In a time before modern technology, people used the stars to navigate their way around the world. It was a skill that was essential for explorers and traders alike. Today, star navigation is still used by sailors and pilots as a backup method in case of emergencies. And at Replogle Globes, our globes can be used to recreate the experience of star navigation for everyday people.

But how are stars used for navigation? If you’re interested in learning how to navigate by the stars, read on!

What Is Celestial Navigation?

Celestial navigation is a method of determining one’s position on the earth by reference to the positions of the sun, moon, and stars. With this method, as a navigator, you can determine your latitude (north-south position) by measuring the angle between the horizon and a selected celestial body.

You can determine their longitude (east-west position) by comparing local solar time with the time at which the selected celestial body is directly overhead at the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude). The history of celestial navigation dates back thousands of years, and it was used extensively by sailors until the late 20th century.

How to Navigate by the Stars in the Northern Hemisphere

In order to navigate by the stars in the Northern Hemisphere, there are multiple options available to you. Here are some!

Find the True North

There are a few different ways that you can use the stars to find true north. One method is to find the North Star, also known as Polaris (we’ve seen a lot of people searching “how to find the north star”). This star is located at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, and it is actually a fairly close neighbor to our own sun. Polaris can be used to find true north because it remains in almost the same spot in the sky throughout the entire night.

You could also use Ursa Minor, which is the constellation containing Polaris, to find the true north. You can use the shape of Ursa Minor (which looks like a ladle) to easily spot Polaris and determine your direction.

Another way to find true north is by using Cassiopeia, which appears as an “M” or “W” in the sky depending on your position. While Polaris is located at the North Celestial Pole, Cassiopeia can be found opposite it at the South Celestial Pole. By connecting these two points in the sky, you will find your true north. Using constellations to navigate is sometimes referred to as “star hopping”.

With any of these methods, it is important to remember that the stars move throughout the night, so you will need to adjust your sighting accordingly. Nevertheless, using the stars is a good way to find your bearings in numerous situations. There are apps, star charts, and celestial globes available to help you with navigation by the stars.

Find Your Latitude

Another option for navigating by stars is to find your latitude. To do this, measure the angle between the horizon and a star that is directly above you. The measurement can be taken with a sextant or an astrolabe. However, if you don’t have access to these navigation tools, you can also use a protractor.

Using this method is fairly straightforward. Simply hold the protractor in front of you, align it to true north, and record the angle that is between a star and the horizon. This angle will give you your latitude!

But if you don’t have access to the tools, no biggie!

You can also use your fist to estimate the angle between a star and the horizon. Just hold your arm out in front of you, close your fingers tightly together, then count how many fists fit between the star above you and the horizon. Each fist will represent an angular measurement of 10 degrees, giving you an approximate measure of latitude.

Find the South

Finally, you can also use the stars to find the south. To do this, locate the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) in the night sky. This constellation is located near Polaris, and it looks like a small ladle or cup with two stars at the end of the handle.

Once you have found Ursa Minor, find the star at the tip of the handle and draw an imaginary line down from that star toward the horizon. Where this line meets the horizon is south! Knowing south can be extremely useful if you need to orient yourself before setting off on an adventure (or during!).

How to Navigate by the Stars in the Southern Hemisphere

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, don’t worry! You can still use the stars to help find your way.

Find the South Using the Southern Cross

In the Southern Hemisphere, the best way to find the south is by using the Southern Cross. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can only be seen in the southern night sky. It is made up of four stars: Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri, Gamma Centauri, and delta Centauri.

To find south using the Southern Cross, first locate the two brightest stars in the constellation, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Then draw an imaginary line from Alpha Centauri to Beta Centauri. This imaginary line will point roughly toward the south. To be more precise, you can extend this line until it intersects with the horizon. The point where the line intersects with the horizon will be due south.

How to Use Star Navigation in Both Hemispheres

To make it even easier, there are several stars that are visible in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For example, Sirius (the Dog Star) is the brightest star in both hemispheres. You can use this star to locate south by drawing an imaginary line from Sirius to the horizon and noting where it intersects with the horizon. This will be south!

And Orion’s Belt is also visible in both hemispheres. In the Northern Hemisphere, you can use this constellation to locate the true north by drawing an imaginary line from Orion’s Belt to the horizon. In the Southern Hemisphere, you can use this method to find the south by doing the same thing: draw an imaginary line from Orion’s Belt to the horizon and note where it intersects with the horizon.

