• Question: what’s your favourite star constellation

    Asked by anon-289203 to Rowan on 11 Mar 2021.
    • Photo: Rowan Smith

      Rowan Smith answered on 11 Mar 2021:

      Cassiopeia because you can always see it in the sky and it is so recognisable, it looks like a big W!

Comments

  • Photo: Jo

    Jo commented on :

    To be honest there aren’t that many I can recognise! But I *think* I first learned how to look for Cassiopeia way back in 1986 when Halley’s comet passed close by to the Earth and was visible in that bit of the sky. I’m always pleased to see Orion and The Plough in the sky but living in London we have a lot of light pollution so I probably don’t see as much of them as I would somewhere darker.
    ~
    My favourite (non star constellation) thing to see in the night sky though is the International Space Station which is orbiting Earth, in low earth orbit (about 250 miles / 400 kilometres away). At certain times of the year we can see it passing overhead, it does look a lot like a bright fast-moving star. There are currently seven people onboard https://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/
    ~
    Jo

  • Photo: Chris

    Chris commented on :

    I don’t really recognise many star constellations but the one main one I do know how to find is the Southern Cross, also known as Crux. You can only see in the southern hemisphere. You can use it to determine north-south, which makes it very useful for navigation if you get lost without a compass