Know Your Neighbors: Star Light, Star Bright
April-May 2000
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
by Bryan Nichols
There is a natural connection between boating and the night sky. But most kayakers rarely get out on the water at night. Even in quiet bays, it tends to be only the advanced or hardcore that find themselves staring up at the heavens while bobbing on the ocean. But in bigger boats, we do it a lot.
In contrast, when night falls on the land, landlubbers hide from it. We move through headlight beams, pools of streetlight and the pupil-shrinking glow of incandescents, florescents, candles and televisions. As it gets harder and harder to escape the (largely unnecessary) light pollution of our civilization, the ocean is becoming one of the last refuges of dark skies. And boat decks are perfect for lying on your back while contemplating the stars.
This issues's checklist highlights twelve of the more interesting constellations and stars that paddlers and boaters in the northern hemisphere can easily spot.
STARS
Stars are big fusion reactors, huge balls of burning gasses making hydrogen (the simplest element) into all sorts of more complicated things-the hotter the star, the heavier the elements it can fuse. Stars come in different sizes and colors-while we can't tell the sizes from our perspective (distant, big ones look the same as closer, small ones) we can get an idea how hot they are by their color. Red stars are just smoldering (relatively speaking) while the hottest burn blue-white. Skeptical? Think they're all white? Take a closer look next time.
CONSTELLATIONS
Unlike stars, constellations aren't real. They are patterns in the sky from our (Earthling's) perspective-more accurately, they divide the entire night sky up into manageable chunks. So "Orion" includes not only the bright stars we recognize each winter, but every other star in that area, whether you spot it or the Hubble telescope does.
We use constellations to help make sense of the stars. And of course we're not the only ones. Most of our "western" constellations have Egyptian origins, and numerous drawings, patterns and interpretations have been handed down over the ages. The diagrams in this checklist are based on the world's best-H.A.Rey's classic The Stars (see review page 22).
Two quick warnings. The zodiac is the band of constellations that the sun, moon and planets all travel through-constellations in the zodiac (e.g. Taurus, but not Orion) may look slightly different thanks to wandering planets. Also, very few constellations are visible to us all year-most are best viewed in a certain season. The best month to spot each is included in the checklist. So whether in the lido deck hot tub of your luxurious liveaboard or kicking back in your kayak cockpit on a calm night, be sure to look up and visit these distant neighbors this year.
Naturalist Bryan Nichols has spent many starry nights staring upward from boat decks, remote mountain tops, Southwest deserts and Caribbean seashores. He glowers menacingly (to no avail) when dark clouds cover Northwest nights.
Editor's Note: The Oak Bay Beach Hotel is offering Star gazing paddles, complete with an astronomer and a telescope. See A Winter's Paddle at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel
Checklist # 12-A Season of Stars
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PERSEUS (January) A Greek hero with Algol Perseus sits smack dab in the Milky Way amidst a cast of related characters, reaching for his love Andromeda. For a Hollywoodized version of their tale, rent the movie "Clash of the Titans". Meanwhile, check out his left hip, the variable star Algol (the ghoul). Every couple of days this star dims and rebrightens over a ten hour stretch-an odd effect caused by an unseen companion star rotating in front of it
THE BIG DOG (February) Canis Major with Sirius You have to take this constellation seriously because it contains the brightest star in the entire sky. The dog itself doesn't come very high above northern horizons but Sirius (the dog star) is impossible to miss. It's bright because it's bigger than our sun and relatively close. 
THE HERDSMAN (February) Bootes with Arcturus Sitting in profile and puffing on a pipe, this constellation is best known for the bright star Arcturus. From the big dipper's handle, you "arc to Arcturus", making it easy to find. It's a big, close star with a warm yellow-orange tinge. 
THE TWINS (February) Gemini with Castor & Pollux There are plenty of star couples wandering around up above, but none as famous as the zodiac's twins. Castor and Pollux are the bright heads of this decent constellation. In Greek legend they were fraternal twins, brothers who helped liberate their sister Helen from Troy. Pollux is a bit brighter and has a yellowish tinge. 
THE LION (March) Leo with Regulus An impressive constellation over in what Rey calls "carnivores' corner"-Leo's neighbors include two bears, another lion, dogs, a lynx & a dragon. His head and shoulders are easiest to spot, forming a sickle (or a backwards question mark for you city slickers). Regulus is the bright blue/white star at the bottom of it. 
