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A beginner-friendly guide to celestial navigation
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Before the GPS or the compass, your main means of finding your way was star navigation. Although today’s technology makes finding your way easier, it’s still fun to learn how stars are used for navigation. You can find north, south, east, or west by learning a few stars and constellations, or you can simply pick out a star and follow its movements. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about how to navigate and read the stars.
Things You Should Know
- In the Northern Hemisphere, find Polaris or the North Star in the tip of the Little Dipper’s Handle. This points to true north.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, locate the Southern Cross and follow the 2 brightest stars down to the horizon to find south.
- Locate east or west by finding the rightmost star in Orion’s belt, which rises and sets within a degree of true east or west.
Steps
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Locate Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Bear or Little Dipper. The North Star is the tip of the Little Dipper’s handle, or the tail of the Little Bear. Finding Polaris is important to star navigation because it remains almost in the same spot all night. [1] X Research source
- The star is called Polaris because it appears within a degree of the Celestial North Pole and therefore appears to not move in the night sky. [2] X Research source
- In Greek mythology, Zeus rewarded two bears with a home in the stars of the night sky. When he threw them up there, he swung them by their tails, which elongated and formed the Ursa Minor constellation. [3] X Research source
- Today, most people refer to Ursa Minor as the Little Dipper instead of the Little Bear because the seven stars that make up the constellation look like a small water dipper.
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Use pointer stars in the Big Dipper to find Polaris and True North. Although Polaris is visible in the northern sky at most locations north of the equator, it can be hard to spot if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. Instead, locate the Big Dipper and find Merak and Dubhe, the two stars on the edge of the Big Dipper opposite its handle. Follow these stars toward the Big Dipper’s mouth to find Polaris. [4] X Research source
- If you go 5 times the Merak-Dubhe distance away from Dubhe, you’ll be within 3 degrees of Polaris. If Polaris is clouded over, you still know where it is.
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Locate the Cassiopeia constellation. Depending on your position, Cassiopeia appears as an “M” or a “W” in the sky. While Polaris is located at the North Celestial Pole, Cassiopeia is at the South Celestial Pole. Connect these two points to find true north . [5] X Research source
- When the Big Dipper is below the horizon, find the Great Square of the Pegasus constellation. Measure the distance from the star Alpheratz (visually a part of Pegasus but actually a part of Andromeda), to Caph, the star at the rightmost edge of Cassiopeia (W-shaped). In line with the 2 stars, measure another of these distances. You’ll then be less than 3 degrees from Polaris, even if you can’t physically see it. [6] X Research source
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Locate Ursa Minor. Known as the Little Dipper or the Little Bear, this constellation resembles a small ladle with 2 stars at the end of the handle. Locate the Little Dipper , then find the star at the tip of the handle and draw an imaginary line from the star down to the horizon. The point where the line meets the horizon is south.
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Find the Orion constellation. Orion, or the Hunter, resembles a bent hourglass with stars making up Orion’s shoulders, knees, and belt. Find Alnilam, the middle star in Orion’s belt, and look for one moderately bright, one dim, and one fuzzy star hanging down from the belt. These represent Orion’s sword, which points south. [8] X Research source
- The stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix represent Orion’s shoulders, and the stars Saiph and Rigel represent the knees or feet. Orion’s belt consists of 3 stars: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, Orion is visible chiefly in the winter and early spring but can be seen late at night in the fall or before sunrise in the summer.
- The fuzzy “star” in Orion’s sword is actually the Great Nebula of Orion, an interstellar nursery where new stars are being formed. [9] X Research source
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Select any star you see in the night sky. While any star will work, it’s best to choose one that’s bright and easily visible. Then, line the star up with the tops of both stakes. [15] X Research source
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Wait for the stars to move out of position with the stakes. Earth’s rotation from west to east causes the stars in the sky, as a whole, to rotate from east to west. The direction the star has moved in respect to its original position tells you which direction you’re facing. [16] X Research source
- If the star rose, you’re facing east.
- If the star sank, you’re facing west.
- If the star moved to the left, you’re facing north.
