Star gazing

[Nemia]

For me, star gazing has become a much-beloved activity - it was nearly overwhelming for me when I could see the constellations "in real life" whose names I had used so many times. I started reading astrology books and finding out everybody's ascendant signs when I was 12 (I still have those old books), but I was always sure that I'd never be able to tell one star from the other.

If you are like me and would love to recognize at least the constellations of the zodiac, or if you're a pro with telescope and real astro-physical knowledge - let's meet here from time to time when we've seen something especially beautiful.

I don't own a telescope but with the naked eye and an okay pair of binoculars it's possible to see a great number of wonderful things. Looking at the night sky (and also the day sky) as a whole, letting the eye wander - that's what our ancestors did.

Imagine what the first men saw. They saw the Earth and the Sky. These were the first divine beings. Knowing the stars was necessary and natural. Only the last 100 years have made us forget the stars.

I live in a remote are, and when we moved here, the night sky was great - we could see the MIlky Way from our sun deck. By now, it has turned into a little village and there is much too much light. It's a suburban sky now, and if we want to see smaller stars, we have to climb a mountain. But even under a suburban sky, you can see constellations.

What helped me get started was three things I didn't have before (I had a star atlas and a star wheel but couldn't find the stars!):

1. Google Star Maps or any other good, free star gazing app. Easy to use, and immensely helpful. It's not enough to learn star gazing but a real help when you don't know where to start.

2. Stellarium. A free downloadable planetarium software that allows you to watch the sky at any date in time (if you want to, take a look at the sky on the day Julius Cesar was killed or Shakespeare was born or the battle of Gettysburg was fought) and any place (take a look at the movement of the night sky on the equator vs the North pole - amazing). And of course at the time and place you're at.

I just opened Stellarium and look where the sun is right now:

It looks as though Orion is throwing the sun into the future. Amazing, isn't it?

I'll try to go outside and look at the Sun tomorrow precisely at the time of the Summer Solstice, and then check Stellarium again where the Sun stands in that precise moment.

3. Star Gazing for Dummies. Yes, I have a whole lot of books and some of them are very good but this is nice, not too expensive, and really helpful.


I found that star gazing deepens my connection to the world we live in, the visible and unknowable world. I also found that star gazing is ideal for an insomniac like me - once I stop worrying about my inability to sleep but celebrate the night, I get quiet inside and a lot of inner joy. Getting up to see Canopis wink at me or Jupiter and Venus at play or the ISS or the Leonids - it's such a wonderful feeling and lifts my spirit.

Some time ago, my husband and I sat outside while the evening fell. We had our usual little competition who sees and identifies the first star - would it be Vega or Mars? My father in law looked at us with pity and said: "don't try to convince me that you know any stars by name. That's impossible. They're too many, and they all look the same. So stop inventing silly names and be serious!"

I have cherished these words Yes, the stars are many, many, but they don't all look the same, and it's not difficult to find the brightest stars, get to know them, and some basic constellations.

I hope this thread is in the right place - it's not precisely astrology but let's call it astrolatry - worshiping the stars.

[Joan Marie]

I think this is the perfect place for this thread.

Thank you for the inspiration.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[qndynes]

I love to do this as well but I lack knowledge. I wish I new more about the stars and constellations. I recognize the differences in Stars, I can recognize Venus, the other day I spotted Jupiter close to the waxing moon. I can recognize Mars.

Living in a suburban area really dampens the experience of star gazing. Nonetheless, I do like to go outside every night around the same time once my son is asleep and just look up. Even if it's for 5 minutes I will stare up (while some nosy neighbors stare oddly). It does bring me a lot of pleasure as well. On some special nights I will stay outside longer, and just look up, think, chat with my partner, and soak in the night sky. My dream is to live in the woods, surrounded by trees in a little house where I can see the glittering stars at night.

