STARGAZING LIVE STAR GUIDE 2012

STAR GUIDE 2012 WELCOMETOSTARGAZINGLIVE Welcometothe2012StarandMoonGuide, designedtohelpyoudiscoversomeofthe bestthingstoseeinthenightskythroughout theyearandlearnmoreaboutourclosest neighbour,theMoon.Evenifyou’venevertried stargazingbefore,youcangetstartedwithour easy-to-usestarchartsandMoonatlas. Whenyou’rereadyforthenextstep,there’smore waitingforyouatbbc.co.uk/stargazing,including audioguidestothenightskyandhowtostargaze onyoursmartphoneorcomputer. Sowhatareyouwaitingfor?There’sawholeworld ofincrediblewondersaboveyourhead.Isn’tittime youlookedup?HappyStargazing! PROFESSOR BRIANCOX LIZBONNIN DARAOBRIAIN MARK THOMPSON BEFOREYOUHEADOUT Youmightliketotakethefollowingitems tohelpwithyourstargazing: •Binoculars/telescope–tohelpyougetabetter viewofobjectsinthenightsky,althoughmostof thestarsinthisguidecanbeseenwithoutthem. •Aredtorch–sothatyoucanstillreadyourStar Guidewithoutaffectingyournightvision.You couldadaptanormaltorchusingredcellophane orusearearbicyclelight. •Apps–therearemanyfreeappsavailablefor mobiledevicesthatutiliseinbuiltGPStohelp navigatethenightsky. •Acompass–soyouknowwhichdirection you’refacing. Formoreinformation onusingequipmentand astronomyappsheadto bbc.co.uk/stargazing GETTINGSTARTED 1 Chooseaclearnightandfindanoutsidespace –ideallyawayfromtallbuildingsandbright lights.Itcouldbeanywherefromyourback gardentoalocalpark. 2 Itmaytakeupto20minutesforyoureyes toadapttothedimlight.Lightpollutioncan greatlyaffectwhatyoucanseeinthenightsky. Headtobbc.co.uk/stargazingandfollowthe linktoDarkSkyDiscoverytofindoutmore aboutdarkskyplacesneartowhereyoulive. 3 Ourstarchartsfacenorthorsouth.Usingthe relevantchartforthetimeofyear,howmany constellationscanyoufind? DIDYOUKNOW? Theskyisalways changing–thestars youcanseefroma certainlocation changethroughout thenightasthe Earthrotates, andthroughout theseasonsas theEarthorbitsthe Sunandwemove toadifferentposition inspace. WHEREISNORTH? HOWTOFINDPOLARIS Polaris(theNorthStar)ispositionedabovethe NorthPole,andsoitseemstostaystillinthenight skyastheEarthrotatesbeneathitandthestars appeartorotatearoundit.Asaresult,ithasbeen usedfornavigationforcenturies. It’seasytospotastwostarsinthePlough(part ofUrsaMajor)pointdirectlytowardsit,asshown here.IfyoudropaverticallinefromPolaristothe horizon,thisisduenorth.Ifyouarelookingnorth, eastistoyourright,westistoyourleftandsouth isdirectlybehindyou. NorthStar (Polaris) ThePlough Rotation through thenight N ... - --nqh--