Chart of May Sky
To learn the May night sky we begin with a computer generated map of the sky. This map (below) shows the stars as tiny spots of light. The size of the spot indicates the star's brightness.
Chart of May Sky
This map shows the stars you would see if you looked south on a clear May night at about 8 PM from most of the US. The left edge of the image is about southeast. The right edge is about southwest. The top of the image is about overhead.
The orange bar at the bottom is about the width of your spread hand at arms length and may help give you a sense of scale.
If you move the mouse over the map, the outline of some of the constellations appear along with their names and the names of a few of the brighter stars.
Now move the mouse off the map. Can you recall where Leo lies and what its shape is? (Move the mouse back to refresh your memory.)
Work though the constellations and stars listed below, noting where each is with respect to the others and how it looks. For each, first look at the marked chart and then find it on the unmarked chart.