How to Navigate By the Stars Using Any Star in the Sky

With practice, it is possible to navigate using any star in the sky. Here are the steps involved.

To find your direction using any star, you will need two stakes and some string. Drive the stakes into the ground so that they are about three feet apart, then tie the string between them. Select a bright, easily visible star and align it with the top of the string.

After a while, our planet will have rotated so that the star is no longer in alignment with the string. Observe which direction the star has moved – if it has descended, you are facing west, and if it has ascended, you are facing east. And if the star has moved to the left, you are facing north and if it has moved to the right, you are facing south.

This method is a simple way to navigate using only the stars. Some stars are more useful than others since they are brighter and easier to find. In addition, certain stars appear in different parts of the sky at different times of the year, making them more useful for navigation depending on the time of year.

Conclusion

Star navigation is an amazing skill that has been used for thousands of years. With these simple tips, you can start exploring and learning more about the night sky and using stars to orient yourself!

Constellation globes in particular can be extremely useful visual aids to help you learn more about the stars and how they move in relation to each other. And with a little practice, it is possible to navigate using the stars in both hemispheres. So and get out there and start exploring!

Contact us for more information about globes.

The equatorial circumference of the Earth is just under 25,000 miles — that’s a lot of ground to cover for anyone interested in learning more about their world. But with a desktop globe, you can enjoy the wonders of our great planet from the comfort of your own home or office. Of course, to get the most out of your desktop globe investment, you will want to be sure you take the time to effectively learn how to read a globe. From finding the equator on the globe to understanding what each of the globe lines indicates, be sure to take some time to familiarize yourself with this incredible object.

Reading the World Globe: Meanings of Longitude

In order to fully understand what your globe is displaying, it is important to understand the difference between latitude and longitude. While globe lines of latitude indicate how far north or south a given point is from the equator on your globe, globe lines of longitude indicate how far east or west a given point is from the prime meridian.
While the equator on your globe represents a naturally occurring point — the halfway point between the south pole and north pole in a globe — the prime meridian is a bit more arbitrary. As a result of an international agreement, the prime meridian goes through Greenwich, England (London). All points on Earth can be compared to this point. New York, for example, has a longitude of 74 degrees west, while Tokyo has a longitude of 140 degrees east. The furthest point from the prime meridian on Earth, known as the 180th meridian (or antemeridian), cuts through the Pacific Ocean.

Determining the Coordinates on the Globe

One of the great things about contemporary globes and maps is that they can help you determine the coordinates of any location on the planet. Every location on Earth has both a latitude and a longitude (their distance relative to the equator and the prime meridian, respectively), measured in degrees, which can be further broken down into minutes and seconds. There are 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute (meaning that each degree contains 3,600 seconds).
The City of St. Louis, Missouri, for example, has a latitude of 38 degrees, 37 minutes, and 37.2108 seconds. It has a longitude of 90 degrees, 11 minutes, and 57.8472 seconds. By looking at the 4th decimal place for all “seconds” measurements, you should be able to locate anywhere in the world within a few feet. Though your desktop globe likely only includes degrees, understanding this system can still be very beneficial.

World Globes Help You Understand the Distance

Once you have familiarized yourself with the global coordinate system, you will then be able to measure the distance between any two points by following the line on a globe. Because globes are spherical (like Earth itself), they do not need to distort distances in a way that most two-dimensional maps will inevitably need to do.
When measuring distance, it will be important to keep in mind that the distance between two longitudinal points will depend on their distance from the equator (latitude). At the equator, a single degree of longitude will equal roughly 69 miles wide. But as you approach the poles, a single degree of longitude will eventually reach zero — all other points on Earth will be somewhere in between.

A World Globe Can Illustrate the Roundness of the Earth

Whether you are using a National Geographic Globe or any other type of globe, you can identify the shortest route between any two points. However, contrary to what you might assume, the shortest distances between these points will usually not be a completely straight line. In fact, due to the curvature of the Earth — and the fact that the Earth is much “wider”, within the grid system, at the equator than it is at the poles — the shortest route between two cities will often look curved on a globe.
Despite the fact that New York and Rome lie at nearly identical latitudes, the shortest route between them would involve going north into Canada and “curving” over the Atlantic Ocean. And the further these points lie from the equator, the more dramatic this curvature will be.

