text: how is math used in finding constellations?   you don't need math to find them. just a mental or physical map. if the object's so hard to find you'd use telescopes with charts and finder scopes and setting circles. you do use math in astronomy. duh. but to use math just to find constellations would be like using a compass and a topo map to find your neighborhood. i suspect that light pollution is your problem for finding them though. you can hardly find what you can't see. drive to the mountains or a desert or somewhere. then the constellations should stand out very well. what do you expect when you can be 60 miles out to sea and still have nyc's faint glow still above you ? (no, i've never been there )