Starry Night: navigating by the stars

The planets bear the names of Roman Gods: Ares, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter. Since the planets are not as useful for navigation (they move on their own timetable with little apparent relativity to each other or the stars), early astronomers may have found them fascinating, but less necessary in the grand scheme of things.

The five circumpolar constellations cluster around the pole star. These stay in the sky all night, every night, at least in the northern world. Cassiopeia is readily visible, a large shining W near the Dippers. Cepheus the King and Draco the Dragon are less obvious, with mostly 2nd magnitude stars, yet are worth knowing.

Other constellations are more seasonal, taking their place in the sky's stately parade for only half the year. Knowing which constellations emerge when in the early evening sky is a useful tool for even the modern wayfarer.

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Constellations as Calendar

Early people used the arrival of certain constellations like we use a calendar. The early evening appearance of Orion, a well-loved and anthropomorphic figure, signalled the onset of frost. By the time the bright Dog Star Sirius - companion to Orion - made his appearance, winter would indeed have come.

Virgo the Virgin signalled the start of spring. Scorpio is an early summer constellation and Sagittarius a mid-summer herald.

Stars have been a source of comfort and fascination for humans for ten thousand years. Besides providing a reliable time piece, the sky shapes also tell uniquely human tales. A rich sky mythology emerged in every culture, some culturally-unique and others borrowed. Native American tribes have interesting stories for constellations they know under different names.

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Myth-directions

Ancient Greek myths are well-known in this culture. Many constellations have stories that run in clusters or even criss-cross the sky. Orion is associated with Taurus the Bull, the Pleides, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Lepus the Hare. And directly opposite in the heavens he shares a tale with Scorpio, who ultimately felled the mighty hunter. Goddess Athena took pity on Orion, and promised that at least the two constellations would never appear in the sky together.

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Getting Loonie: Using Lunar Phases to tell the time

Lastly, the moon herself is a useful calendar and clock. Tribes throughout history have been able to reliably count off the days in a 28-day month by following the lunar phases.

The moon's formal name is Luna, from Latin, from the time when Romensque, Bachannalian orgies were

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