constellation navigation

[Cold and dead]

I have noticed every night when I go outside for a smoke and look up I can see orions belt, and like the sun here in FL it rises in the east and sets in the west, is this true all over the world?

[TXwaterdog]

Of course not. The other side of the world would have to look down to see what you see when you look up. I have a few books on celestial navigation that are interesting and useful but I've learned more from my iPhone app GoSkywatch. I don't know if it's the best one but it does work when there is no signal. It is accurate to your last logged gps location. So, if all civilization shuts down I can still use this app to find constellations as long as my phone has power and I'm in the same general area (time zone and hemisphere/ part of the USA) of my last log in. (BTW, another good app is SAS Survival guide. It's a pdf and is also always accessible).


The most important constellation to look for in the sky is "The Great Bear" it's also known as the big dipper (tail of the bear). This is why: http://souledout.org/nightsky/bigdippernavigation/bigdippernavigation.html

Another point I wanted to add about celestrial naviagation is the quickest way to double check your bearing is by looking at the moon. The lighted side always points directly west. (The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, but the moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about 5 degrees to our equator, so the moon doesn't rise in exactly the same place as the sun each day. The moon can be a little farther north or south at moonrise and at moonset. -stolen from yahoo answers to complete my point here).

Long story short. Night navigation is always the same everywhere in the world if you're using the moon as a bearing if you take into account for the hemisphere.

A planosphere is a good thing to add to your kit if you need the help to make bearings more comfortably. It will help if you have kids and want to keep them busy as well. I'm adding it to my kit now that I've told you to. It can't hurt.

Daytime navigation:
You can also get a bearing based on an analog watch or a sundial..

In the northern hemisphere:
Hold the watch horizontal.
Point the hour hand in the direction of the sun.
Bisect the angle between the hour hand and the twelve o'clock mark to get the north-south line (substitute 1 o'clock mark during Daylight Saving Time). North will be the direction further from the sun.
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-an-Analog-Watch-as-a-Compass

Using just sticks to find your direction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sKjrx61bqI&feature=related






Planispheres aren't just kids toys:
http://www.scientificsonline.com/planisphere-star-planet-locator.html?&cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-NULL-_-3009227&mr:trackingCode=03687E60-F6BC-DF11-907B-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA


Check this site for a free star map like the one below: http://www.astroviewer.com/current-night-sky.php?lon=-73.94&lat=40.67&city=New+York+City&tz=EST



Well that was a bit more than you asked for, but I hope your answer was in there somewhere.

[Cold and dead]

I have a copy of the sas survival guide, have not gotten to it yet. was thinking that people in different parts of the world could post here what will "rise in the east and set in the west" in their part of the world. while in fl orions belt is more ese to wsw... if you look between it and the "little dipper" there is a upside down triangle dont know what celestial body it is but I know its points wsw most nights

[Flying Lead]

A planospere is a good thing to have to study the sky, makes a great reference. I found a pocket model a while back that's 4 inches wide. Great to backpack with. You can navigate at night with the sky, but not at the extreme polar areas. In the Arctic Circle Orion is visible all year. It goes around in a circle. Astronomy is kinda boring up in Alaska and extremely northern regions, except for the Northern Lights.
We set a planetarium up for the North Pole a few years ago. Kind or hard to figure out what time of year it is like you can here when viewing the sky.

[JohnnyWahkr]

Look at the big dippers forward most edge of the "cup". Where the water would spill out if you lifted the handle. go 5 lengths in the same direction, bottom to top, and thats Polaris or the north star. If you have a horizon get a nautical almanac and in addition to having true north the declination or altitude of the star will give you an exact latitude. minus 90 or HO or something along those lines its all spelled out in the Nuti Alm.

[cv66er]

I have noticed every night when I go outside for a smoke and look up I can see orions belt, and like the sun here in FL it rises in the east and sets in the west, is this true all over the world?

Rise in the east and set in the west is true all over the world, except at the poles. The stars you see will be the same for everyone on your latitude. They will just see them at a different time than you do. Someone on the opposite side of the globe but at the same latitude would see the same constellations twelve hours after you do. This is because the earth is rotating.

If you were to move south (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) you would see more southern stars come up over the southern horizon, till you hit the equator, then northern stars would start to disappear behind the northern horizon if you continued south. Eventually, the constellations you recognize would set, or be so close to the northern horizon that you probably wouldn't recognize them. Of course, the opposite would happen, if you move north.

Even if you stay in the same spot on earth, the constellations will not stay the same. If you look up into the night sky at the exact same time every night, all the constellations will have moved a bit to the west. Orion might be in the east for winter, would be in the west by spring, and isn't visible at all in the summer. This is because the earth revolves around the sun.

[g211]

I have noticed every night when I go outside for a smoke and look up I can see orions belt

It changes with time of year. In North America in winter, it's directly overhead at night. In summer, it's not.

and like the sun here in FL it rises in the east and sets in the west, is this true all over the world?/quote]

Everything South of Polaris and North of the Southern Cross appears to go East to West regardless of your position on the Earth, because the surface of the Earth is rotating towards the East (everywhere). Objects that appear to be below the celestial pole from your location (e.g. below the North start in the Northern Hemisphere) will appear to be going the other way -- because they're actually on the other side of the Earth and East is the other way over there.

Sick, huh?