Constellations of the North
Do you gaze up at the night sky and wonder about the stars? Do they have names? With three wishes at your disposal, you can learn to identify some of those stars for yourself.
Constellations of the North is a taster course in practical astronomy. You will learn to recognise the constellations and find out how to identify stars in the night sky.
Who should take this course?
For complete astronomy novices. This course is for you if you are curious about the night sky and want to find out a little about the stars. It’s also suitable if you are interested in our other astronomy courses but need a little confidence booster first.
You will need
All materials are provided online.
You will need a compass or some other method of finding North.
Entry Requirements
There are no entry requirements, but you will need to be north of the equator.
How long is this course?
About 4 hours. You will have tutor support for 2 months. You will have access to your course for a year.
Tutor: Mark Toner
Mark’s astronomy career has spanned amateur and professional activities with Dumfries Astronomy Society (which he founded in 1992) and the University of Glasgow.
Mark is a solar physicist working on gamma-rays from solar flares. He combines his interests in astronomy and education through the New Curiosity Shop, the Spacepod (www.spacepod.info) and occasional evening classes at the Crichton College of the University of Glasgow, in Dumfries.
His degrees are BSc (Hons) Astronomy, MPhil (Astrophysics) and a PhD.