- If the star moved to the right, you’re facing south.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow can I find the pole star? Is it the brightest?Community AnswerNo, it isn't. It is, however, very bright in regard to its surroundings, making it easier to identify. The traditional way of finding it is to first locate the Big Dipper. Then, if the "handle" is on the left side, look at the two stars on the right side and imagine a line between them. Imagine this elongated four times upward (again, if the handle is on the left), and at the end of that line, there is Polaris, or the North Star.
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QuestionHow do I find my latitude if I can't see Polaris?Community AnswerMeasure the angle of the sun above the horizon at its highest point (i.e. midday). Then use a table of corrections to add or subtract the appropriate number of degrees depending on which day of the year it is (at an equinox the corrections are zero, at a solstice you add or subtract 23.5 degrees).
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Tips
- Drawing an arc from the stars in the Big Dipper’s handle leads first to the bright star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, the Herdsman, and then to the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo, the Virgin. [17] X Research source Star Identification. Naval Air Training Command, Navigation Section, January 1951Thanks
- Remember, when looking for Polaris (the North Star), you aren’t looking for the brightest star in the sky. Polaris is only the 48th brightest star we know of, and the actual brightest is Sirius, the Dog Star, in the constellation Canis Major.Thanks
- You can use the Big Dipper to find stars other than Polaris, as well. Drawing a line through the pointer stars Merak and Dubhe away from the Little Dipper leads to the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo, the Lion.Thanks
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Warnings
- As the Earth’s axes move over time, the north and south poles will gradually point in a different direction. In turn, different stars will move closer to the poles, and eventually (after 1000 years) Polaris will no longer be the North Star. However, the instructions for finding your direction by following a star’s position over time will still work as long as Earth continues to rotate west to east. [18] X Research sourceThanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/tec_navigation.pdf
- ↑ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/polaris/
- ↑ https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/constellation_pages/ursa_minor.htm#:~:text=In%20mythology%20Ursa%20Minor%20is,found%20the%20North%20Star%2C%20Polaris .
- ↑ https://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/tec_navigation.pdf
- ↑ https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Spolaris.htm
- ↑ https://www.cpre.org.uk/discover/how-to-find-constellations-in-the-night-sky/
- ↑ https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/navigation-and-transportation/wayfinding-and-navigation
- ↑ https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=84334§ion=_unit1.3.6#:~:text=Finding%20south%20using%20Orion&text=The%20sword%20that%20hangs%20from%20the%20belt%20points%20towards%20the%20south .
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=271
- ↑ https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=84334§ion=_unit1.3.6#:~:text=Finding%20south%20using%20Orion&text=The%20sword%20that%20hangs%20from%20the%20belt%20points%20towards%20the%20south .
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=323
- ↑ https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/sirius-the-brightest-star/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=377
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=402
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=402
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Bh5kHTBr0gU?t=402
- ↑ Star Identification. Naval Air Training Command, Navigation Section, January 1951
- ↑ https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question64.html
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To navigate by the stars, try locating the North Star. Also known as Polaris, it is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear. You’ll find it in the tail. Once you can see the North Star, you know that you’re facing north and can work out other directions. Alternatively, work out which direction you’re facing by using any star you like. First, drive 2 stakes into the ground and line up your chosen star with the tops of the stakes. Wait for the star to move, which happens due to Earth’s rotation. If the star rises, your facing east, but you’ll be facing west if it falls. If it moves to the left, you’re facing north, and you’ll be facing south if it moves to the right. For tips on how to calculate your latitude using the stars, keep reading!
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- "We have both a seven-year-old and a seventy-year-old in our family who will be fascinated by all of this. The Senior has maritime expertise but wants to know about these elemental methods because he is researching navigation in Biblical times. I write storybooks for the Junior to help support progress with reading and maths related to her interests. Thank you, everyone, for this succinct and illuminating material to enrich us all." ..." more
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"We have both a seven-year-old and a seventy-year-old in our family who will be fascinated by all of this. The Senior has maritime expertise but wants to know about these elemental methods because he is researching navigation in Biblical times. I write storybooks for the Junior to help support progress with reading and maths related to her interests. Thank you, everyone, for this succinct and illuminating material to enrich us all."
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