Had my constellations all mixed up for 2 years until a neighbor corrected me

I was showing my neighbor my favorite backyard spot last week, pointing out what I thought was Cassiopeia. She looked at me funny and said "that's not Cassiopeia, that's Cepheus." I pulled up my star map app and she was right. I had been misidentifying like 5 major constellations the whole time because I was using a cheap star finder wheel I got at a garage sale. The print was faded and the dates were wrong. I felt DUMB but I ordered a new planisphere for $12 and suddenly everything clicks. Has anyone else realized they were reading their star charts or apps completely wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_garcia5611d agoTop Commenter

Ngl that garage sale finder wheel sounds like it was doing you dirty from the start. I had a similar issue with a star chart app that was outdated, it kept showing me locations for the wrong season so I was always trying to find winter constellations in the summer. Switched to a different app that updates based on your GPS and it made a huge difference, now I can actually trust what I'm seeing. Sometimes you just need the right tool for the job and that cheap wheel probably wasn't even close to accurate. It's wild how one little mistake can throw off everything for years though, glad you got it sorted.

michaela1611d ago

Seems like most things people sell at garage sales or thrift stores are outdated or broken in some way, they're just clearing out their junk. It's a good reminder to double check anything you find secondhand before you start relying on it.