[Credit and Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)]
Note the Pleiades nearby!
Well, I’m your Venus, I’m your fire. At your desire.
if it’s so bright and shiny at night, how can anybody sleep there??
That’s pretty neat. Thanks! Been learning a little about the stars with some younger folks here. Eventually, the knowledge might be good as an extra land nav tool while watching the funny magnetic declination show.
A good start for those interested:
Find the Big Dipper.
Find the two stars of the end of the dipper farthest from the handle.
Follow an imaginary straight line through those two stars from bottom to top, in that direction.
That line from bottom through top of the end of the dipper points to a somewhat bright star not very far from the dipper—maybe somewhere between 20 and 35 degrees (only a quick rough guess here).
That’s Polaris: the North Star. That’s geographical north, or pretty close. Line it up vertically with a landmark on the ground. Magnetic north will be in a different direction for most of us, with the direction depending on where we are.
Have fun.