1. Constellations Jeff Barton Director of Astronomy
Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus
3 Rivers Foundation

2. What is a Constellation?
Astronomers recognize 88 constellations
They divide the sky into easy-to-recognize areas to make it easier to talk to others about what is where in the sky (for example: “The star Betelgeuse is in the constellation of Orion”)
The brighter stars in a constellation make a “shape” (a figure of a man, a lion, a bear, and so on …)
… but they have changed from earlier centuries …

3. Native American Thunderbirds
Native peoples of a region often had their own constellations to help them navigate at night, and to recognize important mythical figures in their cultures … and these usually were much different from what we know today ...

4. Other ways to “see” a constellation
From H. A. Rey

5. The Big Dipper is not one!
From H. A. Rey

6. Other ways to see the bears

7. Some constellations are in The Bible

8. “What's your sign?”

9. How to find the constellations