A constellation is a group of stars that make an imaginary shape in the night sky. They are usually named after mythological characters, people, animals and objects. In different parts of the world, people

have made up different shapes out of the same groups of bright stars. It is like a game of connecting the dots. In the past creating

imaginary images out of stars became useful for navigating at night and for keeping track of the seasons. Because all the stars are at

different distances, the constellations would look totally different to inhabitants of another planet orbiting another star.-coolcosmos

CONSTELLATIONS IN THE NIGHT SKY

• Historically, certain stars have been used to navigation because travelers would use them to map their direction and path of travel through the night

• The famous star known as The North Star is scientifically known as Polaris, and is located directly above the North Pole. No matter where you are, this star appears in the

same exact spot every night. It never moves

• If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and you can find the North Star, you will know which direction North is.

STARS AND NAVIGATIONTHE NORTH STAR

THE SOUTHERN CROSS• Unlike the North, the Southern Hemisphere does not have a star that

directly signifies the Southern Pole

• Instead, there are a series of stars that are in the shape of a cross

• The Southern Cross has two very bright stars, and two very dim stars. Together, there four stars point directly to the South Pole

The North Star

The Southern Cross

CONSTELLATIONS• Since the Earth rotates on an axis, this causes the majority of

constellations to rise in the east and set in the west throughout the night

• The Constellations appear in many different places throughout the night due to the earths rotation around the sun

• There is a special group of stars known as “circumpolar”. This group of stars does not rise or set. Instead they circle the Northern Pole throughout the night.

Star Charts• A star chart is a map of the stars and their location in

the night sky

• Star charts are made up of a map of lines that show constellations

• There are different star charts that must be used at different times throughout the year based on the position of the earth

• Many of the stars in the Northern Hemisphere cannot be viewed in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa

Popular Constellations• Some constellations represent significant life evens

and connections. There are a series of constellations known as Star Signs that are related to humans based of the time of their birth

• There is a whole science based off of these constellations known as astrology

• These signs include:

• Aries

• Taurus

• Gemini

• Cancer

• Leo

• Virgo

• Libra

• Scorpius

• Sagittarius

• Capricorn

• Aquarius

• Pisces

OTHER WELL-KNOWN CONSTELLATIONS

CassiopeiaThis constellation tells the story of a vain queen who often boasted about her beauty. She was the mother of Princess Andromeda, and in contrast to other figures being placed in the sky in honor, Cassiopeia was forced to the heavenly realms as punishment. As the story goes, she boasted that her beauty (or her daughter’s, depending on the story) was greater than that of the sea nymphs. This was quite an offense, and she was banned to the sky for all to gawk at.

OrienOrion is one of the largest and most recognizable of the constellations. It is viewable around the world, and has been mentioned by Homer, Virgil, and even the Bible, making it perhaps the most famous constellation.

Orion was a massive, supernaturally gifted hunter who was the son of Poseidon. It was said he regularly hunted with Artemis (Goddess of the Hunt) on the island of Crete, and that he was killed either by her bow, or by the sting of the great scorpion who later became the constellation Scorpius

Ursa MajorThe Greek myth of Ursa Major also tells the story of Ursa Minor. Zeus was smitten for a young nymph named Callisto. Hera, Zeus’s wife, was jealous, and transformed Callisto into a bear. While in animal form, Callisto encountered her son Arcas. Being the man that he was, he was inclined to shoot the bear, but Zeus wouldn’t let that happen, and so turned Arcas into a bear as well, and placed mother (Ursa Major) and son (Ursa Minor) permanently in the night sky.

Ursa MinorUrsa Minor is better known as the Little Dipper. It’s visualized as a baby bear, with an unusually long tail. The north star (Polaris) is the very end of the little dipper, on the handle (or the bears tail)