![]() He has written more than 90 articles on Astronomy and Physics. ![]() It uses telescopes, but defends the primacy of knowledge of the sky with the naked eye, before the use of observation instruments. He gave more than 80 lectures and communications on Astronomy, astronomical observations and physics, in schools, universities and at the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory. He has a degree in Physics from the Faculty of Sciences of Lisbon and was a professor of this subject, having included Astronomy in his university education. The red line marks the stars that successively pass through the zenith (imaginary point of the sky vertically above the observer) (click here to open the image greatly). The constellations on the left only appear later in the day. The Scorpion, on the right, dips into the horizon at dusk. Guilherme de Almeida - Roteiro do Céu, Plátano Editora, Lisbon, 5th Edition, 2010.įigure 1 – Simplified aspect of the sky, looking above the northern horizon around 23:00, on a typical autumn night (click here to open the image greatly).įigure 2 – Autumn sky panorama, with the observer facing south (the base of the map marks the horizon and the south is in the middle of the length of the map). Guilherme de Almeida - Heaven at Pontas dos Dedos, Plátano Editora, Lisbon, 2013. Science in the Regional Press – Ciência Viva The planets change their position relative to the constellations, but their monthly positions can be obtained from, activating the link “Location of planets”. Many other stars and constellations can be easily located using simple and effective techniques (see box “To find out more”). ![]() To the east of this square, two relatively bright stars indicate the location of Aries. The Taurus is already rising to the source and about an hour later we will see the great hunter (Orionte) appear, announcing the stars of Winter.īelow Pegasus Square is Fomalhaut, the brightest star in the Austral Fish. East of Andromeda is the constellation Perseus, followed by the Coachman. It is more than 2,5 million light years away and is superb through binoculars. The star in the upper left corner of this square (Sirrah) belongs to the neighboring constellation Andromeda, in which the three main stars, characteristically aligned, do not mislead the observer.īetween Andromeda's star Mirach and Cassiopeia is the Andromeda galaxy, the most distant celestial object visible to the naked eye, as a faint oval milky spot (if light pollution is low). High above the southern horizon stands the square of Pegasus, devoid of any particularly bright stars, but easy to recognize in this region of the sky, poor in notable stars. If the place where we find ourselves is truly dark, the Milky Way is imposing. The Summer Triangle, marked by these three stars, is now overturned to the west. The beaks of the “M” point to the constellation Andromeda.Ĭontrary to popular belief, Polar is not one of the brightest stars in the sky (it occupies the 49th position, in decreasing order of apparent brightness).īelow the North Star, and if the horizon is clear, we will see Ursa Major at low height, with its tail turned to the left.Ībove the western horizon, we can see the beautiful constellation of the Swan drawing a cross, where its brightest star, Deneb, is evident.Ī little further down, we will see the star Altair (from the constellation of the Eagle) and to its right Vega, very bright, standing out in the constellation of Lyra. Looking north, above the North Star, we will find Cassiopeia, drawing an “M” delineated by prominent stars. Autumn stars are those that are visible (from our latitudes) approximately between 22 pm and midnight, on any night in the middle of this season.Īs the hours pass, the entire celestial panorama shifts to the west, in such a way that around 4 am we will already be seeing the stars that, next winter, will be observable right after dinner. The procedure is simple and only requires some regularity.ĭue to the rotation of the Earth, every day heroes, mythologies and adventures that our ancestors imagined pass over our heads. ![]() Knowing how to locate the stars and constellations can serve as a source of fascination or orientation resource and, subsequently, to better reference the positions of planets and other interesting objects. The mild temperature of the autumn nights allows us to admire it in a comfortable way.
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