On summer nights, the constellations Ursa Major and Capricornus light up the sky over the Northern Borders Region, attracting stargazers and recalling the area's long tradition of using the stars to navigate and find direction.

Zahi Al-Khulaiwi, president of the Space and Astronomy Society, said Ursa Major contains the Big Dipper. Two of its stars, Dubhe and Merak, point the way to Polaris, which sailors and travellers once relied on to locate true north. The constellation also holds several notable galaxies.

Capricornus, one of the zodiac constellations, is easy to see on summer evenings, he said. Its bright star Deneb Algedi was used by early astronomers and travellers to locate other constellations and to steer by at night.