Blr243 wrote: Stix if u do remember that other south finding constallation please let us know. I have googled it but not had much luck.
I cant remember...
What i usually do when i enter a property (or hopefully before i get lost...lol...), &/or when i know for sure which direction is which, is pick a constellation i recognise in either south east or Nth East of the sky .
I like something between approx 20 - 40 degrees up from the horizon, & dont pick anything higher than 40/45 degrees up from the horizon in the north/nth east sky (north of the east/west line), because later in the night it could be close to being overhead, & if thats the case its very hard to tell which direction its tracking in the sky, & so you can easily think you're facing Nth when you could be facing West...(I hope you understand what i mean by that)...
...take note of where it is in the sky in relation to the southern cross (or where you know the southern cross is if its just below your horizon..(again, this is early on in the night when you know your directions for sure).
So if you pick one in the north east at 10pm for example, & you know (should know) which way the sky tracks during the night, you'll be able to figure out which direction you're facing...so at 3 or 4am that constellation will likely be in the north west, & the southern cross should be (a hypothetical random wild guess for the sake of this explanation) 90-100 degrees around to your left in the south south west...
The only constellation i can bet my life on is the Southern Cross, so thats why i always use this method of picking another constellation when im actually out on that night/(that trip)..but still to be honest, when i drive in a property the last thing on my mind is the stars...im too pumped to look for other things bright & sparkly things in the paddocks, so i usuallly get lost after working on a fox...& having said that, im in a car & not on foot like you are...
Im lucky where i hunt (well shoot bunnys n foxes)--mostly close to the city (usually always within 3 hours of Adelaide)...with this, if the sky is covered from clouds & no moon, the city lights are a dead giveaway...so if im in the south east, the glow in the clouds will give away N/NW...if im 3 hrs East of Adelaide in the Mallee over near the Vic border & cant see my feet, again the glow in the clouds tells me where west is...
Im not sure how far from the nearest reasonable sized city you are hunting, but id have thought if you can get mobile signal, you'd be able to see the electricity (reflected glow of city lights) in the sky so to speak (if cloudy).
Hope that helps...& hope ive explained myself well enough to understand...
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...