Astronomical map of the starry sky. Starry sky of Russia

Constellations are areas of the starry sky. To better navigate the starry sky, ancient people began to identify groups of stars that could be linked into individual figures, similar objects, mythological characters and animals. This system allowed people to organize the night sky, making each part of it easily recognizable. This simplified the study of celestial bodies, helped measure time, apply astronomical knowledge in agriculture and navigate by the stars. The stars that we see in our sky as if in one area can actually be extremely far from each other. In one constellation there may be stars that are in no way connected with each other, both very close and very far from the Earth.

There are 88 official constellations in total. In 1922, the International Astronomical Union officially recognized 88 constellations, 48 ​​of which were described by the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his star catalog Almagest around 150 BC. There were gaps in Ptolemy's maps, especially regarding the southern sky. Which is quite logical - the constellations described by Ptolemy covered that part of the night sky that is visible from the south of Europe. The remaining gaps began to be filled during the times of great geographical discoveries. In the 14th century, the Dutch scientists Gerard Mercator, Pieter Keyser and Frederic de Houtman added new constellations to the existing list, and the Polish astronomer Jan Hevelius and the French Nicolas Louis de Lacaille completed what Ptolemy had started. On the territory of Russia, out of 88 constellations, about 54 can be observed.

Knowledge about the constellations came to us from ancient cultures. Ptolemy compiled a map of the starry sky, but people used knowledge about the constellations long before that. At least in the 8th century BC, when Homer mentioned Bootes, Orion and the Big Dipper in his poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, people were already grouping the sky into separate figures. It is believed that the bulk of the knowledge of the ancient Greeks about the constellations came to them from the Egyptians, who, in turn, inherited it from the inhabitants of Ancient Babylon, Sumerians or Akkadians. About thirty constellations were already distinguished by the inhabitants of the Late Bronze Age, in 1650−1050. BC, judging by the records on clay tablets of Ancient Mesopotamia. References to constellations can also be found in Hebrew biblical texts. The most remarkable constellation, perhaps, is the constellation Orion: in almost every ancient culture it had its own name and was revered as special. Thus, in Ancient Egypt he was considered the incarnation of Osiris, and in Ancient Babylon he was called “The Faithful Shepherd of Heaven.” But the most amazing discovery was made in 1972: a piece of mammoth ivory, more than 32 thousand years old, was found in Germany, on which the constellation Orion was carved.

We see different constellations depending on the time of year. Throughout the year, we see different parts of the sky (and different celestial bodies, respectively) because the Earth makes its annual voyage around the Sun. The constellations we see at night are those located behind the Earth on our side of the Sun, because... During the day, behind the bright rays of the Sun, we are unable to see them.

To better understand how this works, imagine that you are riding on a merry-go-round (this is the Earth) with a very bright, blinding light emanating from the center (the Sun). You will not be able to see what is in front of you because of the light, but you will only be able to discern what is outside the carousel. In this case, the picture will constantly change as you ride in a circle. Which constellations you observe in the sky and at what time of year they appear also depends on the geographic latitude of the viewer.

Constellations travel from east to west, like the Sun. As soon as it begins to get dark, at dusk, the first constellations appear in the eastern part of the sky to pass across the entire sky and disappear with dawn in the western part. Due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis, it seems that the constellations, like the Sun, rise and set. The constellations we just observed on the western horizon just after sunset will soon disappear from our view, to be replaced by constellations that were higher up at sunset just a few weeks ago.

Constellations arising in the east have a diurnal shift of about 1 degree per day: completing a 360-degree trip around the Sun in 365 days gives about the same speed. Exactly one year later, at the same time, the stars will occupy exactly the same position in the sky.

The movement of stars is an illusion and a matter of perspective. The direction in which stars move across the night sky is determined by the rotation of the Earth on its axis and really depends on the perspective and which direction the observer is facing.

