So me and a friend are going to go star searching and i was looking for some help?

kind of a nerd but there's a couple things that i was hoping to research before i go off this weekend... could any of you guys help me out trying to find some interesting stuff in the sky?





i'm looking for a red giant, blue giant, main star sequences, binary star, variable star, open/globular clustar and a nebula...|||This time of year, there's plenty to see. Assuming you are working with a simple scope or a decent set of binoculars:





1. The classic red giant is Betelgeuse, on Orion's shoulder (upper left).


2. The classic blue supergiant star is Rigel, on Orion's knee (lower right).


3. Not sure what you mean by main star sequence, but I guess you could always use the Sun (don't look directly at it, of course). Note: Bellatrix is another blue supergiant.


4. The best binary star is Albireo, at the nose of Cygnus the Swan as she flies along the Milky Way. This will be setting early, so look here first.


5. An easy variable star is Algol, the second brightest star in Perseus, below the classic "W" of Cassiopeia.


6. A beautiful globular cluster (M15) can be seen off the nose of Pegasus as he flies upside down. A nice open cluster (the Double Cluster) can be found between Perseus and Cassiopeia.


7. The brightest nebula in the sky is the Orion Nebula, which looks like the second "star" in Orion's sword as it hangs from his belt.





These are all pretty easy to find, but you won't know where to look without a decent set of charts. The best ones I know of are included in the book "Nightwatch" by T. Dickinson. If you buy the book before you take your trip, I will guarantee that you will enjoy the trip more.


|||Red Giant: Betelgeuse, in Orion


Blue Giant: Rigel, in Orion


Main sequence start: Bellatrix, (you guessed it) in Orion





Nebula: M-42, in (ready?) Orion


Open Cluster: Pleiades, in Taurus


Globular Cluster: M-11, the great cluster in Hercules|||Good suggestions from David A, except that the globular cluster in Hercules is M13, not M11.|||check out the Andromeda Galaxy. The constellations Ophiucus, Hercules, and many others.|||find out where they are at what time and how to find them