The Night Sky

Datum: 01.01.2024
Nautische Position: 16°49.2‘N 028°19.6‘W
Etmal: 127
Total: 3071
Ship: Pelican of London

This week, my watch has the 0-4 shift, where we sail under a beautiful night sky with many, many stars. So today, I will give you a small lesson about our night sky and what is different from the European one.

Orion

The constellation in the night sky that, in my opinion, is the easiest to find is Orion because if you see three stars in a row, it is likely that this is the belt of Orion. From the belt, you can locate the rest of the constellation. In the Orion constellation, there are two famous and very bright stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel.

If you draw a line through the belt of Orion to the left side, you will find Sirius. It is in the Canis Major constellation and is the brightest star in our sky. If you draw a line through Betelgeuse and Rigel, you can locate Gemini with Castor and Pollux in it. You see: Orion is a very important constellation in our night sky.

How to Find Polaris

Another important constellation is Ursa Major. This constellation is combined with Ursa Minor, the most important to find Polaris. Polaris is a star that is nearly directly over the North Pole, so if you can locate Polaris, you know where north is.

To locate Polaris with Ursa Major is usually possible because it is a very bright constellation. You just need to draw a line through the two stars on the left side, and on this line is Polaris.

To locate Polaris with Ursa Minor is not always possible because it’s not as bright as Ursa Major, but it is easier because Polaris is a part of Ursa Minor. Ursa Minor is like a square with a line that goes away from one corner, and the end of this line is Polaris.

The Difference to the European Night Sky

After you’ve learned something about our night sky, I will now tell you the difference to the European one. The difference is that we are not able to see Polaris; we can just see Ursa Major.

So everything is in another position than in Europe, for example, Castor and Pollux are sometimes directly above us, or Orion is much easier to see.

I hope you have learned something, and the next time you look at the beautiful night sky, maybe you can locate Sirius

The Haircut-Reveal!

The next person that is going to be revealed is … TOBI! He got a buzzcut.

And now a small interview:

Why did you decide to get this haircut?

Because I did a pact with someone that if he got a buzzcut, I would get one as well. I am being honest; if I had waited one more day, I wouldn’t have done it.

Do you like it?

It’s ok; could be worse. It has a nice cooling effect, very practical for tropical areas.

What do you want to tell the people at home?

Sorry that you all missed this; I am pretty sure you would have liked to see this. But I’m probably not going to do it again. Greetings to all my friends and family; love you all.

Neujahrsgrüße und P.S.:

P.S. an Johan: Wir haben rausgefunden, dass die Reise 2021/2022 Nutella hatte
@JOHAN Wir wollen Nutella @JOHAN!!!!!!

P.P.S.: Liebe Grüße an meine Familie ich hoffe, ihr hattet ein tolles Weihnachten und ein tolles Silvester frohes neues Jahr ~Erik

P.P.P.S: Hallo Familie, Happy New Year! Ich hoffe ihr hattet alle einen guten Rutsch ins Jahr 2024. Bei uns war es sehr anders, da wir uns auf dem Atlantik befinden und noch knapp unter 2000 Seemeilen vor uns haben. Somit blieb das typische Silvester aus. Antigua ist unser nächster Stopp und hoffentlich schaffen wir es in ein bisschen mehr als zwei Wochen. Momentan sieht es aber gut aus, da wir Sonnenschein und einiges an Wind haben. Bei 0 Knoten dürften wir sogar von Bord aus schwimmen. Ich hab‘ euch lieb und freue mich schon auf das nächste Mal, wenn wir wieder telefonieren können:) Schmatzer, Eure Marie

P.P.P.P.S.: Frohes Neues, ich hoffe, ihr hattet ein cooles Silvester. Auf jeden Fall cooler als bei uns, weil bei uns hat es nachts ungelogen 36°C in den cabins. Trotzdem herrscht hier gute Laune und ich habe Spaß
~Falk

P.P.P.P.P.S.:Frohes neues Jahr! Hoffe, ihr hattet einen genauso guten Start ins neue Jahr wie wir hier, mitten im Nix. Hier ist alles super und lustig wie immer!
~ Karo

P.P.P.PFrohes neues!!!! Ich wünsch‘ euch Zuhause einen schönen Urlaub, fühlt euch gedrückt und genießt die Zeit.
~ Julius

Frohes neues Jahr an meine Familie, Freunde und an alle, die das lesen! 🎉 ~Greta