Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted December 11, 2010 Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 If you want to find the dogstar I think its easiest if you look for Orion first The easiest way to find Sirius is to find Orion first ( easy to find by his belt , 3 stars in a diagonal line ) he is quite high in the sky in a southern direction. To the bottom left of Orion ( he is at a angle this time of year ) and lower down is a very bright star and thats Sirius its far brighter than anything else in the sky in that direction . Orion is the hunter and Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major ( the dog ) and is his hunting dog , below Orion and the right of Canis Major is the constellation Lepus ( the hare ) who they are hunting . The other thing to factor in is the time of night you look. In the UK this time of year Sirius is visible in the South east around 22.00hrs and still fairly low down in the sky , by midnight its nearer south /south east and by the time its dipping back under the horizon around 05.00hrs its in the South West If you don’t know what direction your house faces you can check via enter your postcode and then select birds eye view to find North Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Its a very very clear night tonight if anyone wants to spot Sirius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incapuppy Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 We look out for Sirius every night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted January 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Do you find it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incapuppy Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Yes, unless its hiding behind norty clouds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incapuppy Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 It's not visible from our garden until after about 9ish because of houses and trees in the way. I think Pete and I would like to get a bit more into astronomy; we are fascinated by it. Its mind boggling to be able to see planets with the naked eye. As an aside we get all giddy every time we see the ISS go over; the shuttle is even more exciting, I shall have to check whether that is still flying or has been binned yet. Could you or Mark recommend an astronomy book thats got lots of pretty pictures in as well as useful info? I am always staggered by a size comparison chart that I have seen, do you know the one that I mean with a row of planet/stars then the next row has the largest of the row above it as the smallest of it's row? That sounds a bit garbled, sorry if only I know what I am talking about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted January 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 I will put my thinking cap on re books and software what phones do you and Pete have ( lot of great software is available on phones now ) Stargazing is sooooo much fun and it makes my head hurt thinking about whats out there and HOW BIG SPACE IS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 i will have a look tonight last night when i was calling for the cat i actually found myself looking up at the stars for the first time in ages and found myself thinking back to the diagrams you had put up on the other thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy Bear Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 What you need is a planisphere. This two rotating circles on which you dial up the date and time where you are and it will show you what its visible in the sky at that time. Obvioulsy they make these for different locations and this one is Canadian but works for UK (slightly better for Scotland than south of England) You can print it off and cut it out and assemble it yourself and if you like it any good stationers/book shop should have one. Phillips Plansiphere is probably the best but I am sure there are others. http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/astronomy/constellations/planisphere-2.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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