Constellations

Astronomy vs. Astrology

• Astronomy:
The scientific study of matter in outer space,
especially the positions, dimensions, distribution,
motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial
bodies and phenomena.
• Astrology:
The study of the positions and aspects of celestial
bodies in the belief that they have an influence on the
course of natural earthly occurrences and human
affairs.
I. Constellations
• Group of stars that appear
to form a pattern in the
sky.
• Star patterns named by
ancient peoples after gods,
goddesses, animals,
monsters, and mythic
heroes.
• 88 recognized by
International Astronomy
Union
Constellations
• The shapes you see all depend on your point of
view.
• Stars in a constellation are NOT close to each
other, but when viewed from Earth they seem
to be grouped together.
• During ancient times, constellations were used
for navigation and to tell stories.
Stars as Tools
for Navigation The Southern
The North Star is Hemisphere does
called Polaris and not have a star to
located directly help you find its
above the North pole. In stead it
Pole. This star has what is known
appears in the as a Southern
same place every Cross.
night all year long.
The Southern Cross
In the Northern consists of 4 bright
Hemisphere, if you stars and some
find Polaris you will dimmer ones. All
be able to tell of these together
which direction is point to the south
north. pole.
 Polaris Southern Cross
North Star
 What Is An Asterism?

• In addition to the 88
official constellations
there are several
unofficial but popular
star patterns.
• Called asterisms.
• Examples:
– The Big Dipper
– The Little Dipper
– The Northern Cross
– The Great Square
A. Zodiac
• Band of 12 constellations along
the ecliptic.
B. Ecliptic
• – the plane of the Earth’s orbit
around the sun

• The apparent path that the sun

(and planets) appear to move
along against the star background.
Ecliptic
C. Circumpolar Constellations
• Can be seen all year long

• Never fully set below the horizon

• Appear to move counter clockwise

around Polaris

• Caused by Earth’s Rotation

Circumpolar Constellations
 Examples of Circumpolar
Constellations

1. Ursa Major – The Big Bear

2. Ursa Minor – The Little Bear
3. Cassiopeia – Queen on Her Throne
4. Draco- The Dragon
5. Cepheus- The King
• # of stars seen as circumpolar depends
on the observers latitude

• Further North the observer lives, the

more stars will appear circumpolar

• Earth turns west to east

• Sky appears to turn east to west

D. Ursa Major

• Best known constellation

• Common name is Big Dipper
• Pointer stars- front 2 stars of the Big
Dipper which point to Polaris (North
Star)
Finding Polaris and Why
Polaris (or the North Star) is where you
want to start. Because Polaris is
aligned with the Earth’s axis of rotation,
it remains fixed, with all the other
planets and stars appearing to move
around it. It is the one star that remains
fixed at all times.
The Stars seem to spin around the
North Star (Polaris)

North Star
You see different constellations from
each hemisphere.

Southern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
 II. Seasonal Changes in
Constellations
• Big Dipper
– In Fall: Low over northern horizon
– Spring: High overhead
• Cassiopeia
– In Fall: Straight overhead
– Spring: Low over northern horizon
Seasonal Change & Nightly change of
the Dippers
III. Summer Constellations
• 1st 3 bright stars that rise form the
Summer Triangle

1. Vega- in Lyra the Harp

2. Altair- in Aquilla the Eagle
3. Deneb – in Cygnus the Swan
(Northern Cross)
Summer Triangle
IV. Most Famous Winter Constellation
• Orion Contains:
1. Betelgeuse (Bet el jooz)
a bright red super giant
star found forming
Orion’s right shoulder
2. Rigel – a blue super
giant: 7th brightest star
in the nighttime sky
 NOW, FOR A TOUR OF THE
SEVEN MAJOR
CONSTELLATIONS…

Cassiopeia Orion
Cygnus Ursa major
Scorpius Ursa minor
Draco
CASSIOPEIA – “ THE
QUEEN”
 CASSIOPEIA – “THE
QUEEN”
• Brightest Star – Schedar
• Best season to view – all year
• The Myth:
Cassiopeia was the queen of Ethiopia. She was
so proud of her beauty and bragged about it. She
offended the sea god Poseidon. He sent a sea
monster to attack her kingdom and teach her
some humility.
According to the legend, the sea god Poseidon
placed the figure of Cassiopeia among the stars
to remind people of her vanity.
CYGNUS – “THE
SWAN”
CYGNUS – “THE SWAN”
• Brightest Star – Deneb
• Best season to view – all year

The Myth:

