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Let's
Get Started!
In this Web site I list weekly suggestions on what to see when you
go outside and look up. But first, a few notes on finding your way around.
I've
got to hand it to you
An easy way to describe how high something is above the horizon, or how
far it is from another object in the sky, is to measure by using your
outstretched hand. That's the measuring device I'll use in this Web site.
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If you hold your hand at arms length, the width of your little finger
is about 1 degree. So, from one horizon to the other would span 180
degrees or 180 little fingers!
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Three of your fingers combined together span approximately 5 degrees
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Your fist spans about 10 degrees
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Your outstretched hand from thumb to little finger covers around 25
degrees.
We
all need some direction in our life
North, south, east and west - it's crucial to know in what direction you
are looking. If you can find the North Star, great! You know where north
is, and that south is right behind you. But you can also use a compass
to find directions, or a map that shows if you are north, south, east
or west of a landmark like a city or airport.
Shine
a little light on the subject
It's easiest to see things in the night sky if you are away from neighborhood
lights (but use common sense to stay safe, and don't trespass on private
property.) However, when it's dark enough to see the night sky, it's too
dark to read the maps and instructions you may have printed off this Web
site or gotten from a magazine.
A flashlight won't work, because it will be so bright it will wreck your
"night vision", the adaptation of your eyes to dark and low light conditions.
The solution is a "red flashlight" that displays only a red-tinged light.
This preserves your night vision but gives sufficient illumination to
read maps and charts. Find a red flashlight at a store or Web site specializing
in astronomy gadgets, or make one yourself by taping red plastic or cellophane
over the end of a penlight.
Dimensions
of time and space
You can observe all night long, but most of us need to go to sleep sometime
and get up for school or work the next day. So, from a practical standpoint,
I will list things that most people can go out and look at before midnight.
My directions and descriptions are optimized for the approximate longitude
of Detroit, Michigan, USA. If you live far south of there, the stars you
see when you look south will be higher in the sky and the stars in the
north lower.
If you are far north of Detroit, the opposite is true.
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