I enjoy watching each of the seasons main constellations go across the sky; Orion in the winter along with Gemini, Auriga to name a few winter ones. Spring I agree, I love watching Leo move across the sky (when I can see the sky that is) and Virgo. Summer, nothing like watching Sagittarius, Scorpius, Hercules, Altair and Cygnus to name a few jot across the sky. Fall, love watching the Great Square of Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus and Cassiopeia. Perhaps one of the funnest though is to watch how Ursa Major changes by season. From now through about May/June there are some wonderful galaxies up in Ursa Major (not just the typical Messier) that are worthy of observing. I guess for me it is how I connect to the sky. Until recently I had to star hop in order to find objects and I often find that I still do that as much as using my push to systems. I enjoy finding an object by hand and am the most comfortable doing that. Good thing to cause in the winter on the 14" in the field the display can freeze up and cause me to not be able to see it so hopping is still a necessity. We'll, until I began using a oven mit gove to ensure the LED display doesn't get too cold. On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 2:49 PM, <erikhansen@thebluezone.net> wrote:
I always enjoy watching Leo (the HA Rey Leo) walk through the sky during the year.
Joe Wrote:
Personally, I'm more interested in seeing (and photographing) amazing objects in space than I am in memorizing constellations. If we lived in another part of the galaxy I'd still be interested in examining the same classes of objects but the constellations would be far different. Do beings on every inhabited planet have to bother memorizing the designs just because their ancestors did?
Hi Joe, I think learning the constellations is important for beginners... or anyone for that matter, because it helps to orient oneself in the night time sky. It helps to narrow down sections of the sky, and make it easier to find what one may be looking for, or at. I can glance up into the night time sky and in seconds orient myself and determine what I'm looking at, and where to go from there. Many people, not knowing the constellations are well... just lost. They only see bright, twinkling lights in the air. Besides.... its fun. Looking up into the summer sky and seeing the constellations is like seeing old friends once again. I think my favorite is actually an astrerism: The Summer Triangle, a combination of Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle and Vega... the Vegetarian. Okay... that last one was a joke. Party on Wayne!
Jon
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