“Look at that picture in the sky”, she said. One beautiful summer night, Josslyn decided to join her grandparents on their nightly walk along the grassy pasture. As they took part in their walk, Josslyn stared into the clear summer sky studying all the bright stars in her view. She had glazed at the sky many times before, but tonight, she noticed something she had never seen before. She noticed a picture in the sky. She became so excited with her discovery, yelling out for her grandparents to look in the direction in which she was pointing. “Yes, that is the Big Dipper.”

“The Big Dipper!” “Well, it’s a beautiful night to learn about it !” “Yes, the Big Dipper.” “I have never hear of that before”. So, they all found a cozy little area to rest while the grandparents taught Josslyn about constellations.

“A constellation is a group of stars that, when seen from Earth, form a pattern. The stars in the sky are divided into 88 constellations.” So the grandparents told Josslyn all about constellations and even pointed some out to her. “Constellations?!” “The Big Dipper is one of the many constellations out there in the night sky”,

“One of the most famous and well known constellations is the Big Dipper. It is comprised of seven stars, of which three appear to form a handle and four appear to form a bowl.” “The Big Dipper is part of a bigger constellation known as Ursa Major or Great Bear. The handle of the big dipper is the tail of the “great bear".”

The North Star “Another famous and well known constellation is the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is part of a bigger constellation known as Ursa Minor or Little. The handle of the little dipper is the tail of the “little bear". Bear.”

Crux, the Southern Cross “Crux, the Southern Cross, is the most familiar constellation in the southern hemisphere. This constellation is the smallest and brightest in the entire sky.”

Centaurus “The constellation with the greatest number of visible stars in it is Centaurus with 101 stars. “

“Of the 88 constellations in the sky, 12 are sort of special. They are certainly the most common. They are in a certain region of the sky that is called the Zodiac. So, they are called Zodiac constellations or, more commonly, Zodiac Signs. “Zodiac “Each one has its own special symbol, and each is assigned to approximately 30 days during our calendar year. There are 3 Zodiac constellations or signs for each season of our year, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.”

When they arrived home, they sat out on the patio to enjoy some cookies and milk. As they glazed at the night sky, Josslyn looked at grandparents and said…. “Thanks for teaching me about the constellations in the sky. You are the best grandparents a girl could ask for and I love you.”

Claumetria’s Portfolio on Stars