If it makes you feel any better, most professional astronomers couldn't point out constellations either. It's a different view of the sky when you're working in a different wavelength, or at a telescope that points by typing in coordinates, or when you're essentially a field geologist whose tools are the Mars Rovers.
I just ordered a Galileoscope -- basically a tiny telescope that is about the caliber that Galileo used. Mostly because it was $35 (with shipping, but not including a tripod) and I can take it traveling, and it's good enough for open clusters and planets, and is supposed to be several steps above the optical quality of the toy telescopes. In high school, I owned a larger telescope, but it took two trips to get it outside -- the base is broken and it needs a lot of care, but it still exists.
(I know most of the bright stars/constellations, but a lot of the faint ones I've never seen. And don't ask me about the southern sky.)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-01-23 01:43 am (UTC)I just ordered a Galileoscope -- basically a tiny telescope that is about the caliber that Galileo used. Mostly because it was $35 (with shipping, but not including a tripod) and I can take it traveling, and it's good enough for open clusters and planets, and is supposed to be several steps above the optical quality of the toy telescopes. In high school, I owned a larger telescope, but it took two trips to get it outside -- the base is broken and it needs a lot of care, but it still exists.
(I know most of the bright stars/constellations, but a lot of the faint ones I've never seen. And don't ask me about the southern sky.)