Star Charts

Galaxy Investigator
Astronomy - Cosmology
Constellation (Green Lines) Stars
A group of stars that form an outline The size of the dot represents the
or pattern on the celestial sphere "Apparent magnitude" or relative
brightness of the star. The brighter
The International Astronomical Union the star appears, the lower its
(IAU) formally recognised the 88 magnitude.
modern constellations in 1922.
The dimmest object visible with the
48 are of ancient Greek origin and naked eye in good viewing conditions
recorded in Ptolemy’s "The Almagest" is typically magnitude 6. This is the
astronomical treatise produced circa approximate limit of star maps which
150AD date from before the invention of the
40 new constellations which were telescope.
mainly “new discoveries” made by the
Europeans who first explored the
southern hemisphere. Indicator (Red Lines)

The IAU defines a constellation by its Imaginary lines to follow when "Star
boundary (indicated by sky Hopping" - a technique that uses
coordinates) and not by its pattern easily recognisable bright stars as a
which can have a number of variants. guide to finding other, fainter objects.
This makes navigating the night sky
easier and all that is needed is a
Asterism (Blue Lines) knowledge of the relative positions of
bright stars to the target objects.
A popularly-known group of stars
making a pattern that is not one of
the official 88 constellations. Deep Sky Objects
Asterisms can make use of bright
stars in several constellations (e.g. the These are various types of galaxies
Summer Triangle), or be a part of a and nebulae and are represented by a
single constellation (e.g. the Big corresponding icon. The "limiting
Dipper/Plough). They often represent magnitude" for these star charts is 8.6
more well-known and easily although some fainter objects are
recognised objects than the official shown if they are considered
constellations. particularly noteworthy.

Anatomy of a Star Chart (1) Galaxy Investigator 2

The Milky Way
Our galaxy, The Milky Way, appears
as a hazy band of light across the
night sky. It is formed from stars that
cannot be individually distinguished
by the naked eye, indeed, Galileo
Galilei was first to resolve the band of
light into individual stars with his
telescope in 1610.
The Milky Way is represented on the
star charts by a band of grey shading.
Most of the planetary nebulae are
found within this zone near the plane
of the Milky Way, particularly near
the galactic centre. This is also known
as the "Zone of avoidance" as it is a
region characterized by an apparent
absence of galaxies caused by the
obscuring effect of interstellar dust.

Meteor Showers
These are caused by meteoroids,
streams of cosmic debris entering
Earth's atmosphere at extremely high
speeds. They are usually small,
ranging from a dust particle to
boulder size and burn up in our
atmosphere.
Meteor showers radiate from a point
in the night sky called a Radiant and
are named after the constellation
where they appear.

Anatomy of a Star Chart (2) Galaxy Investigator 3

Star Chart 01 (January) Star Chart 07 (July)
Key Constellations: Orion, Taurus, Lepus Key Constellations: Cygnus, Hercules, Pegasus
Key Asterisms: Winter Triangle, Mirror of Venus Key Asterisms: Summer Triangle, Job's Coffin, Water Jar

Star Chart 02 (February) Star Chart 08 (August)

Key Constellations: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, Leo Key Constellations: Aquarius, Capricornus
Key Asterisms: House, Plough (Big Dipper), Sickle, Kite Key Asterisms: Steering Wheel, Circlet

Star Chart 03 (March) Star Chart 09 (September)

Key Constellations: Ursa Major, Leo, Coma Berenices, Hydra Key Constellations: Pegasus, Pisces, Aquarius
Key Asterisms: Plough (Big Dipper), Sickle, Bowl, Hydra's Head Key Asterisms: Square of Pegasus, Steering Wheel, Circlet

Star Chart 04 (April) Star Chart 10 (October)

Key Constellations: Ursa Major, Boötes, Coma Berenices Key Constellations: Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Auriga
Key Asterisms: Plough, Kite Key Asterism: "W" of Cassiopeia

Star Chart 05 (May) Star Chart 11 (November)