One day three hunters were hiking through the

forest when they came upon a clear lake. The lake
was home to many birds including a beautiful snow
goose. One hunter shot his bow and the snow goose
fell into the lake. As the sky darkened, the spirit
of the snow goose formed a constellation
in the sky.
SCORPIUS – “THE
SCORPION”
SCORPIUS – “THE
SCORPION”
• Brightest Star – Antares
• Best season to view – summer

The Myth:
To the ancient Greeks, the constellation Scorpius
was the image of a scorpion. The constellation was
related to the death of the giant hunter Orion. There
are several different stories about Orion's death.
According to one story, Orion wanted to kill all the
earth's wild animals, but the Earth goddess Gaia got
angry because she made the animals.
The goddess sent a scorpion to attack Orion. The
scorpion stung Orion to death with its tail. As a
reward, Gaia changed the insect into a constellation.
ORION – “THE HUNTER”
 ORION – “THE HUNTER”
• Brightest Star – Rigel and Betelgeuse
• Best season to view – the winter

The Myth:
Orion was a very good hunter, but also boastful.
Gaia, the goddess of Earth, became fed up with
Orion’s boast so she sent a deadly scorpion to kill the
hunter. The scorpion ended Orion’s bragging. Both
Orion and Scorpius were placed in the sky but to
avoid any further battles, they are never in the sky
at the same time. Orion is seen in the winter and
Scorpius is seen in the summer.
URSA MAJOR – “BIG
BEAR”
URSA MAJOR – “BIG
BEAR”
• Brightest Star – Dubhe and Merak
• Best season to view – all year

The Myth:
Zeus, king of the gods, fell in love with Callisto.
Together they had a son, Arcas. Zeus changed
Callisto into a bear to protect her from his jealous
wife, Hera. When Arcas grew up, he almost shot
his mother by mistake. Zeus protected Callisto by
changing Arcas into another bear (Ursa Minor-
Little Dipper) and placing both bears in the sky.
URSA MINOR – “LITTLE
BEAR”
• Ursa Minor, aka, Little Bear, contains the
Little Dipper and the North Star, Polaris
URSA MINOR – “LITTLE
BEAR”
• Brightest Star – Polaris
• Best season to view – all year

