Do you know why objects rise in the east and set in the west?

It’s because of the earth’s

rotation.

Are you curious about why different constellations appear in each seasons sky? It’s simply
because the earth orbits the sun creating the change.

Or, are you interested in the different moon phases and the darkest times to observe the night
sky?

Constellations:

“A constellation is a group of stars that forms an imaginary outline or pattern on the celestial
sphere, typically representing an animal, mythological person or creature, a God, or an inanimate
object. The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory”.

(Wikipedia, 2019)

Some constellations to look for in the southern hemisphere are Carian,

Centaurus and Crux otherwise known as The Southern Cross.

Just like the sun, stars rise in the east. But notice that they rise diagonally, not straight up. The
diagonal goes from left (North) to right (South). After a few hours, these same stars will appear
high in the southern sky. Turning to face South, you can see that the stars are moving from left
(East) to right (West).
 Astronomers measure distances in the sky in degrees, whereby the whole universe can be mapped to
360 degrees. Fortunately, we were born with built-in measuring tools: our hands.

To get started, hold your hands at arm's length in front of your face.
Now raise your little finger. The width of the tip of your little finger at arm's length is about one degree.
So, if you are looking for an object that is one degree away from Jupiter, for example, place your little
finger next to Jupiter and you get the approximate distance to the object.

Raise your three middle fingers to measure 5 degrees.

Clench your fist or hold your hand like a policeman stopping traffic to measure 10 degrees.
Now stretch your thumb and little finger as wide as you can (one full hand-span) to measure about 20
degrees.
The great thing about this trick is that it will work no matter how young or old you are because the
length of your arm is proportional to the size of your hand’.

“The Yolngu people, in the far north of Australia, tell how Walu, the Sun-woman, lights a fire each
morning, bringing us dawn. She decorates herself with red ochre, some of which spills onto the clouds,
colouring the sunrise. Then she carries her blazing torch across the sky from east to west, creating
daylight. As she descends to the western horizon, spilling red ochre at sunset, she extinguishes her
torch, and starts the long journey underground back to the morning camp in the east.”

“The Moon, named Ngalindi in the Yolngu language, was a fat lazy man (corresponding to the full
Moon) with two wives and two sons, whom he expected to feed and look after him. He became angry
with his sons for not sharing their food, and killed them. When his wives found out, they attacked him
with their axes, chopping bits off him, giving us the waning Moon. While trying to escape by following
the Sun, he climbed a tall tree, but was mortally wounded, and died (the new Moon). After remaining
dead for 3 days, he rose again, growing fat and round (the waxing Moon), until, after two weeks his
wives attacked him again. To this day, the cycle continues every month. The Yolngu stories even
explain why the Moon is associated with tides. When the tides are high, the water pours into the Moon
as it rises, creating a full Moon. As the water runs out of the Moon, the tides fall. Then the tide rises
once more, refilling the Moon. So, although the mechanics are a little different from our modern
version, this story shows that traditional Yolngu people fully understood the relationship of the Moon to
the tides.” (Atnf.csiro.au 2019)
 References

 Beginner's Guide to the Night Sky (ABC Science). (2019). Abc.net.au. Retrieved 23 September 2019, from
https://www.abc.net.au/science/starhunt/

 Constellation. (2019). En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 22 September 2019, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation

 (2019). Atnf.csiro.au. Retrieved 23 September 2019, from

https://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/rnorris/papers/n217_preprint.pdf

 (2019). Astronomy.com. Retrieved 22 September 2019, from http://www.astronomy.com/-

/media/Files/PDF/AF-Brochure_2011.pdf