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$or e%ample, if you want to show the wonders of the night sky to
a group of friends, it&s 'ust a case of pressing some
buttonsand hey presto( deep-sky ob'ect after deep-sky ob'ect
appears as if by magic. )ertainly, with their computer databases
ofwhere each gala%y and nebula is located, !o-To telescopes are
great for finding some of the more challenging, faint,
fu""yblobs.
Howeer, there is something ery rewarding in haing a mental map
of the stars, so that youcan glance up with confidence and point
out *eo, !emini or +rsa a'or to whoeer is within earshot. And
that&s before you&epointed out the planets, which are sure
to increase anyone&s fascination in the night sky.
t&s true to say that few people know their way around the
night sky well enough. The only way of being able to gain
thisuseful and entertaining knowledge is to learn the sky # and it
is by star-hopping that you learn.
A Universe to discovertar-hopping really is fascinating. /ot
only are you recognising the patterns of constellations, you&re
also learning about stardistances, star colours, ages and
names.
0ou&ll find that the whole of the night sky is an ama"ing
mi%ture of space, time, history, science and world cultures.
t&ll leadyou off on all sorts of paths and you&ll learn
things that will ama"e others. /ot to mention the basic reason #
you&ll know whatyou&re looking at.
/ow, you don&t need any optical instruments to begin
star-hopping, but it does help to hae a few things handy to make
youreenings more en'oyable.
$irstly, let&s deal with the comfort aspect. 1en in the
summer, it will probably get chilly # at the ery least # so wrap up
warm.Then, to get as comfortable as possible, set up a deck chair
or sun-lounger # maybe we should call it a star-lounger in this
case.
Just before you pop outside to try some real star-hopping, there
are a couple of final useful things to hae with you( a starchart or
atlas, plus a red torch to see the charts, and also where
you&re going, without ruining your night ision. And
don&tforget a flask of tea and a few biscuits for when you
fancy a break.
f you&re new to star-hopping, position your star-lounger
north-south and sit with your feet pointing north. This will put
you inan ideal position to see seeral key star-hopping points( the
2lough, the /orth tar and the constellation of )assiopeia
asthey&re all around the north part of the sky.
3hy not practise star-hopping using the e%ample shown below4
5emember, take it easy, and you&ll be finding your wayaround
the sky in no time.
Star-hop from the Plough to Cassiopeia
1 Find the PloughThe 2lough is a shape or 6asterism& found
in the constellation of +rsa a'or, the !reat 7ear. t&s a good
place to startbecause it&s a recognisable shape. t&s also
close to the north pole of the sky, meaning it&s always isible
in the night sky.
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2 Move from the Plough to the Pole StarThe two right-hand stars
of the 2lough are known as the 2ointers. 1%tend an imaginary line
between them and out of the2lough and they&ll point to the 2ole
tar, which is also called 2olaris.
!race the shape of Ursa MinorThe 2ole tar is the main star of
the constellation +rsa inor, the *ittle 7ear. This is shaped like a
smaller, fainter ersion ofthe 2lough and you can trace its form
arching off from 2olaris. 3ell done, you&e found a new
constellation.
" Move on to Cassiopeia)ontinue on in the same direction you
took from the 2lough to 2olaris, for around the same distance
again. 0ou&ll find thedistinctie 63& of stars that make up
the constellation of )assiopeia. That&s it, a successful
star-hopping session.
#opping $ith %inoculars7inoculars proide another way to
star-hop. The trouble is, when you look through them it&s easy
to lose your bearings
because you&re only looking at a small piece of sky. A good
trick is to work out how much of the sky your binoculars showyou
8their field of iew9.
To do this, take a look at the 2lough, noting which stars are at
the ery edge of your binoculars& field of iew. /ow find
thesestars on a starchart and make a ring out of wire and place it
around them.
This ring is the field of iew of your binoculars at the right
scale to use on your starchart.0ou can then moe your wire ring
around the chart to plan each step of your star-hop and know in
adance what the iewshould look like.
Try aiming for the :ouble )luster in 2erseus # it&s a great
target through binoculars and it&s ery close to )assiopeia.