I remember the first time I realized that the night sky I knew growing up as a child raised in a metropolitan area is completely different to the real open night sky without light contamination. I had gone camping to the beach in a little island off of Puerto Rico where I live, Culebra. It is a small island with a small population and the beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. So there I was camping, avoiding going to bed wanting to stay out, enjoy the sea at night and the night. When all of a sudden I had the idea to lay down on the sand. I did so and, not exaggerating, I gasped. I saw a sky full of stars, different sizes, twinkling, dancing. I think I even glimpsed the milky way amidst the studded night. It was breathtaking. That moment has never let me. I stayed lying down for a long while, until the mosquitos got the better of me. I dream of seeing that night sky again.

[Nemia]

Oh yes, I remember the first time I saw the completely uncontaminated sky - it was on an island high in the Baltic Sea. Our whole family stepped out and went WOW. The Milky Way was like an arch from one side to the other.

If you can see the Big Dipper/Ursa major from where you live, you can find nearly every other constellation from there. It's a good beginning. Very well known is following the dipper's handle in an arch to Arcturus and then spike on to Spica. And Spica is the main star of Virgo, symbolizing the ear of wheat the Virgin is carrying. Once you know where Virgo is, you'll find Leo with ease - first you see the coat hanger, then suddenly the whole big cat in the sky.


For the planets, you can look here: https://theskylive.com/guide?geoid=4568127

[AstralPasta]

Wow, I'm so jealous. I remember moving to AZ as a teen. I hated it, but I remember I kept being entranced by the sky, and eventually I realized that the reason was because I could see so much more of them. There weren't too many lights in the town yet, so the stars were much more vivid against the huge wide open dark sky.

I've started learning the constellations slowly using the SkyMaps app and I've gotten some books at thrift stores recently. Haven't cracked into them much yet, but want to....

This is great! I'm glad you started this thread. I'm hoping eventually I'll be able to link some basic astronomy with astrology, or at least recognize what transits are more literally/physically occurring (??). Not sure if I quite understand the actual zodiac and how it links with astrology yet but I'll figure it out eventually. There's probably also some basic lack of spatial-physics understanding in my head (axis / rotation / precessional/stellar drift / tilts???? ). Someday....

Ooh downloading that program too....

[Nemia]

I found Star Gazing for Dummies and other basic books explain that quite nicely. I'm a complete dunce in such matters and find it difficult even to remember stuff like time zones, angles of the sun etc. My best books for the spatially challenged are in German, though. There are also very nice videos on Youtube that explain all kinds of questions. I get a daily newsletter reminding me of what I can see from my little place on Earth.

Oh how I would absolutely love to travel to the Southern Hemisphere and see the constellations I can never see! Sometimes the Cross of the South comes tantalizingly close to our horizons...

The zodiac is really easy to understand. Think about the sky above you, and where the sun wanders over your head, and the moon. They always go the same path. Yes, that path changes with the seasons, and it of course depends on where on earth you are, but they always move on an invisible path. That path is called the Ecliptic.

Not only sun and moon travel on that path but also constellations. Very specific constellations. You won't see the Big Dipper on that path, for example. But you will see Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo etc follow each other in a beautiful chain of constellations. because most of these constellations are called since Babylonic times by animal names, this is chain of constellations is called the zodiac.

Since the zodiac signs share their path with the sun and the moon, each of these big celestial bodies will be seen against the background of a constellation. There is no other place to go for them than the ecliptic and the planets travel on this path, too.


Astrology is based on the belief that if the sun shines "through" Taurus on us, then this Taurus energy will influence everybody, especially those who are just born. They in a way carry that Taurus imprint for their lives.

If you think about the sun and the earth, it's obvious that you can't see Taurus while the sun is in Taurus. Because that would be at daylight. Instead, you see on the nightsky the constellations on the opposite side of the zodiac. That means these clever old Babylonians knew already that when you see Scorpio in the middle of the night beautifully (and it's one of the most beautiful constellations ever, it really looks like a huge scorpion) at night, then the Sun must be standing in Taurus.

Right now, and since Earth's creation, our planet is always circled by this permanently moving chain of zodiac constellations.

Getting to know them was humbling for me and a real spiritual event. Yes, astrology didn't take into account that the zodiac's position vs the Earth changes slowly over the centuries ([url-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precession]precession[/url]), and it artificially imposed the same size of every constellation to make it a chain with 12 regular beads, and it ignored that a part of a 13th constellation is on the zodiac, too. To make a system that will work in making our calendar regular, astrology smoothed some corners. But nevertheless, the star lore developed by generations of humans have shaped all our cultures.

