Southern Hemisphere summer and winter constellations. There are a few cross over constellations, but this is a way to help map out when and where a particular constellation will be visible.

In the next few weeks, we will be covering the Northern Hemisphere's winter constellations. Based upon my Northern Indiana geographical location, it makes sense to me. I apologize to any other readers, and I plan to get to the other sections soon. Northern Hemisphere friends, get ready for some great stargazing in the upcoming months. Below is a picture of the winter constellations. Get pumped!

Dear Earth, From Space

Life is all about perspective. When we look up into the sky, we perceive the bountiful wonders to be beautiful and serene, but have you wondered what space thinks about Earth? Would the stars look at the earth and think, "Wow, that is beautiful"? Maybe I am the only one who thinks about these things, but either way, I'll let you judge the answer to that after you watch the video below.

From the months of August to October, during 2011, the International Space Station had special low-light cameras trained on earth as the space station floated above us all. What it captured cannot be easily put into words. In the video, you can see thunderstorms, the Aurora Borealis, and numerous other fantastical things from the atmosphere. Talk about a different perspective. Check out this video, and hopefully, it will help us all see our planet as just as wonderful and beautiful as the universe around us.

Earth, Time Lapse View From Space