Key Constellations: Draco, Ursa Minor, Cephus Key Constellations: Cetus, Pisces
Key Asterisms: Dragon's Head (Lozenge), House Key Asterisms: None

Star Chart 06 (June) Star Chart 12 (December)

Key Constellations: Ophiuchus, Libra, Sagittarius Key Constellations: Canis Major, Lepus
Key Asterism: Teapot Key Asterism: Winter Triangle

Cover photograph and DSO images by NASA

(NASA image library https://images.nasa.gov)

Contents Galaxy Investigator 4

Star Chart 01: January
“Orion, the most recognisable of
all constellations, is visible from
October through March in both

Chart 01
hemispheres.”

Deep Sky Objects include:

Orion Nebula Rosette Cone Nebula

(92) Nebula (99) (100) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 5
Star Chart 02: February
“Boötes the herdsman shepherds
the Great Bear across the night
sky with his two hunting dogs.”

Chart 02
Deep Sky Objects include:

Beehive Bode’s Owl Nebula

Cluster (7) Galaxy (10) (15) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 6
Star Chart 03: March
“Leo is generally accepted to
represent the Nemean Lion killed by
Hercules. It is a zodiac constellation

Chart 03
and the twelfth largest in the sky.”

Deep Sky Objects include:

Sombrero Leo Triplet Whirlpool

Galaxy (22) Galaxy (32) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 7
Star Chart 04: April
“Coma Berenices: Between Boötes
and Leo lies a fan-shaped swarm
of faint stars. It wasn't shown as a

Chart 04
separate constellation until 1536”.

Deep Sky Objects include:

Whirlpool Markarian's Pinwheel

Galaxy (32) Chain Galaxy (34) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 8
Star Chart 05: May
“Draco: Dragon killed by Hercules.
‘Circumpolar’ i.e. always visible
from the UK. Large: winds for

Chart 05
about 180° around celestial pole.”

Deep Sky Objects include:

Cat’s Eye NGC 5866 Fireworks

Nebula (50) Galaxy (60) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 9
Star Chart 06: June
“Milky Way passes overhead. The
Teapot of Sagittarius points to the
galactic centre: the Black hole

Chart 06
Sagittarius A*.”

Deep Sky Objects include:

Lagoon M4 cluster Omega

Nebula (45) (35) Nebula (48) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 10
Star Chart 07: July
“Cygnus the swan, with Deneb at
its tail, forms one corner of the
Summer Triangle asterism”

Chart 07
Deep Sky Objects include:

Dumbbell N. American Veil Nebula

Nebula (57) Nebula (62) (61) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 11
Star Chart 08: August
“An area of sky known as the ‘Sea’
because of the large number of
water-based constellations there.”

Chart 08
Deep Sky Objects include:

Helix Nebula M15 cluster Saturn

(68) (65) Nebula (64) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 12
Star Chart 09: September
“The Autumn sky has a wealth of
creatures and heroes crowded
around the Great Square of

Chart 09
Pegasus”.

Deep Sky Objects include:

Andromeda Blue Snow- Stephan’s

Galaxy (75) ball (72) Quintet (69) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 13
Star Chart 10: October
“Perseus is a prominent northern
constellation lying in the Milky
Way, forever next to his wife,

Chart 10
Andromeda”.

Deep Sky Objects include:

California The Pleiades Triangulum

Nebula (88) (87) Galaxy (80) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 14
Star Chart 11: November
“Cetus (the Whale), is the 4th
largest constellation. It has few
bright stars & nebulae but it does

Chart 11
contain a number of galaxies”.

Deep Sky Objects include:

M77 NGC 908 Silver Coin

(84) Galaxy (76) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 15
Star Chart 12: December
“Lepus, the eternal prey of Orion,
is chased by Canis Major, the
largest hunting dog.”

Chart 12
Deep Sky Objects include:

M41 cluster NGC 2362 Thor’s

(1) (3) Helmet (2) GALAXY INVESTIGATOR 16
 Document created by
Steve Hetherington (08/2019)
For educational purposes only