> How do you locate celestial bodies like that? Is it just a case of paper maps and a compass?
I mean (based on peer replies) it does come off as a funny question, but I guess if you're young enough it is a totally legitimate question! Never thought of it that way.
But yes, you have a star chart, or atlas. The North Star locates your north and everything else you can then reference from your chart.
(I'm not familiar with southern hemisphere viewing)
And after a little while you recognize the major constellations by sight, so you can orient yourself vs. the chart even if you don't see the North Star for example.
Planets are different since their relative position changes all the time, so a static chart can't tell you where they are. But there are really only four planets you can see with eyes (Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn) so you learn to recognize them pretty quickly.
I mean (based on peer replies) it does come off as a funny question, but I guess if you're young enough it is a totally legitimate question! Never thought of it that way.
But yes, you have a star chart, or atlas. The North Star locates your north and everything else you can then reference from your chart.
(I'm not familiar with southern hemisphere viewing)
And after a little while you recognize the major constellations by sight, so you can orient yourself vs. the chart even if you don't see the North Star for example.
Planets are different since their relative position changes all the time, so a static chart can't tell you where they are. But there are really only four planets you can see with eyes (Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn) so you learn to recognize them pretty quickly.