Understanding the Turn of the Season with the World

Your desktop globe will also be an excellent tool for learning about the changing seasons. As you might have noticed, your globe sits at an angle. The equator on the globe is not perpendicular to your desk (or wherever you have it sitting) but instead is positioned with a 23.5-degree slant. This slant happens to represent the angle at which the Earth is positioned when rotating around the sun.
Ultimately, it is the existence of this angle that causes Earth to experience different seasons. Between March 21 and September 21, the Northern Hemisphere will be the one predominantly facing the sun, which is why this is the hottest time of the year for that part of the world. During the other half of the year, the Southern Hemisphere will be positioned for more sun exposure.
The tilting of the Earth also helps explain why the polar regions are usually cold and the areas near the equator are usually warm, regardless of the season. Everywhere else will experience something in between.

Conclusion

Clearly, your globe contains a lot of useful information. Whether you are trying to gain perspective, understand the workings of the Earth, or just get a better understanding of where things are, your globe can offer a lot of value. And since 1930, Replogle Globes has been helping people of all kinds learn more about our amazing world.

The Ancient Greeks — along with other civilizations of the time — widely believed in a now-iconic phrase: “As Above, So Below.” In other words, the Greeks strongly believed that the workings of the cosmos, the great mystery above us, directly affected our general well-being.

It very well seems the Greeks might have indeed been onto something. Even if you don’t believe in astrology, per se, it is clear that the stars directly influence our lives — we know we can’t possibly manage to live without the Sun. We know we are, ultimately, made of “star stuff.”

Keeping this in mind, let’s see how each of the original zodiac signs appeared and how it will help tell you about us.

What Is the Origin of Zodiac Signs?

Astrology, which can be loosely defined as a philosophy of stars, has changed significantly over time. It’s hard to directly answer “how old are the Zodiac signs?” because they developed over time. The current iteration of Western Astrology is highly influenced by ancient Greece and ancient Babylon. In addition, Zodiac history is primarily derived from the mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos, which was published roughly 1,800 years ago. This typically marks the beginning of astrology.

Ptolemy divided the Earth’s orbit around the sun — a 360-degree experience — into distinctive 30-degree sectors, each with a different identification. He carefully documented the stars that could be witnessed during this time, which often included distinct constellations.

Ultimately, this led to the creation of the ancient Zodiac Signs, which are 12 cosmic phases correlated with each 30-degree sector. Today, many people believe the sign that is present at the moment of your birth can have a direct influence on the course of your life.

The horoscope origin for each Zodiac sign is unique. What’s yours?

Aries

Aries is the Zodiac sign for people born between March 21 (the Spring Equinox) and April 19 and is traditionally considered the start of the Zodiac calendar. The Zodiac symbol for Aries is a Lamb, and Aries (along with Leo and Sagittarius) is regarded as a Fire Sign. Keeping in mind its role at the beginning of the Zodiac calendar, the Lamb (or Ram) symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. But it also comes from an Ancient Greek Myth — the story of Phrixus and Helle (where Hellenic gets its name) — where the two heroes are eventually saved by a ram with golden wool.

Taurus

Taurus is the second astrological sign and is the original Zodiac sign of people who are born between April 20 and May 20. Taurus, an earth sign, is represented by a bull and has origins tracing back to many different cultures. The first reference to Taurus was made by the Ancient Mesopotamians (about 4000 BC) who referred to it as “The Great Bull of Heaven.” Taurus also relates to the Greek myth of Europa, which involves the God Zeus taking the form of a bull and “ravaging” his consort, Europa.

Gemini

Gemini is the first of the “air” Zodiac signs and is the astrological symbol for people born between May 21 and June 21 (the summer solstice). The symbol for Gemini is the twins, which have traditionally been presented in many different forms. Gemini is another Zodiac sign who can trace its origins to the Babylonian era, where the stars Pollux and Castor were first dubbed to be the “Great Twins in the sky.” In Greek mythology, Pollux is considered to be the son of Zeus — after his friend Castor dies, Pollux asks his father to give him immortality, a request that Zeus obliges.

Cancer

As the first water sign, Cancer completes the first third of the astrological cycle and marks the beginning of summer. Each year, the sun moves through the cancer phase between roughly June 22 and July 22. The horoscope origin for the cancer symbol is traditionally a crab, though there are a few cultures that use either a lobster or a crawfish.

