Observing Skills · 2 of 5

Measure the Sky with Your Hand

Your hand at arm’s length is a ruler for the sky — a finger, a fist, a spread hand — tried out on Orion, then used to find Sirius and to count a star’s height.

You’ll be able to measure the gap between two stars, and a star’s height, with your hand at arm’s length.

7 steps · about 5 min

Working out when this is best placed from where you are…