Looking north, the constellations appear to move counterclockwise around a fixed point in the night sky, the so-called north celestial pole, located near the North Star. This perception is due to the fact that the earth rotates from west to east, i.e. the earth under your feet moves to the right, and the stars like the Sun, Moon and planets above your head follow the east-west direction, i.e. to the right left. However, if you face south, the stars will appear to move clockwise, from left to right.

Zodiac constellations- these are those through which the Sun moves. The most famous constellations out of the 88 existing ones are the zodiacal ones. These include those through which the center of the Sun passes during the year. It is generally accepted that there are 12 zodiacal constellations in total, although in fact there are 13 of them: from November 30 to December 17, the Sun is in the constellation Ophiuchus, but astrologers do not classify it as a zodiac constellation. All zodiacal constellations are located along the visible annual path of the Sun among the stars, the ecliptic, at an inclination of 23.5 degrees to the equator.

Some constellations have families are groups of constellations located in the same area of ​​the night sky. As a rule, they assign the names of the most significant constellation. The most “largely populated” constellation is Hercules, which has as many as 19 constellations. Other major families include Ursa Major (10 constellations), Perseus (9) and Orion (9).

Celebrity constellations. The largest constellation is Hydra, which covers more than 3% of the night sky, while the smallest constellation, the Southern Cross, covers just 0.165% of the sky. Centaurus boasts the largest number of visible stars, with 101 stars included in the famous constellation in the southern hemisphere of the sky. The constellation Canis Major includes the brightest star in our sky, Sirius, whose brilliance is −1.46m. But the constellation called Table Mountain is considered the dimmest and does not contain stars brighter than 5th magnitude. Let us recall that in the numerical characteristic of the brightness of celestial bodies, the lower the value, the brighter the object (the brightness of the Sun, for example, is −26.7m).

Asterism- this is not a constellation. An asterism is a group of stars with a well-established name, for example, the “Big Dipper,” which is part of the constellation Ursa Major, or “Orion’s Belt,” three stars encircling the figure of Orion in the constellation of the same name. In other words, these are fragments of constellations that have secured a separate name for themselves. The term itself is not strictly scientific, but rather simply represents a tribute to tradition.

Fig.1. Winter constellations and the area of ​​never-setting stars in the sky over Moscow

The proposed map creates an image of the starry sky corresponding to the current time and specified location coordinates.
For Moscow, the VDNX coordinates were chosen - 55.83° north latitude and 37.62° east longitude.
When using the map, it should be taken into account that local time in Moscow differs from the zonal Moscow time, measured from the Greenwich meridian, by an average of 30 minutes. Figure 1 shows: the winter starry sky and the region of stars that never set at the latitude of Moscow.
Inside this area there are 6 constellations that do not extend beyond its borders: Ursa Minor; The Dragon; Giraffe; Cassiopeia; Cepheus and Lizard - they are called non-setting.
No matter how the position of the constellations on the star map (Fig. 2) changes, the constellations that do not set always remain on it.

Online planetarium

Directly south of the non-setting constellations there are partially setting constellations such that at least one of their stars falls within the polar circle of the non-setting stars.
There are 15 partially setting constellations in the Moscow sky (clockwise):
1. Ursa Major;
2. Hound Dogs;
3. Bootes;
4. Northern Crown;
5. Hercules;
6. Lyre;
7. Swan;
8. Pegasus;
9. Andromeda;
10. Triangle;
11. Perseus;
12. Charioteer;
13. Gemini;
14. Lynx;
15. Small Leo.

Further to the south follow the setting, fully visible constellations within the boundaries adopted by the International Astronomical Union.
27 such constellations are alternately located above Moscow:
1. Leo;
2. Sextant;
3. Bowl;
4. Veronica's hair;
5. Virgo;
6. Raven;
7. Snake;
8. Libra;
9. Ophiuchus;
10. Shield;
11. Chanterelle;
12. Arrow;
13. Dolphin;
14. Eagle;
15. Capricorn;
16. Small Horse;
17. Aquarius;
18. Pisces;
19. Whale;
20. Aries;
21. Taurus;
22. Orion;
23. Hare;
24. Canis Minor;
25. Unicorn;
26. Canis Major;
27. Cancer

And at the very southern horizon there are partially visible constellations, those in which at least one star sometimes appears from behind the horizon.
At different times of the year, 15 partially visible constellations can be found in the starry sky of Moscow:
1. Hydra;
2. Centaurus;
3. Wolf;
4. Scorpio;
5. Sagittarius;
6. Microscope;
7. South. Fish;
8. Sculptor;
9. Oven;
10. Eridanus;
11. Cutter;
12. Dove;
13. Feed;
14. Compass;
15. Pump.

