Bright Stars in the Spring Sky

Part of the process of becoming familiar with the sky is recognizing familiar patterns and objects. During this term we have learned to identify most of the brighter constellations visible in the evening this time of year, and it's worth remembering a few of the individual stars too. For one thing, if you recognize that a bright object is a permanent part of a constellation, you won't mis-identify it as a planet.

Here is a list of bright stars you should be able to identify easily, and the constellations they belong to.

All these stars are bright stars, and all, except for Canopus, are in constellations we have studied. Be prepared to find them on a field quiz.

Last modified: April 1, 2004
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~mickey/ASTR110L_S04/brightstars.html