Introduction

On May 4th and 5th, 2002, I attended an outdoor swimming/boating camp at Honnemardu in the Western Ghats of India. As the people there learned I had studied astronomy, they asked me if I could write a simple introductory lesson on how to navigate using the night sky. If I could come up with a little pamphlet or a few paragraphs, it would help the instructors at Honnemardu train new instructors. This section of my website is devoted to my attempt to do just that.

Many of the instructors at Honnemardu come from the surrounding rural community of Western Karnataka, and several of them have not had the opportunity to study until or beyond 12th grade. This document is written with that in mind, and geometry concepts are described as well as I could without using mathematical notation. I have tried to find as many appropriate diagrams as possible from around the world wide web. If any particular topic remains unclear, however, please let me know.

I am not an accomplished writer, and in college my professors often became very familiar with me because of my weakness in writing term papers and essays. I usually just splurge out all my ideas with the hope that eventually I will return and organize the ideas into sensible blocks. I will for the moment stick to that approach. I rely on the visitors to this website to make suggestions and complaints about what they found confusing and if there might be a better way for me to explain a particular concept.

About Honnemardu

I have simply reproduced information below from the visitor's brochure that describes what Honnemardu is, and what the organizations behind it aim to achieve.

Indian Institute for Adventure Applications, Honnemardu is a training institute in the wilderness, which emphasizes on outdoor learning in agreement with The Adventurers' philosophy of co-existence with nature. An aqua sport center was set up at Honnemardu in 1992. Situated on the banks of the Sharavathy, on the Linganamakki reservoir, its location makes it an ideal blend of adventure sports and nature studies. IIAA promotes outdoor learning, environmental conservation, social and cultural development through adventure sport and eco-tourism activities.

Promoted by the parent body, The Adventurers Wilderness School, the Indian Institute for Adventure Applications (IIAA) at Honnemardu offers courses in Adventure Applications for interested students.

IIAA offeres one-year vocational composite training in adventure and allied activities, which focuses on hard skills in adventure, adventure based studies like wilderness first aid and safety, using the medium of adventure for management training and training in any selected area in the outdoors.

Besides the training perspective, eco-tourists from across the globe come to IIAA to participate in aqua sport activities.

If you need further information about Honnemardu, you should contact the IIAA at honnemardu@satyam.net.in.

Nature's Language

So you are participating in a trekking trip. Around you the landscape is lush with uninvaded flora, the breathtaking hills and valleys make you wish you could just move away from the city forever. Away from the city, yes, but... but where exactly are you? The valley on your left appears identical to the valley on the right. Which one did you come down along? Which way do you need to go to get... to get home? Gulp! Where are the signs? Aren't there supposed to be signs everywhere you go to?

Yes and no. If you are looking for a big florescent sign screaming "Keep walking this way for 2000 paces, take a right turn, walk straight for 5 hours, and you will reach your next destination", I don't think you will find one. So how do people find their way around this place? The answer lies around you. Yes, nature! Nature provides all the signs you will ever need. Well almost. Most of nature's signs are far bigger than any man-made sign you will ever encounter. However nature speaks in its own language. To recognize and understand these signs, you will need to learn nature's language.

Time of Day

Other Ideas

This document is still a work in progress. The following are topics that I hope to include in this document in the future:

• Reddening/extinguishing of starlight near the horizon
• Time of day, sun dials
• Light pollution
• Which way is north?
• Compass, map and triangulation
• Seasonal constellations
• Magnitude scale
• Solar system, superior/inferior planets, eclipses, tides, the moon
• Types of stars
• Special stars - Vega, Betelgeuse, Polaris, Alpha Centauri
• Galaxies
• Man made satellites
• Ecliptic plane, Tropic of Cancer, seasons, solstices, equinoxes
• Tips for observing the sky

References

1. Chartrand, M. R. National Audubon Society Field Guide To The Night Sky. New York: Knopf, 2000.