Constellation

Using The North Star

You know how to find it, you know where to look, but do you know why to look?

The North Star sits directly over the North Pole and is a handy indicator at night for “which way is North” but it also serves one more very handy purpose.
The North Star tells you your latitude without any math or calculation. By measuring the angle from the horizon to Polaris (The North Star) with a sextant, you will instantly find your latitude!
Since the North Star is directly over the North Pole, this means that if you stood on the very pole itself and looked directly up, Polaris would be directly over you.
Your latitude would be 90* and the angle of observation in the sextant would also be 90.
If you were at the equator, at Latitude 0*, the North Star would be directly on the horizon (and not too clearly visible).
Therefore, every degree of latitude that you gain in the northern hemisphere, Polaris will also gain a degree of observation from the horizon.
This fact has been known for hundreds of years and in the old times (when navigation was more crude) navigation was performed with a board and a rope!

The board would occupy the void between the horizon and Polaris, and it was held a prescribed distance from the observer.
The prescribed distance was controlled by the rope, which would have knots tied in it. The observer would bite the desired knot and hold the board out away from their face until the rope went tight, then they would position the bottom of the rope so that it would lay at the horizon and the top of the rope so that it would lay at the North Star. If there was a gap between the board and the North Star, they knew they were too far north and needed to steer more south. If the Star was covered, then they were too far south and needed to steer more North until the Star was visible again. If the Star and horizon just touched the board, then they were at the correct latitude for their destination!

There was no measure of Longitude on a ship at that time so they simply sailed to the desired ports latitude and sailed East or West until they ran into it! Thankfully, the ability to keep time on a ship changed this crude behavior as longitude was then able to be calculated and the mysteries of “when will we get there” vanished!

Finding the North Star

Before you can use the North Star, you need to know how to identify it in the night sky.
I personally use three constellations to identify the North Star and confirm it’s identify.

  1. The Big Dipper

  2. The Little Dipper

  3. Cassiopeia

The Big Dipper

Also know as Ursa Major (because it looks like a bear) is a very prominent and easy to spot constellation.

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The two most important stars in the constellation are the last two of the dipper. If you follow an imaginary line out and away from the dipper, you will come directly to the North Star.

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The Little Dipper

Also known as Ursa Minor (because it looks like a small bear) is a very important constellation in the night sky! This is because the last star in the constellation is actually the North Star! The tip of the tail is actually (in my opinion) the most important star in the night sky when it comes to navigating at sea without technology or electronics.
the Big and Little Dippers actually lay in 69 to each other in the night sky.
If you see The Big Dipper and follow the imaginary line to the North Star, then you should now see the Little Dipper constellation.

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I know I was making fun of the constellations for being called Bears because the line drawings I have made look nothing like bears! This is the actual accepted constellation for The Dippers. The full constellation has many more lines and it turns out that the “Dipper” is just the body and tail (very long tails by the way). The constellations have legs and a head, but honestly, you won’t see these features unless you are away from all light pollution on a clear moonless night.
Where can you find that? Out at sea of course!

Cassiopeia

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The last constellation I use is Cassiopeia, which looks like a W but is actually a dancing woman!
Cassiopeia lies opposite the dipper of The Big Dipper and about just as far as the Big Dipper is from the North Star.

The reason I use three constellations is because I want to make sure I am looking at the right star. With one I’m pretty sure, with two, I’m very sure, and with three, I’m certain!

The other reason to know multiple constellations (especially constellations that are opposite each other in the night sky) is because if you are near the equator, the North Star will be low on the sky. This means that some of the constellations will be under the horizon and obscured from your view!
Having more visual landmarks in the sky will help orient you and prepare you to better locate the North Star for your navigation at sea.

Day 23 Azores

I just saw a magnificent shooting star. It was slow and left a thick yellow trail. I don't know whether to look up or down. The bioluminescence is especially brilliant tonight, but the stars have also never been more clear. The night isn't dark. It's radiant. Today we approached Corvo. It rose up to greet us like a giant gray shadow. As we sailed closer and its details came into focus, I lost my breath. It was equally lush and harsh. It served as the perfect beacon as we entered the Azores. Now we are only 75 miles from our destination and the whole trip suddenly feels like a dream that I'm about to wake up from. Only instead of Florida or Bermuda, I'll be in a mountainous fairy land. We have worked so hard for tomorrow. It will be a relief and a wonder. I think I might cry. Until then, I have Scorpio beside me, and the rest of the sky.

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