This week's Community Question is about constellations!

[MMohammed]

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Happy Monday, everybody

This week, I thought we should talk about our favorite constellations. For my part, I have a terrible answer. My favorite constellation is Canis Major. I have a soft spot for all things dog-related

How about you, folks? What are your favorite constellations? Remember, we'll be featuring selected answers in our weekly wrap-up!

 

[ThePatriotBeast]

Mine is Scorpius.

 

[tlbs101]

Orion has to be a general favorite. It is my current favorite for the next month (while it is visible in the night sky).
This summer, the triangle of Vega, Deneb, and Altair will be watched and pointed to by me, to other friends and family as we look at the stars. The triangle is useful because it can be used to point to even more well-known constellations.

 

[Haldeman's Heroes]

I know it's cliché, but the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) has always intrigued me because of the double star in the handle. I'm sure most junior astronomers are aware of the double star, but I remember where and when it was shown to me as a kid. Double star in handle

 

[rod]

Some good posts here. I like Orion and M42 viewing in my telescopes.

 

[Helio]

Orion has more features than you can shake a small refractor at.

Three aligned O-class stars (ie belt) -- what are the odds of that?

They point to the brightest star, Sirius -- what are the odds?

Betelgeuse is colorful in name and color, and it's not long for this galaxy. It's belching, apparently, so even more colorful than most.

Rigel is a bluish-white monster that is 2300x brighter than Sirius, but it's 100x farther. It's as bright as a gibbous Moon.

There are very few extended objects available to the naked eye, but the Great Nebula is one of them and it is truly great.

Then there are all the other nebulae, including the famous Horsehead. The Orion nebulae are famous for serious studies due to their activity and proximity to us. Many stars are being born, and who doesn't like nursery stories, especially nursery rhymes. Surely there are Orion nursery rhymes; if not, why not?

It comes around every year when the skies are more clear than normal (winter/early spring) and it's higher than average in altitude.

 

[StargazerUSA]

Canis Major

The great Overdog
That heavenly beast
With a star in one eye
Gives a leap in the east.
He dances upright
All the way to the west
And never once drops
On his forefeet to rest.
I'm a poor underdog,
But to-night I will bark
With the great Overdog
That romps through the dark.

Robert Frost

 

[sam85geo]

Those constellations with "unique" shapes as viewed from Earth, Orion and the Big Dipper are actually a comforting view in a clear night sky, thus my favorites. Story: One late Summer morning right around dawn, directly at bottom of the my street, in a Nor-by Nor-East direction. the Dipper massively dominated the straight on view, with the handle at the 6 o'clock position. ..... Beautifully, unforgettable.

 

[HkyDoc]

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Happy Monday, everybody

This week, I thought we should talk about our favorite constellations. For my part, I have a terrible answer. My favorite constellation is Canis Major. I have a soft spot for all things dog-related

How about you, folks? What are your favorite constellations? Remember, we'll be featuring selected answers in our weekly wrap-up!

ORION is a favourite, especially given all the archeo-astronomy connections with OSIRIS etc in Ancient Egypt. However, CIGNUS is also very interesting as many ancient cultures including => 11,500 yr old ( (9500 +/- BCE ) Gobekli Tepi Megalithic temple complex, SouthWest Hopi, Anaszi , Chaco canyon etc cultures & Siberian Shamanic Tribes thought of the Vulture/Swan Cignus Constellation & the Milky Way as a shamanic Journey Spirit River to the Other World. Also the African DOGON tribes & there inexplicable Binary star & orbital period etc knowledge makes CIGNUS fascinating now as then ! Connects us to humanity's ancient ancestors !

 

[Helio]

Canis Major

The great Overdog
That heavenly beast
With a star in one eye
Gives a leap in the east.
He dances upright
All the way to the west
And never once drops
On his forefeet to rest.
I'm a poor underdog,
But to-night I will bark
With the great Overdog
That romps through the dark.

Robert Frost

The Big Dog regarding the Big Dog.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Gotta go with Ursa Major. The first time someone said, "constellation" and we were outside at night, they were talking about the Big Dipper. Aside from the moon, when I look up into the night sky, most often, that is what I see first.

-Wolf sends

 

[IG2007]

I have a special liking for Orion, I don't know why. I like the Orion so much that I made a small poem for that.

Orion

O antiquity's heavenly warrior and hunter!
Great is thy mace and so is thy buckler,
Great is thy belt and greater is thy war
Against Scorpius of the south in the night azure! (That's a reference to one of the Greek stories)

 

[KentP.]

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Happy Monday, everybody

This week, I thought we should talk about our favorite constellations. For my part, I have a terrible answer. My favorite constellation is Canis Major. I have a soft spot for all things dog-related

How about you, folks? What are your favorite constellations? Remember, we'll be featuring selected answers in our weekly wrap-up!

For me it is Orion. The first time I saw the big nebula I watched it for two hours and hardly blinked.

 

[ThatSpaceBoy]

It's odd, but my favorite is Orion. I know that it's very well known and many people say that he's their favorite, but the reason I like it so much is it was the first constellation ever pointed out to me. I can remember my dad asking me if I wanted to see something cool, bringing me outside, and pointing to the belt and the rest of the stars in the constellation.

I can also remember looking out my window every night as a little kid, trying to find it, and when it was the wrong time of year, I would get super confused about why Orion was gone.

To this day, I always look to the heavens for him as I step out of the car, as long as it's dark.

 

[TheSchnitz]

Carina Constellation. I have a beautiful print of the Carina Nebula from ESA.

 

[Joel]

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Happy Monday, everybody

This week, I thought we should talk about our favorite constellations. For my part, I have a terrible answer. My favorite constellation is Canis Major. I have a soft spot for all things dog-related

How about you, folks? What are your favorite constellations? Remember, we'll be featuring selected answers in our weekly wrap-up!

Okay. I know this might be outside of the normal rules, but in order to answer this question it is necessary for me to post this link. Enjoy everyone!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px9yOwkkdrE

 

[lfr2]

Gotta agree on canis major. But I dont think you can have it without Oroion and canis minor....they're all tied

 

[Epiphany]

Orion is very cool, but my money is on Cassiopeia. I like to point out to my kids and such that if it's really, really, really dark the smudge you can see under one V of the lazy W is Andromeda, and we are seeing it as it was 2.5 million years ago.

 

[lidavisjr99]

I particularly like Auriga. It's main star, Capella shines to the NE when I return to home in the winter evenings.

 

[Dale Holley]

I Like, Orion, easy to Spot, Cassiopeia, and of course
Big Dipper

 

[Lariliss]

Ursa and Ursa minor (with Polaris). This heart comes from childhood.
Orion is closer to 'admirable', spotlighted, strong, reminding of season change.