a beginner's guide to stargazing in the northern hemisphere*
*note that the stars visible to people in the NH differ based on your latitude. Those nearer to the equator will see some different stars than someone near the north pole.
The big dipper is an ideal place to start with stargazing. Its ladle-like shape is widely recognized and is quite easy to spot, even in areas with greater light pollution. The big dipper is located towards the northern sky, and you can use it to locate two other well-known stars.
By following the bottom two stars in the "scoop" of the dipper, you can find polaris, also known as the north star. Polaris is always directly north, and its height in the sky is determined by your latitude. For example, someone at 20° N would see polaris located at 20° above the horizon. Polaris is located in the Ursa Minor constellation, also known as the little dipper.
By following the curve of the handle of the big dipper, you can locate the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. Arcturus is the brightest star in that constellation, and has a reddish tint to it, making it fairly easy to locate if you know where to look.
Looking on the other side of Polaris as the big dipper is on, there is a constellation known as Cassiopeia. Often known as the "crooked W," cassiopeia resembles, well, a crooked W. This is my personal favorite constellation :)
in the winter times in the northern hemisphere, occasionally the constellation orion is visible. this constellation is usually fairly low in the southern horizon, unless you live pretty close to the equator. Orion is usually best recognized by the three stars that form orion´s belt, and by following this belt you can find two more prominent stars.
If you follow orion´s belt downwards, you´ll find a very bright white star, named Sirius. This is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Following Orion´s belt in the opposite direction, you´ll find the star aldebaran, another bright star which has an orangeish tint to it.
Above orion's belt is a well-known star named betelgeuse. Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle-juice) is best well known because it is a red supergiant star, which could go supernova anytime within the next few days to the next few thousand years. In our night sky, it appears fairly bright and quite orange.
and finally, looking below orions belt, depending on the light pollution in your area, you may be able to see a cloudy looking object, almost appearing as "orion's knee" (that's at least what i call it, most people say it's his sword). This is the Orion Nebula - one of the only nebula visible to the naked eye.
If anyone living in the southern hemisphere would like to add on tips for those living there, feel free! I'll reblog any other stargazing tips people leave :)
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