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The moon changes on a daily basis so keep looking up! Its also worth noting that when the moon is fully
in shadow - a new moon - other objects in the night sky become clearer.
The International Space Station (ISS) - The home to a number of astronauts hurtling around our planet
can be tracked here - http://iss.astroviewer.net/observation.php.
The Planets - Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are usually very easy to find and observe, particularly with
binoculars or a small telescope. The first time you see the rings of Saturn, it will blow your mind.
Constellations - These are groups of stars that make recognisable patterns. Key constellations are: Ursa
Major, (the Plough or Big Dipper) which helps us find the Polaris - the North Pole star. Also it’s handle
arcs towards Arcturus the fourth brightest star in the sky. The big dipper has a the two stars Mizar and
Alcor which look very close together and are known as an “optical double” but the reality is they’re very
far apart. Orion is an instantly recognisable shape in the southern sky. It contains the Orion Nebula, (M42)
just below the belt and Betelgeuse which is a massive red star currently at the end of its life and shrinking which means it might blow up soon! Like the Big Dipper - the stars in Orion line up in such a way that
you can use it as a pointer to other stars and constellations. Cassiopeia is a familiar ‘W’ shape and contains
many ‘deep sky’ objects including two open clusters, M103 and M52. M52 is easy to spot with a pair of binoculars. Cassiopeia is great for finding the Milky Way because she’s lying smack bang in the middle of it.
These objects are great to get your started and the constellations will also help to guide you towards other
things to view as your exploration of the night sky evolves over many weeks and months of viewing.So
remember - enjoy your first nights out as an astronomer by keeping warm, preserving your night vision,
planning your observing, finding yourself somewhere dark and then simply look up.
Words: Roy Alexander
Moon Image: Mike Greenham
ICY SCIENCE | WINTER 2013- 2014