2. This guide follows the principle that the best way to learn the constellations is incremental

3. It should be noted that in areas with severe light pollution the type of observation described herein may be impossibleThe first step in the process is finding the North Star, which is also known as Polaris, in the constellation Ursa Minor Polaris is the only star in the night sky with a fixed position, making it an extremely useful reference point

4. Orient yourself By findingThe North star The biggest challenge to learning constellations is that the night sky is not static: All the stars move, with one notable (and useful) exception: N Polaris/North Star From your point of view, looking north, the “sky” rotates counter clockwise around Polaris, aka the “North Star” Although the stars will rotate and thus change position through time, Polaris will remain fixed This makes Polaris and Ursa Minor very useful as a reference point

5. Find The North Star I(Finding North) Make note of the direction you are facing by noting a landmark or feature on the horizon that is fixed that you can reference later. http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/events/sanctuaries/sunset_olympic650.jpg Find West by facing the Sunset Turn ninety degrees so that the sunset is to our left. You are now facing North!! In this case the tower in the distance would be a good reference to find West once the sun has gone down (assuming it can be seen at night)

6. Find the North Star II Polaris will always be due North from you Its position (vertical from the horizon) only depends on where you are on the surface of the Earth relative to the North Pole (your latitude) N A For Observer A, the pole star is directly overhead Earth http://www.redorbit.com/modules/reflib/article_images/10_7ac7ecab79f371abd067205f45d0dadd.jpg B As one moves closer to the equator, the pole star gets lower in the sky until, for someone below the equator, it disappears

7. Find the North Star IIIThe altitude of the North star is the same as your latitudeFor example, Utah is at approximately 40 degrees latitudeThis means that an observer in Utah should look due north and forty degrees above the horizon for the North Star Without using a sextant or protractor, the position of Ursa Minor can be found by approximating that forty degrees is a little less than half way between straight up and directly in front

8. The North Star will always be in this position as viewed from the same vantage point From points farther north it will appear higher in the sky, but will always be to the north We now have a set point from which we can “jump” to other constellations by observing constellations that are right next to ones we already know In this case, we know how to find the North star which is part of the Little Dipper Using this, we can now try to find Draco, which is right next to it

9. Draco Draco is outlined in pink Note that it is right next to, and encircles, Ursa Minor In this way we have used our fixed reference point (Polaris) to locate another constellation, Draco Keep in mind that Draco will appear to rotate around polaris counterclockwise http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/starmap-large.gif

10. Building a base: With the North star located, it is easy to build a working knowledge of the night sky The most efficient way is to locate constellations and stars that are unknown using those that are known Each night go out and find the constellations that you have already located By going out at the same time each night you will ensure that the relative positions of the stars have not changed, making it easier to find familiar patterns Using these as reference points ( you will also need a good star chart) it will be much easier to find new constellations Eventually, with practice, constellations will be easy to find By repeating these steps one can build a full knowledgebase of the night sky