HOW TO
Find Your Zodiac Constellation
Night Sky
Stargazing Guide to the Sky
A longtime favorite among astronomy buffs, Night Sky shows you which stars, constellations, and planetary bodies are overhead—simply point your iPhone or iPad toward the heavens.
Night Sky can also find the constellation tied to your astrological sign—or, if the constellation is below the horizon, tell you when it will rise. There are two easy ways to do that:
Search
Just tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen.
Set up a My Sky alert
Night Sky sends animated push notifications when your constellation is about to rise over the horizon.
View it in the app as a superslick “glass constellation” that overlays the stars with their associated mythological image.
Move and spin your iPhone to see the placement of each component star in space. “It’s a really cool way to see where the stars are relative to each other,” says Andy Weekes, whose development company, iCandi Apps, released Night Sky in 2011.
Explore the constellation in augmented reality (AR), bringing the unfathomably distant cosmic structure right into your kitchen. With the AR Sky Blending feature, you can even fuse Night Sky’s annotated map with the sky itself.
The Space Travel feature allows you to move through time to view star maps from the past and the future. This is handy if, for instance, you want to see where your constellation was in space when you arrived on Earth.
For a little more insight on how to find your zodiac sign’s constellation—and what it means—read on.
Aries: The Ram is one of the oldest recognized constellations in the heavens, and those born beneath it are energetic, dynamic, and frank. It’s a bit small, though, so use Night Sky’s Search feature to find it.
Taurus: The Bull can be located by tracing the line of Orion’s belt until you reach a bright V-shaped cluster of stars. That’s right: Orion has spent billions of years locked in a celestial bullfight.
Gemini: The constellation known as the Twins can be found by projecting a diagonal line from the Big Dipper’s handle straight through its cup—it’ll run into Castor, one of Gemini’s two bright twin stars.
Cancer: The Crab is the dimmest of the zodiac constellations—search by name and the app will help you find its upside-down Y shape. Cancers may have their claws out when you meet them, but they’ll prove themselves to be sweet and kind.
Leo: The legendary Lion is the bravest of all zodiac signs and one of the easiest to see. Find the Big Dipper and draw an imaginary line between the bowl’s outer stars. The top star points to the North Star, the bottom to Leo.
Virgo: To find Virgo, follow the curve of the handle of the Big Dipper to the bright star Arcturus. Then extend that line to Virgo’s brightest star, Spica. Virgos have tremendous attention to detail, so this should be fairly easy.
Libra: Find Virgo first—Libra is the slightly lopsided diamond just next to it. Fun fact: Libra is the only zodiac sign that doesn’t symbolize a living creature.
Scorpio: Scorpio is all about experiencing and expressing authentic emotions, even if they’re not always pretty. Find it in the sky by searching for a shape that looks like a fish hook—or a scorpion’s tail.
Sagittarius: The philosopher of the zodiac is supposed to be a centaur, but it looks more like a teapot. Find it directly to the left of Scorpio.
Capricorn: The Goat is hardworking, practical, and sometimes stubborn. Similarly, its constellation is stubbornly hard to find—best to search for it by name in the app. Or add a Siri shortcut like “Hey Siri, find my cosmic goat.”
Aquarius: This is the sign of the water bearer, one who brings hope and relief. As such, Aquarians are often visionary, dreamy souls who are deeply interested in making the world a better (and less thirsty) place. The constellation is pretty dim, though, so let the app handle the star-spotting by setting up a My Sky alert.
Pisces: Represented by the iconic pair of fish, the final zodiac sign is said to bring together all those who came before. This is another dim one; set up a My Sky alert to know when it’s viewable.