Stars and Galaxies | Elementary

When you look up at the night sky, most of the points of light you see are stars. Even though they’re extremely far away from the Earth, you can still see their light.

For example, Alpha Ursae Minoris is a star. Most people know it as the North Star or Polaris. Because of its position in the sky, this star is a reference point that shows you which way is north.

The star closest to Earth is the one at the centre of our solar system: the Sun. You can only see it during the day. Its light makes the sky bright blue, preventing you from seeing all the other stars.

The pictures formed by constellations often refer to objects, animals, or mythological characters.

People came up with the constellations for several reasons: they help sailors navigate at sea, they help mark the seasons, and the are also used to tell stories and legends!

The following constellations are some of the ones you can see from your own home, right here in Quebec.

To locate stars and constellations in the sky, you can use a star finder.

A star finder is an astronomy tool that shows you what region of the sky is visible at a precise date and time.

A star finder has the following parts:

• A rotating disc that shows all the dates of the year and a map of the sky
• A cover showing the hours and the cardinal points (north, south, east, and west)
• An oval window showing the region of the sky that is visible

To use a star finder, go outside on a nice, cloudless evening and follow these steps.

1. Turn the disc to line up the date and time when you are observing the sky.
   Keep in mind! Between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, Quebec is on Daylight saving time. During that period, subtract 1 hour when setting up your star finder. For example, if it’s 10 p.m., set the disc to 9 p.m.
2. Keep the disc still so it does not move anymore under the cover.
3. Look at the oval window. What is shown there matches the stars and constellations you can see in the night sky at that moment.
4. Hold the star finder over your head and point it toward the north.
   Keep in mind! On a star finder, the eastern and western horizons are reversed compared to the cardinal points on a compass rose. This is because the starfinder’s sky map shows a projection of the sky over your head. That is why there is a flip.
5. Have fun spotting stars and constellations!
    

The star at the centre of our solar system, the Sun, is part of a galaxy called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is shaped like a disc with spiral arms.

According to scientists, the Milky Way could have hundreds of billions of other stars orbiting its centre.

When you look up at the night sky, all the stars you see are part of the Milky Way, because we are inside that galaxy.

When there is no light pollution, you can even see a wide, bright band stretching right across the sky. This is the area of our galaxy that has the most stars visible from Earth. That zone is called the galactic plane.