I was just wondering what are some of the stars, constellations or any other things that one can just identify by looking up at the night sky.
For example, when ever i look up, I immediately see Orion and can identify Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix. Apart from that i can identify some of the bright stars liike sirius , vega. So, what other stars are there that one can easily identify and point?
In the Fall (early morning) and the Winter (early-late evening), Orion is a large an easily identifiable constellation.
In the Spring (early morning) and the Summer (early-late evening), Cygnus and Pegasus are two large and easily identifiable constellations.
Check out an application called Stellarium. It's free and available for every current platform and has a large database.
Whenever you look up, if your northern sky is away from a city, locating Polaris will anchor you because it is the closest relatively bright star to the north celestial pole. It stays in the same place. Every night and every day it is where it is. No matter what time of year, Polaris will be the base point for locating other northern constellations.
It varies throughout the year. A book or a website with maps will help.
In Spring, Leo and Boötes dominate the southern skies, with Coma Berencies between them
In Summer, the summer triangle of Deneb, Altair and Vega is seen, with Cygnus flying along the Milky Way, and the rich star fields of Saggitarius closer to the horizon.
In Autumn there is the square of Pegasus, with Andomeda riding, past Perseus
And in Winter, Orion dominates the southern skies, with his dogs following.
In the North, Cassiopea and the Ursa Major, are on opposite sides of the Pole star.