THE SCORPION (June) Scorpio with Antares All right you lucky scorpios-your very cool looking constellation is the best of the zodiac. A series of bright stars forms a sinuous, believable scorpion shape. Alas, it's never high in Northern skies. Look south in summer for it-the red giant star Antares (which means opposite of Mars) is easy to spot. 
THE GREAT BEAR (July) Ursa Major with Mizar/Alcor The more famous "big dipper" is just part of this huge, northern constellation. The bear's eye is Mizar, the middle star of the dipper's handle. Legend has it that if you could spot the little star Alcor riding on Mizar, your vision was good enough to join the Roman legion. 
THE EAGLE (August) Aquila with Altair Aquila (Latin for eagle) is a beautiful constellation that does resemble an eagle soaring along the Milky Way. The star Altair (the flyer) is the eagle's eye, and one of the three bright stars (including Vega & Deneb) that make up the summer triangle. What fun is summer without a good triangle? 
CASSIOPEIA (October) Ethiopian Queen with a "W" If you're picturing this one as a lovely African woman with regal cheekbones to die for, too bad. The bright "W" or "M" of stars is usually interpreted as her throne. It's familiar and easy to spot though-it rotates around Polaris across from the big dipper. The wobbly right side of the M points (sort of) to Polaris if the dipper is down, so one of them will always be up to help you find your way. 
THE BULL (November) Taurus with Aldebaran This large constellation is hard to follow but easy to spot-everybody asks about the Pleiades (which look like a tiny dipper). Nearby are the Hyades (another set of sisters), an obvious, large "V" shape anchored by Aldebaran, a giant orangish star. The bull is Zeus incognito, off to seduce yet another lucky(?) human damsel. 
THE LITTLE BEAR (November) Ursa Minor with Polaris Ok-this is a pretty lame constellation. It looks nothing like a bear-or a "little dipper" for that matter. Nevertheless, it contains the most important star for anyone who ventures away from civilization. You might be lost during the day, but at night Polaris can tell you your latitude (how high above the horizon it is) and exactly which way true north is. All the other stars rotate around it, so if you learn no other star this year-learn this one.
THE HUNTER (December) Orion with Betelgeuse The three bright stars of Orion's belt (with its dangling, um sword) is one of the most recognizable bits of sky-the hunter is the brightest and arguably most impressive constellation up there. He presides over late winter, holding a club and bow. Above the belt in his right shoulder is Betelgeuse, a reddish supergiant star. Orion's downfall was the scorpion (sent by Artemis) and the two constellations are never visible at the same time. © Bryan Nichols 2000. No reproduction without permission of the author.
For more info I recommend the book The Stars: A New Way to See Them. See my review of this book below.
The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A. ReyReviewed by Bryan Nichols If H.A. Rey sounds familiar you're showing your age - or lack of it. This book originally came out in 1952 but H.A. Rey is far better known for his Curious George children's books. "The Stars" has been reprinted, renewed and updated for half a century now and I love the fact that even on the new versions, one of the numerous accolades on the back is from none other than Albert Einstein. THE GOOD STUFF If you've been bewildered by dark nights and "helpful" sky maps, you know this is no easy task. Rey has remarkable success with the majority of the sky's 88 constellations - the great bear looks bearlike, Hercules wields a formidable club and Scorpio's pincers will impress you on summer nights. There's much more to this book than simple constellation diagrams however. Rey describes each constellation, concentrating only on the stars visible without telescopes and offering tips on how to find them, remember them, and use them to find others. There are calendar charts keyed to time and date that you can use in the field to locate every constellation and the brightest stars by name. Each has an accompanying version without constellation lines, ideal for practice on cloudy nights (very helpful here in the Northwest). There is a section on the moon and planets, with updated tables that allow you to keep track of what's where. Finally, the last part of the book uses text and plenty of Rey's familiar illustrations to cover theories like sidereal time, seasons, the ecliptic and the equinoxes. As Rey himself states, you don't need to know any of this stuff to learn the constellations and enjoy the night sky, but if you're interested then his clean, straightforward writing style makes the more technical stuff easier. NITTY GRITTY IF I WERE EDITOR TAKE IT HOME? GORY DETAILS |
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