Gazing at the night sky at a time when there is little or no pollution--because of reduced human activity post lockdown--is indeed a treat these days. One can see a lot of starts from the city itself and probably that's one less reason to head out to the hills.
The spring sky in India is pretty lit and these days one can easily spot a number of constellations that embellish the night sky.
Here are the most easily visible constellations in the night sky, that you can watch tonight, tomorrow or the day after.?If you need help with the shapes of constellations, you can download the StarTracker app that works smoothly and looks pretty good.
Apart from the moon, the brightest object you see in the night sky is the planet Venus. If you point your phone with the app open to the left of Venus you will spot Orion.?
This is one of the easiest constellations to spot in the night sky. With its signature three stars in the belt that lead to the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius.?
Usually only seven stars, three in the belt, two that form the shoulder and two that form the skirt are visible in the sky, but owing to less pollution one can spot many more stars in the same constellation.?
Canis Major constellation is hard to miss because it includes Sirius, which the belt of orion leads towards. In Latin its name means ‘the greater dog’ which represents the bigger dog following the hunter Orion.
?If you point your star gazing app towards the constellation, it will help you identify other visible stars as well.?
Now if you point your phone in the space right opposite Orion you will find the Big Dipper/the great bear or the Saptrishi as it is known in Hindi. It is the third brightest constellation in the night sky.?
It has seven prominent stars, four of which form the mouth and three, the handle, and is one of the most common and easily recognisable shapes in the sky.?
Right next to the Canis Major is another recognisable constellation, Puppis. It represents the stern of a ship.?
The brightest star in the constellation is Zeta Puppis. The constellation is not hard to spot as it is right next Cannis Major which has the brightest star in the night sky.?
Taurus is another prominent constellation just northwest of Orion. If you tilt your phone in that direction you will be able to easily spot the constellation of the Zodiac that represents The Bull.?
Stars of the constellation that are visible to the naked eye form the shape of the letter K. Taurus has the thirteenth brightest star in the whole sky, the Aldebaran, that lies withing the star cluster, Hyades, visible as V-shape (this forms the head of the bull and is easily visible to the naked eye). Another object that stands out in the Taurus constellation is the Pleiades star cluster which is one of the the brightest of all open clusters, visible to the naked eye as a smudge.?
The Sumerians linked the bull with the Orion, believing that the hunter was facing the charging bull.?
Leo is one of the easiest to spot constellations in the night sky, not only because it is one of the largest but because the ‘pointer stars’ of the Big dipper point towards Leo.?
As we know it is one of the Zodiac constellations, the lion, and most of the stars in it are visible, which makes it one of the few constellations that resemble its namesake. The lion is usually associated with the Nemean lion in Greek mythology.
Gemini is Latin for ‘twins,’ however according to different cultures the twins identified in this zodiac constellation are different. Again, this constellation is fairly easy to spot. It is located northeast of Orion, so that is where you turn your phone to and voila!?
With the help of your stargazing app you will find Gemini nestled between the Taurus and Cancer constellations.?The two brightest stars in the constellation, named after Greek mythology's Castor and Pollux, represent the heads of the twins.
Right next to Taurus, sharing a star with it in fact, is the 21st brightest constellation of the night sky, Auriga. In Latin it means ‘the charioteer’. It got that name because major stars of the constellation form a shape similar to that of the pointed helmet of a charioteer.
The star officially shared by Taurus and Auriga is called a ‘linking’ star. Auriga’s brightest star is Capella, which is the sixth brightest star in the night sky.?
Even though Cancer is the faintest of the zodiac constellations, some of its stars are still visible. Cancer, which is supposed to form a crab can be located between Leo, the lion, and Gemini, the twins. One can’t see the entire crab with naked eyes but cancer appears to be an upside-down Y, which if you look for patiently will definitely appear before your eyes.?
Now, all you have to do is go out to your balcony or your terrace, take your phone along with you to help you track the constellations and just sit and gaze in awe at the beautiful night sky.?
Fb Image?Source: Astrobackyard