What determines when a constellation is visible to us?

It is latitude? Distance? I'm really confused. Please help.



Thank you!What determines when a constellation is visible to us?Both.

Distance-A constellation is a pattern that we perceive in the distribution of stars. the stars are at widely varying distances from us, so the patterns are different depending on the viewpoint of the observer.As the distances are large the stars don't appear to move in relation to each other, if you were elsewhere in the galaxy or in another one , the patterns would be different.

Latitude-What you can see from Earth does depend on where you are on Earth, in the North there are constellations that are below the horizon, and vice versa. I recommend a free and open source Astronomy program called Celestia, available here; http://www.shatters.net/celestia/index.h鈥?/a> that enables you to explore in 3d, it is excellent, and has a forum that is frequented by expert astronomers.There is also another Earth -view based program called Stellarium available here-http://www.stellarium.org/ that will help you to understand how it all works. Good luck.What determines when a constellation is visible to us?
There are two main factors. The first is your latitude, as that determines what part of the sky you will be seeing: northern, equatorial, or southern. The other factor is the time of year, which determines where the Sun is located in the sky. Constellations close to the Sun's current location will not be visible, because they are washed out by the Sun's light. All other constellations visible from your latitude will be visible at some time during the night, as the Earth rotates on its axis.



For example, at present the Sun is located in the constellation Taurus. As a result, Taurus and nearby constellations such as Pisces and Orion are not visible. Once the Sun sets in the evening, Genini and Leo will be visible in the west. As the Earth turns, these will set, and new constellations will rise in the east, ending with Pegasus and Aquarius just before sunrise.



Six months from now, the Sun will have moved to Libra, and so that constellation and its neighbours will be hidden by the Sun's light, and a different set of constellations will be visible in the night sky.What determines when a constellation is visible to us?On earth we have what is called latitude and longitude, in space thses same "lines" are just extended, and are calld Declination and right acension. Because the Earth is currently sitting at a 23.5 degree tilt, this means that during certain times of the year, on whatever side of the earth your on, the constelation, which has it's own coordinates, is either below or above the horizon. If it's above you can see it, if ti's below you can't. Orion is visible throught out most of the year if not the whole year.What determines when a constellation is visible to us?
Two things:

1. Our location on the earth.

We can only see objects that are above the horizon,

which varies with where we happen to be.

2. The time of year.

As the earth circles the sun, we look out on different

directions at night.What determines when a constellation is visible to us?luminosity