I have been interested in astronomy ever since I was little and had a small telescope growing up that my dad used to show my sister and me comets when they went over. Later I learned about celestial navigation which is navigating using the sun, moon and planets. It's easy to learn but you have to start with the basics.
The computer program I use when I want to know what I'm going to see when I go outside to look at the stars is called "STELLARIUM" and you can download if for mac or for pc at www.stellarium.org . This program shows you what the sky looks like wherever you are on earth in real time. You can even use it to see what the stars look like from another planet. You can track planets and choose to show or hide their orbits. You can show or hide the constellations and the ecliptic or equator lines. You can also "fast forward" in time to see what is going to happen! You can jump 1 day ahead or 1 week ahead. You can zoom in and see nebulas or count the moons of a planet.
One of the best things about stellarium is that if you are able to install it on a laptop, you can take it with you when you go stargazing and use it like a map of the sky to easily identifying stars and planets. If you don't have a telescope, don't forget that binoculars work great too!
After downloading and installing…
Here are some helpful startup tips and hints.
1. Mouse over to the left hand side to "location" to tell stellarium where you are. Otherwise the sky may not match what you see when you go outside. You can search for your city or type in your latitude and longitude.
2. Make sure to check that the date and time is correct.
3. Be sure to look at the help menu "F1" and look at the shortcut keys. J, K, and L for example "rewind", "stop", and "fast forward" the time. If you get "lost in time" just hit the number "8" and you will be returned to the current time and date. There are TONS of shortcut keys.
4. Mouse down to show the menu for toggling on or off (show or hide) constellations, planet labels, nebulas, and grids. I recommend you turn ON "Cardinal Points" which show which way you are looking (North, South, East or West). You can also hide the atmosphere which is what makes it look like daytime. You can show or hide the "ground" so that you can see below the horizon and also turn on or off the "fog of the horizon" which is why it looks hazy just above the horizon.
5. You can "Search" for planets and nebulas by hitting "F3"
6. HAVE FUN!
Here are some activities to try:
1) How to find and check out a planet or a star…. Do it for a couple or all of them. (Don't forget about the sun and the moon!)
1. Find you planet of choice. Use F3 if you need to and the click on it.
2. If it is under the horizon then hit "g" to turn off the ground. If its daytime then hit "a" to turn off the atmosphere
3. Look in the top left of the screen to see important information. Write down it's Magnitude and its distance for comparison to other planets or the Sun. The distance in measured in "AU" which stands for "astronomical unit"
Q: How big is an astronomical unit?
4.Now zoom in to get a better look by hitting "/" backslash a couple of times. Too big? Zoom out with "\" (opposite slash).
Q: How many moons does it have? How many do you see? Which one is the biggest?
5. If it has moons, try fast forwarding with "L" and watch them rotate. Make sure you have clicked on the planet and hit "space bar" to track it or it will move out of the screen. Planets are NOT stationary!
6. Now try to figure out when it will rise. Turn on the ground if it is off and fast forward with "L" (the more you hit it the faster it goes so be careful) until you see your object rise above the horizon. Hit "K" to stop. What time is it? If it is night time then chances are you can see it if you go out side tonight and look in the right direction.
2) Check out the North Star
If you are in the northern hemisphere (North of the Equator) then you will be able to see the North Star at night. It is the special because if barely moves from its spot above the North Pole. All other stars appear to be rotating around it rising in the East and setting in the West.
1. Find the North star and click on it. If you can't find it then don't worry, just make sure you are looking North and….
2. Fast forward using "L" until everything is spinning. Find the star that isn't moving. That's the North Star also called Polaris. "8" to return to current time.
3) Our SUN and the Seasons
The sun is really cool. It makes the earth warm, influences currents in the ocean, creates weather patterns in the atmosphere, and it's the reason we have seasons.
1. Turn on the atmosphere "a"
2. Find the SUN
3. Fast forward to "noon" or until the sun is above South. Stop by hitting "K". Good.
4. Now turn on the Equator line by hitting "." Period. This is just a projection of the equator in the sky. Think about someone standing on the equator with a laser-beam waving it east to west above their head. This is what you would see.
5. It is IMPORTANT to notice that the equator goes through East and West but it does NOT go directly overhead unless you are standing on the equator.
6. Follow the equator across the sky.
Q: Does it appear to be leaning to the north or the south?
Q: Does this make sense for where you are on the earth? It should.
Q: What would it look like if you were on the north pole?
7. Now look at sun again and fast forward this time by ONE WEEK at a time. Hit the "]" and "[" square brackets to go forward by this same time one week from now. What do you see? Hold down "]" so you really get it moving. You should see the sun going up and down up and down above and below the equator.
Q: When is the Sun at its highest? What day and month of the year?
Q: What about it's Lowest?
Q: When is the sun directly on the equator?
But Why?
The earth is tilted on its axis (23.5 degrees to be exact) which is why the sun appear to "wobble" up and down above and below the equator. The seasons follow a regular pattern with the wobble of the earth.
Think about it…
Now think about what time of year it is. When I wrote this is was January and that means Winter in the USA. Where is the Sun in January? Below the equator right? It should make sense to you now why there is winter and summer! When the sun is below the equator and farther away from YOU, you don't get as much warmth from it. When it is above the equator or closer to YOU you get more warmth and it is summer.
Bonus questions:
Does the Sun always rise exactly in the East and Set in the West?
When is the longest day of the year for where you live?
4) The Moon (the earth's moon that is)
1. Find our moon.
2. Click on it.
3. If it's daytime hit "a" to turn off the atmosphere.
4. Hit space bar to "Track" it.
5. Zoom into it with "/".
6. Now watch the moon's phases by fast forwarding by one day forward or backward by holding down control key and hitting " + " or " - " plus or minus.
Q: What phase is the moon in now?
Q: When is the next full moon?
5) Check it out for yourself !
Don't forget that this is just a computer program and you should go outside and double check it to make sure that it is correct! Go see if the sun sets where you think it will. All you need is a compass. Figure out when Saturn will rise and then go see if you can see it. Look for other bright stars around it to help you find it in the sky.
Hints for star viewing:
1. Go somewhere dark away form a city if possible or on a rooftop if possible. Turn off any bright lights.
2. Check the weather and make sure it will not be cloudy.
3. It you want to see stars, go when there is no moon out. It will make it a lot easier.
I hope this guide to Stellarium was helpful to you. If so let me know by sending us an email to crew@eyeotw.org. Tell me what you learned and ask questions!
-Alan
Captain, Eye of The World.