How to Tell the Hour by the Stars

In the age of the iphone, this nifty trick may strike some as useless, but it just might come in handy if you're ever caught without a clock (or if you just want to impress your friends).

You just need your own two eyes!

But, if you want, you can grab a piece of paper and a pencil to do the math (don't worry, there's only a teensy bit!)

If you're familiar with these "landmarks" of the sky, then you can find 'em and move right on to the next step.

But if you're unsure of how to spot them, no worries, it's super easy.

When looking for the Big Dipper, you'll want to look facing North for the square shape that makes the "dipper" part. After you've found it you'll notice, as in the image, that the two stars forming the outer side of the "dipper" make a straigth line to Polaris.

Polaris is almost the brightest star in the sky. It is also called the North Star.

Polaris never moves, so you only have to learn its location once.

The next step is to simply imagine a clock with Polaris at its center, numbered 1-24 ordered right to left/counterclockwise. 24 is at the very top.

The Big Dipper is our hour hand!

(The numbers on our clock are spaced 15 degrees apart for anyone who wants to know- 15 degrees of movement=1 hour)

Don't let the 'M' word scare you- if I can do it, you can do it too!

So, if it's on or around March 6th, you don't need any calculation.

But if it's any of the eleven other months, there's a formula to follow: Time=Dipper Time - 2 x (the number of months since March 6th) + 1 hour if Daylight Savings Time is in effect.

("Dipper Time" is just whatever number The Big Dipper is pointing to on our imaginary clock!)

And there you have it! How to tell the hour via the stars!

Keep in mind, this isn't going to be precise to the very minute, but it's pretty neat that there's a built in clock right above our heads- and most people don't even know it's there! But know you know.