How To Spot The 2023 Summer Constellations
With summer fast approaching, many people are looking forward to all that the season has to offer.
If you’re a fan of stargazing, you might be interested in seeing the summer constellations. Thankfully, Adam Cole of the NPR series Skunk Bear has shared just how to spot the constellations such as Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Leo, Cygnus, Lyra & Aquila, Scorpius, and Sagittarius.
There’s also a PDF guide of the summer constellations to accompany the video that you can download or print to have on hand!
In the video, Adam explains the best way to find and view the constellations. He says: “The first tip is to get as far away from city lights as possible. …You also want to avoid moonlight…If you start your stargazing trip around sunset you can start to get your bearings.”
In addition to sharing tips and pointers for seeing the constellations, he also offered some interesting backstory and history about them.
He went on to say, “Looking up at the stars, ancient humans all around the world saw the shapes of heroes and monsters. The constellations of the ancient Greeks were preserved and built upon — first by Muslim astronomers in the Islamic Golden Age, then by Europeans during the scientific revolution. In 1922, the International Astronomical Union organized the sky into 88 official constellations — each one with its own story.”
The video is accompanied by a 360 animation that features the various summer constellations in the night sky.
You can check out his video below:
