Stars & Constellations (continued) At the Bell: In your notes, 3-5 minutes 1. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. Since it is a high mass star, its most likely fate is _____. a. planetary nebula b. protostar c. supernova 2. Polaris is found in the constellation _____. a. Ursa Minor b. Leo c. Gemini 3. Stars on the celestial sphere lie at similar distances from each other. TRUE or FALSE 4. Pottsville’s latitude is about 40 degrees North of the equator. At this latitude, you would find Polaris to have a declination of 40. TRUE or FALSE 5. The Orion Nebula is a dense collection of space dust and interstellar matter. What important process takes place at these locations?

Finding Polaris and Why Polaris (or the North Star) is an important star. Acts as a waypoint for jumping to other constellations and orients your direction Where is it? Ursa Minor (Little Bear, aka the Little Dipper) Found directly above the Earth’s rotational axis point which means what?

Now That You’re Oriented, It’s Time to Explore.

Ursa Major One of the most well known constellations other than Orion Translates to Greater (Larger) Bear aka Big Dipper Pointer star Dubhe can be useful in locating Polaris

Orion Another well known constellation seen best in winter in Northern Hemisphere. The hunter (chases Taurus) 4 major stars in Orion: Betelgeuse Bellatrix Rigel Saiph

Taurus Taurus (The Bull)is chased by Orion across the night sky. Major features: Aldebaran (orange giant star) the pleiades aka the Seven sisters  chased by Orion and Aldebaran

Canis Major The Greater Dog  Orion’s Hunting Dog Major features: Sirius (The Dog Star) One of the highest magnitude stars in the winter sky Pointer star to lowest star in Orion’s belt

Let’s Review and Practice Identifying!