Star Charts For Different Seasons - Thames & Kosmos TK1 User Manual

VIEWING
The night sky in
springtime
YOU WILL NEED
› Star chart
› Red-light flashlight
› Warm jacket
HERE'S HOW:
1. Look for the Big Dipper, which will be high in
the sky. You will need to crane your neck
back to see its seven more or less equally
bright stars. Four make up the dipper's ladle,
and three more compose the curved handle.
2. Now extend the curve of the dipper's handle
toward the horizon. You will come to the
bright star Arcturus in the constellation of
Boötes (meaning "herdsman" or "plowman"
in Greek). It will be shining with a reddish-or-
ange glow.
3. On the other hand, if you extend a line from
the two stars at the front edge of the dipper's
ladle and proceed in a downward direction,
you will come to the constellation of Leo.
This will also be about halfway up the sky,
and looks a bit like a large clothes iron. Its
brightest star, called Regulus, shines with a
slightly blue color.
Identifying Constellations in the Sky
Mizar/
Alcor
Big Dipper
Zenith
Boötes
Canes Venatici
Coma
Arcturus
Berenices
Virgo
Corvus
South
Leo Minor
Leo
Regulus
Crater
Hydra
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