What are constellations?

The first constellations were patterns of stars that ancient peoples used for navigation, timekeeping and storytelling. Most constellations used now, stem from patterns recognised by ancient Greeks and Romans, and they carry myths and legends from that time. However the ancient Greeks were not the first to recognise patterns. The 47 constellations they used were introduced by a Greek astronomer called Euxodus, who had learned them from priests in Egypt. They in turn had adopted them from Babylonian culture and they were originally created by the Sumerians around 2,000 BC. The oldest surviving star catalogue dates from

Astronomy for everyone

You don’t need an expensive telescope to enjoy astronomy. There is a lot to see and view with the naked aye or with a good pair of binoculars. This is how Corné and I also started, just looking up at the sky and curious to learn more about it.

Before you go out to look at the stars, take a little time to prepare. You will need to find a dark place, as far away from artificial lights as possible or at least shielded from direct light. Before you set out, have a good look at the star chart or planisphere so you have an idea of what you can see. For special phenomena, like eclipses and meteor showers etc. there are sky guides available or you can look at the internet. Your eyes will need about 20 minutes to fully adapt to the darkness and, as the pupil opens, more detail and fainter objects will become

Scorpius

Scorpius is one of the easier recognisable constellations, not to confuse with Scorpio, the name for the astrological sign of the Zodiac. At the moment Scorpius is right above us here in the southern hemisphere.

In the Greek mythology the scorpion was send by the gods to kill Orion, the great hunter, after he had boasted to kill all animals on Earth. They fought for a whole day and finally were exhausted. When Orion fell asleep the scorpion stung him, Orion woke up and killed the scorpion but then died from the poison. The gods placed them amongst the stars in the sky but far apart so they could not fight anymore.

The tail of Scorpius lies in the Milky Way, the city of stars in which we live. When we look at the tail of Scorpius