The Big Dipper, also known as the Plough in the UK, is actually not a constellation. It is an asterism, a popularly-known pattern or a group of stars in the night sky. It forms the core of the Ursa Major constellation. Just like its parent constellation, the Big Dipper is mostly known for its numerous…

The big W up in the night sky, very hard to miss once you have seen it. One of the lighthouse constellations that is a starting point for many of my star hopping treasure hunts. Interesting Objects Near Cassiopeia, there are not that much interesting objects to discover. There are 2 small rather boring open…

Ursa Minor is one of the most boring but also one of the most important constellations to amateur astronomers. It is boring as there is not much to observe or image beside one of the most well-known star Polaris. Interesting Objects What makes Ursa Minor so interesting is that just next to Polaris sits an…

Lyra is a tiny constellation of 5 stars in the form of a parallelogram of 4 stars attached to Vega. Interesting Objects The only interesting object that can easily been observed or photographed is the tiny planetary nebulae M57, the Ring Nebula. How to get there Locate Vega in the Summer Triangle How to get…

Just after the sun sets, in the Northern Hemisphere, when the first stars become visible, 3 of the earlierst stars to appear are Vega, Deneb and Altair. They form the Summer Triangle. I use them as a starting point for star hopping as these 4 stars span a large part of the evening sky ……

When you look up into the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere, two of the easiest constellations are the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper (or the Plough) in Ursa Major. These are the 2 constellations I look for first on any given night I setup my telescope. They are great starting points…