Re: m34, double cluster

On Jan 27, 11:56 pm, AstroSketc...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Jan 27, 9:00 pm, brucegooglegroups <brucegooglegro...@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

It seems that
southern constellations may be easier to navigate because they follow
the direction of the star charts, but when facing north it is more
difficult.

Yes, the situation for us northern hemisphere observers is a bit
simpler when we're facing toward the south.

It might help to think of west as being "counterclockwise" when facing
toward the north. Celestial objects in the northern sky appear to
move counterclockwise about the celestial pole. Above the pole, west
is to the left. To the right of the pole, west is up. Below the
pole, west is to right. To the left of the pole, west is down.

After you've studied the sky enough it'll all (eventually) become
quite simple, obvious, and natural. It's one of those things that
time and repeated exposure will eventually conquer.

Bill Greer
To sketch is to see.

Thanks, Bill.
I went to Stellarium again- this is a good program for grasping the
concept of the pole and general direction because the view can be
molded into a globe with all compass points showing, along with the
equator line. It especially helps if the equatorial grid is showing.

I probably won't be upgrading to an equatorial mount( I have a small
Dob) and I will have to rely on my star hopping skills in the future-
so knowing the direction of west is crucial. North is much easier, as
I know where Polaris is.

Bruce
.

Relevant Pages

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