• Remember Zeus loved Callisto and changed her into a

bear to protect her from his jealous wife. Arcas liked
to hunt and almost killed his mother, Callisto, Big
Bear. Zeus decided to also change Arcas into a bear
to protect both his son and his lover. He placed both
bears in the sky together.
DRACO – “THE DRAGON”
DRACO – “THE DRAGON”
• Draco the dragon fought Minerva
during the wars between the giants
and the gods. Minerva threw
Draco's twisted body into the
heavens before it had time to
unwind itself.
Signs of the
Zodiac
Common Constellations
Aquarius: The Water Bearer
In Greek mythology Aquarius was Ganymede, "cup-
bearer to the gods". Alpha Aquarii ("Sadalmelik") and
beta Aquarii ("Sadalsuud") are twin supergiants with
nearly identical names. The names mean, respectively,
"The Lucky One of the King" and "The Luckiest of the
Lucky". Gamma Aquarii shares in the good fortune:
"Sadachbia": "The Lucky Star of Hidden Things"
Incidentally, if the "Age of Aquarius" was celebrated in the
1960s, the real event is still some 600 years off: at that
time Aquarius will contain the vernal equinox, marking the
return of the Sun into the northern celestial hemisphere.
Aquarius: The Water Bearer
Aries: the Ram
Aries, "The Ram", is an ancient constellation which was of
considerable importance since the sun passed through it at
the vernal equinox.
– This point has now moved into Pisces, but the vernal equinox is
still known as the First Point of Aries. In another six hundred
years the point will have moved into Aquarius.
The Ram in question may have been the one whose golden
fleece was the object of Jason's quest.
There is some reason to believe that the Greeks just took
over a much older horned animal at this time of the year; the
horn being a symbol for fecundity, renewal, and so on. As
the Sun came into this constellation, at the vernal equinox,
the year itself was being renewed.
Aries: the Ram
Cancer The Crab
The name comes from the Latin; cancer
means crab. The crab in question is the
one sent by Hydra to attack Heracles. It
was only a bit part, but one which
secured its immortality.
Cancer
Gemini The Twins
Gemini, the Twins, are really only half-brothers.
They share the same mother (Leda) but have
different fathers. Castor's father was a king of
Sparta, Tyndareus - who would be chased from
his throne but later rescued by Heracles (who
nevertheless wound up killing him). The father
of Pollux was none other than Zeus, or Jupiter.
Zeus visited Leda on her wedding night in the
guise of a swan. Thus the twins would be born.
(In fact two twins came from this double union,
but let's not complicate the matter even
more...)
Gemini
Leo: The Lion
The first on the list of Heracles' labors was the
task of killing the Nemean Lion, a giant beast
that roamed the hills and the streets of the
Peloponnesian villages, devouring whomever it
met. The animal's skin was impervious to iron,
bronze, and stone. Heracles' arrows
harmlessly bounced off the lion; his sword bent
in two; his wooden club smashed to pieces. So
Heracles wrestled with the beast, finally
choking it to death. He then wrapped the lion's
pelt about him; it would protect him from the
next labor: killing the poisonous Hydra.
Leo
Libra: The Scales
Libra means "The Scales" or "Balance", so named
because when the zodiac was still in its infancy, some
four thousand years ago, the sun passed through this
constellation at the autumnal equinox (21 September). At
the two equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) the hours of
daylight and darkness are equal. As a symbol for equality,
the constellation came to represent Justice in several
middle Eastern cultures. However, the Greeks had a
different perspective; at one time Scorpius, which lies just
to the east, was much larger, and the stars that make up
Libra were then known as the Claws of the Scorpion.
Libra
Pisces: The Fish
Pisces is an ancient constellation derived, some say,
from the story of the terrible Greek god Typhon.
(This is not the Chinese word for "big wind", which -
in English - is of course spelled "typhoon". The
French, however, spell this word "typhon", which
adds to the confusion. It is possible that the
Chinese borrowed the word from the Greek. The
modern Greek equivalent is spelled "tau upsilon
phi omega nu" and means "cyclone".)
Pisces
Sagittarius
It was the Romans who named the
constellation Sagittarius ("sagitta" is Latin for
`arrow'), although several stars carry Arabic
names which identify just which portion of the
constellation they represent. Sagittarius has a
muddled history. In ancient times the asterism
of three bright stars in a curved line was seen
as a bow to some, leading both Greek and
Roman writers to confuse the constellation with
Centaurus.
Sagittarius
Scorpius: The Scorpion
As mentioned regarding Orion, Gaia may have
sent the scorpion to kill the mighty hunter, as
he had vowed to rid the earth of all wild
animals. Or Apollo might have told Gaia of
Orion's boast, fearful that Orion had designs on
Apollo's sister Artemis. In any case it was Gaia
who sent the scorpion to kill Orion. Later the
animal would chase Orion across the heavens,
but it could never catch him, for the scorpion
was so placed that it would rise in the east only
after Orion had safely disappeared over the
western horizon.
Scorpius
Taurus: The Bull
Is Taurus attacking Orion, the Hunter,
or are the Horns of the Bull the real
story? The horn was a symbol of fertility
and bountiful riches in many cultures for
thousands of years, and it is probably
the case here, for the constellation
would have announced the Vernal
Equinox at around 4000 BC.
Taurus
Virgo: The Virgin
Virgo is the second largest constellation (after
Hydra). As a member of the Zodiac, Virgo has
a number of ancient myths and tales. The Sun
passes through Virgo in mid-September, and is
therefore the constellation that announces the
harvest. Virgo is often represented as a
"maiden" (as its name indicates). In antiquity,
she may have been Isis, the Egyptian
protectress of the living and the dead and the
principal mother goddess.
Virgo
 12 zodiac
Astrology uses ___
constellations, when there
are actually ____.
13
Ophiuchus
“The Serpent Holder”
Dec 1st – Dec 19th
Not included
Ophiuchus
13 Zodiac Signs
Get a ¼ sheet of paper
1. How many constellations are
recognized by the International
Astronomy Union (IAU)?

A. 40

B. 44

C. 80

D. 88
2. Which of the following is the North
Star?
A. Betelgeuse

B. Polaris

C. Rigel

D. Vega
3. What is the 13th or forgotten
zodiac sign?
A. Aries

B. Gemini

C. Ophiuchus

D. Taurus
4. Which of the following is an
asterism?
A. Big Dipper

B. Cancer

C. Crux

D. Orion
5. What is the study of belief in celestial
bodies effect on natural earthly
occurrences and human affairs.

A. Astrology

B. Astronomy

C. Cosmetology

D. Meteorology
 KEY TO CORRECTION
1. D

2. B

3. C

4. A

5. A
ASSIGNMENT:

Prepare for a
graded recitation
next meeting