Thus, in the Moscow sky you can find stars from 63 constellations!

It is most convenient to check for the presence or absence of a constellation in a list ordered alphabetically, so an alphabetical list of constellations visible in the Sochi sky would be quite appropriate here:

Andromeda, Gemini, Ursa Major, Canis Major, Libra, Aquarius, Charioteer, Wolf, Bootes, Veronica's Hair, Raven, Hercules, Hydra, Dove, Canes Hounds, Virgo, Dolphin, Dragon, Unicorn, Giraffe, Hare, Ophiuchus, Snake, Cassiopeia, Whale, Capricorn, Compass, Poop, Swan, Leo, Lyre, Chanterelle, M.Horse, M.Dog, Leo Minor, Ursa Minor, Microscope, Pump, Aries, Eagle, Orion, Pegasus, Perseus, Furnace, Cancer, Incisor, Pisces, Lynx, Northern Crown, Sextant, Scorpio, Sculptor, Arrow, Sagittarius, Taurus, Triangle, Centaurus, Cepheus, Chalice, Shield, Eridanus, Southern Pisces, Lizard.

Another peculiar characteristic of the sky over Moscow is the list of constellations awarded the honor of passing through the zenith at midnight culmination (the best conditions for visual observation):

from January 30 to April 29 - Ursa Major;
from April 30 to July 14 - Dragon;
from July 15 to August 1 - Swan;
from August 2 to August 28 - Cepheus;
from August 29 to September 5 - Lizard;
from September 6 to October 19 - Cassiopeia;
from October 20 to November 14 - Perseus;
from November 15 to December 9 - Giraffe;
from December 10 to December 26 - Charioteer;
from December 27 to January 29 - Lynx.

In total, 10 constellations pass through the Moscow zenith.

Starry sky over Moscow
Mini planetarium online

Star map. Boundaries and names of constellations visible at the latitude of Moscow

Hotkeys for controlling the online star map:
(work with the cursor hovering over the map and the Latin keyboard layout)

  • a→ haze (simulation of atmosphere, on/off)
  • g→ take into account the horizon
  • h→ selecting the map type
  • i→ invert colors
  • , → show ecliptic
  • ; → draw a meridian line
  • e→ show equatorial grid
  • z→ show azimuthal grid
  • m→ show galactic grid
  • M→ show the boundaries of the Milky Way
  • q→ hide cardinal directions
  • s→ hide stars
  • S→ hide star names
  • u→ hide planet names
  • p→ hide the planets and the Sun
  • o→ show the orbits of the planets
  • c→ show constellation diagrams
  • v→ hide constellation names
  • b→ hide constellation boundaries
  • R→ show radiants of meteor showers
  • 8 → set current time
  • j→ slow down the timing
  • k→ pause in timing
  • l→ speed up the timing
  • - → one day ago
  • = → one day ahead
  • [ → a week ago
  • ] → a week in advance
  • % → rotate counterclockwise
  • " → rotate clockwise
  • & → show dim stars
  • (→ hide dim stars

1 or ? → show this list on the star map

Sergey Ov(Seosnews9)

25.05. 2018 - Work on this page will continue:
Abstracts:
- Constellations passing through the zenith ✔
- Constellations, asterisms and seasons
- Panorama map of the entire part of the starry sky accessible for viewing from Moscow.

* At a similar latitude, the picture of the starry sky is similar; as a rule, the visual similarity remains with deviations in latitude of 1-2°, i.e., approximately the same as the sky in Moscow will look like in cities such as:
Vladimir, Cheboksary, Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Severobaikalsk, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Klaipeda and Vitebsk - for an exact match between the map and the sky, you only need to enter a time correction or the coordinates of the corresponding city in upper left corner of the star map.

