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Spotting
the Zodiacal Constellations in the Sky |
Many
of us who love to indulge ourselves in the reassuring
mysteries of astrology know that the zodiac is
something that we can find in the celestial heavens.
But what exactly are they? The Zodiac are actually
constellations in the sky. They are just like
all other constellations. What makes them special
is the fact that they travel in a path in the
sky called the ecliptic path. This is the path
that the moon and the planets travel on. In ancient
days, our ancestors noticed this extraordinary
path in which the planets and the specific zodiacal
constellations move in. That is the reason why
they believed the zodiac and the planets held
such great significance.
Today, we too can spot these constellations that
have inspired our ancestors millennia ago. Here
is an introduction to finding the constellations.
The first thing to know is where the different
zodiacal constellations are located. The night
sky is basically divided up into four sections:
the Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter skies.
Below is a table to show you which zodiacal constellations
can be found in which part of the sky.
Spring
sky:
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Ophiuchus.
Summer
sky: Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius.
Autumn
sky: Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces,
Aries.
Winter
sky: Taurus, Gemini.
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In countries with darker skies at night and minimum
light pollution, the various constellations can
be easily spotted and viewed with precision. However,
in metropolis countries such as Singapore, where
the amount of light pollution is high, only the
brighter constellations can be observed.
In the spring sky, the brightest zodiacal constellation
is Leo, which is sometimes nicknamed as the sickle
because of its shape. Virgo can be found by locating
the alpha star in the constellation, Spica, which
is relatively brighter than the surrounding stars.
Spica is probably also the only star you can spot
from Virgo in Singapore.
The summer sky is ruled by the constellation Scorpius.
This majestic constellation scuttles across the
southern hemisphere with a slightly dimmer Sagittarius
hot on its trail. The alpha star of Scorpius is
Antares, also known as the Scorpion's heart. Whilst
Scorpius truly looks like a scorpion thanks to
its 'sting', Sagittarius bears an uncanny resemblance
to a teapot.
The
autumn sky is probably the most unimpressive part
of the sky. Most of these 'watery' zodiacal constellations
here are a kaleidoscopic mass of connect-the-dots
skewer of stars. They are dim and thus, in bright
countries like Singapore, locating them is a near-impossible
task.
After the starless autumn sky has set, Taurus
and Gemini rise from the East across the northern
hemisphere to once again brighten the ecliptic
path with their eternal twinkling glory. Taurus
is basically a V-shape beside the towering constellation
of Orion. Aldebaran, the alpha star of Taurus,
is also known as the bull's eye. Gemini, the other
zodiacal constellation in the winter sky, can
be spotted by finding Castor and Pollux, the near-identical
'twin' stars next to each other.
So the next time you see a V-shaped clutter of
stars or a giant hook in the sky, it may just
be the Bull or Scorpius.
-Yiru
2001
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