Locating Stars and Constellations

1. Research and complete the following table for the given constellations:

Constellation Brightest Star Declination of Right Ascension of

(common name) brightest star brightest star

Ursa Major (Big Alioth +55°57'35" 12 h 54m 01s

Dipper)

Ursa Minor (Little Polaris +89° 15′ 50″ 02h 31m 47s
Dipper)

Draco Eltanin +51°29'20" 17h 56m 36s

Cassiopeia Schedar +56°32'13" 00h 40m 30s

Lyra vega +38°46'58" 18h 36m 56s

Leo Regulus +11°58'01" 10 h 8 m 22 s

Canis Minor Procyon +05°13'39" 7h 39m 18s

Delphinus Rotanev +14°35'42" 20h 37m 32s

Canis Major Sirius -16°42'47" 06h 45m 09s

 Taurus Aldebaran +16°30'35" 04h 35m 55s

Cygnus Deneb +45°16'49" 20h 41m 25s

Bootes Arcturus +19°11'14" 14h 15m 40s

Orion Rigel -08°12'05" 5h 14m 32.3s

2. What are four other names for Polaris?

Numerous names have been given to Polaris, including the Northern Star, Pole Star, Lodestar,
Guiding Star, and Cynosūra, which comes from the Greek letter o, which means "the dog's tail."
Ancient Greeks believed Ursa Minor to be a dog rather than a bear (Constellation Guide, 2014).

3. Use the following seasonal star maps to locate the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper
on the maps. Then try to find them on a clear night with the unaided eye. In what
season(s) can the constellations be seen?

The Big Dipper and the Little Dipper can be seen in both summer and winter in the sky. In the
summer sky map, the Big Dipper is up higher (north) than the Little Dipper. In the winter sky
map, the Little Dipper is higher (north) than the Big Dipper, meaning that the constellations are
in opposite spots in the summer and winter. This is because the earth is constantly orbiting the
sky and will never be in the same position. This is proven in the summer, the constellations are
slightly more west and during the winter, the constellations are more on the southeast on the
map.

4. If you were using the sky maps above to locate a specific constellation, how can you
tell whether to look for it high in the sky (towards the zenith) or just over the horizon?

If you are trying to locate a specific constellation within the sky, you can use the method of using
zenith. Zenith is a point on the celestial sphere that is exactly 90 degrees above a person
looking up from the earth (Curran, 2023). Zenith can also indicate the direct center of the sky.
An example of using Zenith is when you are looking at the summer sky trying to find the
constellation Lyra. Lyra is in the center of the sky, so to find it you have to look at the middle of
all the surrounding stars. Straight ahead from the horizon until the center of the earth.

5. The Big Dipper is often used as a reference point when locating other stars and
constellations. How can you use the Big Dipper (highlighted in red on the maps) to
locate Polaris in the little dipper. Show this in the diagrams above
Finding the big dipper is a good way to locate other constellations such as Polaris in the little
dipper. It makes it easier to find Polaris using the big dipper because Merak and Dubhe are
parallel to Polaris.

References
Constellation Guide. (2014, July 28). Polaris: The North Star – Alpha Ursae Minoris –

Constellation Guide. Constellation Guide. Retrieved February 6, 2023, from

https://www.constellation-guide.com/polaris-the-north-star/

Curran, M. (2023, January 30). Latitude and the stars: Location is key. EarthSky.

Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/latitude-

and-the-stars-location-is-key/