In Greek mythology, Cancer is known as a giant crab sent by Zeus’ wife, Hera, to fight Hercules (another of Zeus’ sons who was the product of an affair with Alcmene). In a long series of events, Hercules goes mad (and even kills his children) but eventually kills the crab by stepping on it.

Leo

Leo, the second fire sign, is one of the most easily identified original Zodiac signs. Represented by a lion, the Leo sign applies to all people born between July 23 and August 22. The sign is yet another that can trace its mythological origins back to Hercules, one of the most important figures in Greek mythology. According to legend, Hercules was tasked with “12 labors” as a sort of cosmic punishment for going insane and killing his children. The first of these labors was to kill the mythical lion Nemea. Though it ended up on the losing side, Zeus rewarded the lion for being brave by giving it a constellation.

Virgo

Virgo rounds out the first half of the Zodiac cycle, spanning from 150 to 180 degrees. Virgo is the only Zodiac sign that is represented by a woman, commonly referred to as “the Maiden.” It is the official symbol for people who were born between August 22 and September 23. Traditionally, the celestial maiden that appears in Virgo is considered to be Astraea, a virgin who is representative of justice, innocence, purity, and precision. According to Greek legend, she will one day return to Earth at the beginning of the “Golden Age.”

Libra

Libra is the seventh astrological phase, which applies to people born between September 23 and October 23. Libra is the second air sign. Its symbol is a scale, which is supposed to represent the Scales of Justice normally held by Themis, the Greek Goddess of Law and Justice. Libra is also strongly associated with both Venus and Astraea, and can frequently be witnessed in depictions at courthouses and similar buildings around the world.

Scorpio

Scorpio, a water sign, completes the second third of the cosmic calendar, occupying the 210 to 240-degree slot. It is represented by a scorpion which, as you might have guessed, is directly named after the constellation itself. In some instances, Scorpio can also be associated with a snake and an eagle — each of these characters is commonly used in mythologies around the world. In Greek mythology, the hunter Orion once boasted of his intent to kill all of the animals in the world, only to eventually be bitten and killed by the scorpion.

Sagittarius

A fire sign, Sagittarius, is generally represented by an archer, an ancient Zodiac sign which often takes the form of the mythological centaur Chiron. The sun transits through the Sagittarius component of the Zodiac from November 22 to December 21 (the winter solstice). Centaurs, which are half-human and half-horse, often play an important role in Greek mythology, but few are more famous or important than Chiron. According to Greek legend, Chiron played a critical role in mentoring Achilles, who — despite his later documented weakness in his ankle — was a hero in the Trojan War.

Capricorn

Capricorn is an earth sign, along with being the first of the three winter zodiac signs. Its dates take place from December 22 to January 21. Capricorn, like several other zodiac signs, can trace its origins back to Sumerian Mythology, as well as Babylonian mythology. Capricorn is usually depicted as a goat or, in some interpretations, as a sea goat. The primary inspiration for this goat is Amalthea, who is known for taking the form of a goat and raising Zeus after he was abandoned by his parents.

Aquarius

Aquarius is the last of the air signs in the Zodiac cycle, though, perhaps ironically, its symbol is usually the “water bearer.” The calendar dates that apply to Aquarius are roughly January 22 to February 20. The Aquarius legend is inspired by Ganymede, who both humans and the gods alike considered to be the “most beautiful” mortal man. However, eventually, Zeus decided to kidnap Ganymede, where he eventually became a water carrier (cupbearer) upon Mount Olympus. Today, Aquarius is often associated with both wisdom and revolution.

Pisces

The last — but sign in the Zodiac calendar is Pisces, whose dates typically run from about February 20 to March 20 (there is sometimes a little dispute/overlap between the signs). Pisces is usually depicted as a pair of two fish, each swimming in a different direction. After a gigantic water serpent known as Typhoon (like the storm) began terrorizing the Greek Titans, some of the goods decided to adopt new animal forms and flee. Generally, the fish incorporated in depictions of Pisces are thought to represent Aphrodite and Eros in their fish form.

Conclusion

Now you know a little bit more about the origin of zodiac sign symbols. Astrology isn’t something you have to choose whether or not to “believe in” — for many people, astrology is just a fun way to look at the world we live in and think about our relationship with the mysterious universe beyond us. And if you are interested in learning more about our place in this great mystery, Replogle Globes will help you explore our world. Be sure to study one of the many globes of planets that we have available. If you have any more questions, please contact us!