Regional star maps are created for large cities and resort areas.

Links to star maps, constellation maps, both online and static, as well as descriptions of services and programs for working with maps of the starry sky, space and more.

1. Map of the starry sky and constellations

The most optimal, in my opinion, star map. The equatorial part is built in a cylindrical projection, and the poles in an azimuthal one. Thanks to this, distortions at the junctions of these projections are minimized, but don’t be surprised that some constellations appear twice: on the maps of the poles and the equatorial one. The map is presented as a jpeg image in fairly high resolution.

2. Google Sky

An interactive star map like no other. A titanic work has been done and from a huge number of photographs taken by the Hubble orbital telescope, a map of the entire starry sky has been compiled, by increasing the scale of which you can see stars that are not visible not only with the naked eye, but even with an optical telescope from Earth. In addition, the service provides the opportunity to arrange stars into constellations, view their historical images, as well as take a tour of the solar system, and view the sky in the invisible infrared and microwave ranges.

3. Google Earth service (Google Earth)

Taking Google Sky and Google Map as a basis, Google programmers and designers went even further and created a browser program that, connecting to a single database via the Internet, loads maps of the Earth and sky, as well as the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, onto your computer. The Google Earth project is rapidly developing and is open to anyone who wants to contribute. For example, you can map a 3D model of your home if others haven't already done so.
The service also allows you to record videos based on the map, add voice or music accompaniment to them and save it as a video file.

4. Photopic Sky Survey

Another interesting and stunning online starry sky project with convenient controls. As in the previous case with Google, the image was obtained by stitching a huge number of real 5-megapixel photographs into a single whole and obtaining a circular panorama of the starry sky.
You can apply a tracing layer with constellations connected by lines, but, unlike Google Sky and Google Earth, the image cannot be saved.

Summer is a good time for the first observations of the starry sky with children. The nights, although short, are warm. And a bright sky is good for teaching a child to find the brightest stars.

Today there are a lot of different mobile applications that will show you the direction to any star or planet. Against their background, a paper map of the starry sky looks like a mysterious rarity. However, this simple device allows you to determine when and in which direction of the world to look for the constellation you are interested in. With its help, you can plan observations and carry out research work. It also has other possibilities, but they will be discussed in the following articles.

Star map installation

The entire device consists of two parts: a card and an overhead circle. The slot in the overhead circle is made depending on the latitude of the area.

1. Download the map and overlay circle for your latitude. (You can find out the latitude of the area by simply typing “geographic coordinates ******” into the Yandex search bar)

(downloads: 10608)
(downloads: 5706)
(downloads: 5977)
(downloads: 3795)

2. Print out the map and circle. On A3 format, the map and circle will be much more convenient, but A4 will do for a start. The main thing is that the map and the circle are printed in the same format.

3. The card does not need to be cut out. For strength, you can stick it on cardboard, or, even better, laminate it. A laminated card will last much longer, the paper circle does not slide off it (because it gets electrified and sticks), you can stick transparent stickers on it and make marks on them with a regular ballpoint pen.

4. The overlay circle must be cut along the contour, and a hole must be cut inside (indicated by a red line). There is no need to laminate the circle, but printing it on thick paper would be nice. In any case, over time you can make a new one.

5. Glue a thread on the back of the card between points C and S. This thread marks the celestial meridian. It is more convenient to observe any luminary precisely when it is located on the celestial meridian.

Setting a star chart for a specific time

1. First you need to make a time correction. From the time that the clock currently shows, you need to subtract 1 hour 30 minutes. (This is an average value that is quite suitable for initial observations. In general, the correction is calculated based on the longitude of the observation location and the time zone number)

2. Find the month and date on the edge of the map.

3. Take time on the overhead circle.

4. Align the date on the card with the time on the overlay circle. Make sure that the circle is located in the middle of the map. The slot in the circle will contain those constellations that are visible above the horizon at the specified moment in time.

