Constellations

Stars as Tools for Navigation  The North Star is called Polaris and located directly above the North Pole. This star appears in the same place every night all year long.  In the Northern Hemisphere, if you find Polaris you will be able to tell which direction is north.  The Southern Hemisphere does not have a star to help you find its pole. In stead it has what is known as a Southern Cross.  The Southern Cross consists of 4 bright stars and some dimmer ones. All of these together point to the south pole.

Stars as tools for navigation North StarSouthern Cross

A pattern or group of stars in the sky is called a constellation. People of ancient time saw the constellations as characters or animals in the sky. They made up stories to explain how the object, animal, or character came into the night sky.

Star Patterns

Constellations  Earth rotates on its axis, this makes most constellations appear to rise in the east and set in the west during the night.  Most constellations appear in many different positions in the sky as the Earth revolves around the sun.  There is a group of stars that appear in the sky all night long and all year long. It seems that these stars do not rise and set, but circle the Earth’s north pole each night. These stars are called circumpolar.

STAR CHARTS How can we identify constellations in the night sky? The use of a star chart can help us! A STAR CHAR T is a map of the stars in the night sky.

STAR CHARTS On a star chart, lines often connect the stars that might make up a constellation. Different star charts must be used at different times of the year and in different places on Earth. Many stars visible from the Southern hemisphere cannot be seen from the Northern hemisphere.

STAR CHARTS

What other invention helps us view items in space? A telescope!

Galileo Galilei Italian scientist who was the first person to use a telescope to look at objects in the night sky.

NOTES: Constellations- a pattern or group of stars in the sky Star Chart- map of the stars in the night sky used as a way to identify constellations Telescope- a tool used to see far away objects in space up-close Galileo Galilei- scientist who was the first person to use a telescope to look at objects in the night sky.

Brainpop Videos Constellations Telescopes

The Big Dipper Who knows what this is? Does anyone know what constellation the Big Dipper is apart of?

Ursa Major

Ursa Major Ursa Major means “great bear” in Latin. A long time ago, Bear had a long, lovely, tail that he was very proud of. He used to wave it around and make the other animals look at it. Fox decided to play a trick on Bear. It was winter, and the lakes were frozen. Fox tricked Bear into using his tail to go ice fishing. Bear put his tail through a hole in the ice, hoping that a fish would come and grab his tail. Then e could pull the fish out and have it for dinner. Bear waited there so long that he got tired and fell asleep. Night came, and ice covered the hole. Bear’s tail was frozen into the ice! When he tried to pull his tail out, it broke off. He left his long, lovely tail in the ice. So, to this day, bears have short tails and are not very fond of foxes.

Your task: Using Star Patterns your job is to study the six star patterns and imagine pictures in the stars. Draw and name the constellation you see. Then using one of the star patterns create your own story.