How to identify constellations as a beginner

Stars have always fascinated us since childhood, but do you know some stars can form imaginary patterns that look like familiar faces? These groups are called constellations. As per modern astronomy, there are 88 constellations in our night sky. All of them are associated with some folklore In this article today I’ll show you some basics of how to identify them.

Ursa Minor

Take a compass and point towards 0° North. This is where the Pole star (Polaris) is. Did you see it? Great! This star is crucial because back when we didn’t have compasses people used to navigate through seas with this star. But since we do have compasses now, we don’t need to worry. Also, this is where you shall find the Ursa Minor constellation (aka Little Dipper). This constellation resembles a bear. This and its twin Ursa Major are one of the most famous and visible constellations. They won’t be visible in the southern hemisphere so people in the southern hemisphere use different pole stars.

That’s how the Ursa Minor looks like

Ursa Major

Left from Ursa Minor roughly between 300° North West and 355° North you shall see the Ursa Major constellation (aka the Big Dipper). Note that Ursa Major will only be visible till 11:11PM. This is one of the most famous constellations and it resembles a bear just like Ursa Minor. It is not a member of 12 zodiac group of constellations.

And that’s how the Ursa Major constellation looks like

These 2 were just a few of the most famous constellations. To know how to identify more constellations you can check out this blog here.