2007-03-16 03:26:40 · 11 answers · asked by raindovewmn41 6 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
Aw, do I have to choose just one? Amateur astronomy is one of my hobbies. We live out in a dark rural area where the starry skies are awesome, and though I have several scopes and two pair of binox, my wife and I enjoy naked-eye viewing as much as anything.
Some favorites:
Andromeda - Which also has the Andromeda galaxy nearby, a naked-eye sight on dark nights here!
The Big Dipper, which is really an asterism that is part of Ursa Major. Looking up the front edge of the dipper in an almost straight line leads the eye to Polaris, the North Star. Arcing around from the handle leads the eye to the bright star Arcturus.
Cygnus - The graceful Swan has a beautifully colored double star in its long neck. It takes a telescope to see this.
Orion - The Great Hunter
Scorpius - The Scorpion is beautiful in the summertime in the southern sky.
Pleiades - An asterism in the constellation of Taurus, the Seven Sisters are one of the most beautiful sights in binoculars.
Delphinus -The Dolphin is also a beautiful sight, swimming along the edge of the Milky way.
2007-03-16 03:50:22 · answer #1 · answered by Husker41 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Orion the Hunter and The Gemini Twins are two of my favourite constellations. They both rise at roughly the same time and are very prominent in the winter night sky. I also the M or W shaped Cassiopeia.
However, my favourite star grouping is The Pleiades star cluster. It's what's known as an asterism, not the same thing as a constellation, but still quite a noticeable pattern. It's part of the constellation Taurus the Bull and appears as a misty dipper. It's quite faint and could be mistaken for a wisp of cloud. It rises late at night in August. I usually spot it around mid to late August just after midnight. It's coming near that time again so I'm looking forward! The Pleiades, also known as M45 and The Seven Sisters is about 400 light years away and contains several hundred stars in total. However, usually only six or seven are visible to the naked eye. It looks quite stunning through my binoculars and even more so through as a telescope.
I hope this information is helpful - Happy star-gazing!
2014-08-03 18:24:40 · answer #2 · answered by marin 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like Orion for a variety of reasons: 1) it is easy to spot 2) the three stars on the belt point down to Sirius (the dogstar) which is the brightest star in the night sky (actually its a triple star system). 3) It is a part of a larger constellation that includes his hunting dog (thus the "dogstar.") 4) The names of the stars have some significance in other enternainments that I enjoy. [A. Rigel is the name of the star that Ford Prefect calls home (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) B. Beetlejuice...need I say more? C. Beatrix...from the later Harry Potter books.]
Yeah...I have to go with Orion.
2007-03-16 10:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by Maddog Salamander 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The "Big Dipper" because it is the only one I can identify.
2007-03-16 12:08:55 · answer #4 · answered by Jay (cynical) 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Orion the Hunter....I couldnt find it until I took astronomy, but now he is always the easiest for me to find...I love it...
2007-03-16 10:30:02 · answer #5 · answered by YouKnowImRight 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the only one I can recognize in the sky immediately is my favorite: Cassiopeia
2007-03-16 10:33:32 · answer #6 · answered by Optimistic 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Orion, because it's so easy to spot.
2007-03-16 10:29:31 · answer #7 · answered by Cobalt 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
big and little dipper. they are the only ones i can find
2007-03-16 10:29:19 · answer #8 · answered by ♥sweet♥ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
big dipper
2007-03-16 10:30:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i can never see any! grrrr
2007-03-16 10:32:13 · answer #10 · answered by Azsa S. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