We make a time correction, subtract 1 hour 30 minutes from 21 hours 30 minutes. We get 20 hours.

We find twenty hours on the overhead circle (red mark), and on the map September 15 (blue mark)

is a free program - a virtual planetarium that allows you to see:

  • star map;
  • constellations;
  • planets of the solar system;
  • and other objects of the vast space.

Observing the planets and studying the constellations of the starry sky will be interesting for both children and adults.

Night sky over Japan

Mars with satellites

Stellarium is easy to learn and use.

The program interface is completely Russified. In the settings menu, however, there are items in English, but they are not particularly important (for example, the help item “about the program”).

Settings panels are equipped with tooltips.

Program settings.

In the lower left corner, when you hover the cursor, two panels with settings appear

The top icon on the left panel opens the location settings window for stargazing:

Here you can select a location by entering coordinates, selecting a city and country from the list, or selecting a point on the map. You can use the default location of your choice; to do this, you need to check the appropriate box.

The second icon opens the time setting window.

The third will show you the view settings.

On the first tab, called “Sky,” you can configure the display of stars: absolute and relative magnification, turn on/off flickering and dynamic sensitivity adaptation.

You can also turn on/off the atmosphere display. Settings for planets and satellites include enabling/disabling planets, their labels, orbits, modeling the speed of light and scaling the Moon.

You can also turn star, nebula, and planet labels on or off, and change the size of the labels. And even adjust the number of passing meteors per hour...

In the “Notations” tab, you can configure the “celestial sphere”: display in the sky the equatorial grid, equatorial grid j2000 (this is the grid of the epoch j 2000, i.e., the times of 2000), azimuth grid, equator line, meridian, ecliptic and cardinal directions .

There are also constellation settings: constellation lines, names, contours and images of constellations (more on this below) and image brightness. You can also select projections; descriptions of the projections are displayed to the right of the name.

In the “Terrain” tab, you can select the landscape that will be shown during observation, such as the ocean, or the landscape of other planets, such as Mars or Saturn. You can also control the display of the ground, haze above the ground, and set the selected landscape as the default landscape.

The “Star Knowledge” tab allows you to learn ancient knowledge about the stars of various civilizations, such as the Aztec or Polynesian. If you choose one of these knowledge models, the names and shapes of the constellations will be displayed in the sky in accordance with the names of these peoples.

The next icon on the left panel will open a search window for the object you want to see.

The penultimate icon opens the settings window:

In the “Main” tab, you can select the program language, the option to display information about the selected object: all available, short or nothing.

In the “Movement” tab, you can enable/disable movements with the keyboard or mouse, and also select (set) the start time of observation.

In the “Service” tab there are settings for the planetarium parameters, such as: distortion of the spherical mirror, disk field of view, for more realistic star observation, non-horizontal object signatures, if you want to change the position of the star signatures, etc. Screenshot settings, purpose /change the folder for screenshots.

Star catalog settings, you can download additionally nine star catalogs.

"Scenarios" tab. Here you can run an observation script, the program will act “automatically”, all you have to do is observe.

In the “Plugins” tab, you can enable the loading of the plugin when the program starts and configure it. There are eight plugins in total. The last icon on the left toolbar is help.

The first and second buttons on the bottom toolbar include constellation lines and their names, respectively.

The result of their actions is shown in the figure.

The third button shows images of constellations in the sky:

The next two buttons enable the display of grids.

The sixth button turns on the landscape.

The seventh button turns on the display of cardinal directions.

The eighth and ninth buttons allow you to see nebulae and marks of planets of the solar system in the starry sky.

The next button switches between equatorial and azimuthal entry.

The twelfth button positions the selected object in the center of the screen.

Thirteen turns on night mode

The following icon enables full screen mode.

This is what the moon looks like when this option is selected.

The next button turns on the display of Earth satellites.

The last group of buttons controls time, slows it down, speeds it up, etc.

And the last button on this panel is to exit the program.

Download for free Stellarium - star map on your computer