Most, not all of these zodiac constellations are easy to find and to recognize. Only Cancer and Libra are tricky in light-polluted skies, and some of the others are a bit rambling (Aquarius) or sparse (Aries) to find - but start with Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius - they're all really impressive and beautiful.

And as I said, you start with the big dipper to find Virgo, and once you have Virgo, you will find all her neighbors, and you will always find the ecliptic chain on your night sky.

I love the feeling of this cosmic clock ticking all the time. We humans relied on this clock for many, many generations to get us through the year. We still celebrate our holidays based on this clock, our calendar is based on the 12 months and 7 days a week (zodiac and planets), and it's amazing to see.

there are many lovely constellations but the zodiac is most interesting, especially for tarotists. Look at the four cherubic creatures on the world card, and you see the fixed cross on the zodiac: Taurus, leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. This cross moves through time and if you know where one is, you also know where the three others are. It's like a celestial compass. It totally anchors me to feel that.

[ZhanThay]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this topic. I would like to offer my assistance to anyone who wants to understand and has questions about how astrology relates to astronomy. I have studied both for many decades. I also don't have a telescope and prefer to watch the stars and planets with the naked eye and binoculars.

It's a real pleasure to be able to walk out under a dark sky and identify the stars you know and then notice something shining that doesn't fit into the pattern you're familiar with, so it must be a planet. To recognise the planets takes a bit of experience and knowing what stars/constellations are going to be nearby. Venus is fairly easy because it is so big and bright. Because it stays fairly close to the Sun, from our perspective, we only see it in the early evening or before sunrise. Mercury is a much harder challenge because it's smaller but also closer to the Sun. Even when it is at it's furthest distance from the Sun it is still in a light sky so you really have to know where to look. Starcharts and stellarium apps really help with that. Also, if it is in conjuction with Venus, you have a ready-made signpost. Jupiter is next brightest to Venus but comparitively smaller. Through binoculars it is possible to see the four largest moons of Jupiter as tiny little star-like dots which are in different configurations night to night. Saturn is slightly yellowish and Mars is noticeably orange. Both of them can be mistaken for stars. Antares is the alpha star of Scorpio. It's name means Rival of Mars but when you see them close together you can see the difference. Other red stars look similar to Mars too. Aldebaran in Taurus, Betelgeuse in Orion, Arcturus in Bootes. I have seen Uranus and possibly Neptune with binoculars but it's not possible to see them or Pluto, Chiron and other smaller bodies with the naked eye.

[Nemia]

Oh yes, some years ago, there was a meeting of Mars/Ares and Antares/Anti-Ares, that was beautiful! Right now, Mars is in opposition to the Sun and shines so brightly. Jupiter who gave us many lovely hours with his moons disappears early now and takes his father Saturn with him. And Venus in the mornings - always wonderful to see.

The nights are clearer and longer now, and the glorious winter constellations are up. It's a pleasure to be alive and see all these beauties.

[ZhanThay]

Here is a chart of part of the sky tonight showing Uranus and Mars in Aries. The first thing to note is that my location is in Australia so the star patterns are upside down for northern hemisphere viewers.

The almost horizontal line just above halfway is the ecliptic. It is marked in degrees from the first point of Aries. That's the same as an astrology chart. Uranus is about 37 degrees or 7Taurus. Mars is about 42 degrees or 12Taurus. The Seven Sisters (Pleiades) star cluster is about 60 degrees or on the border of Taurus and Gemini. The open circle with a line through it at about 70 degrees or 10Gemini is Aldebaran, the red giant alpha star of constellation Taurus.

For those who are wondering why the alpha star of Taurus (constellation) is in Gemini (zodiac sign), it is due to a phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes. The result is that the positions used in astrology and astronomy have moved almost one sign in reference to the stars. It is a topic for at least one other post. Suffice to say here that looking at the constellations, as a rough approximation, you can add one sign to know where it would be on an astrology chart.

The map was generated from SkyMap Pro.