A.

CONSTELLATION
B. THE EQUATORIAL
SYSTEM
CHAPTER 9 - STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS
 OBJECTIVES OF THE LESSON

• Identify which constellations may be observed at different times of the year

• Observe that the position of a constellation changes in the course of a night.
• Relate the influence of distant heavenly bodies to the beliefs and practices of
humans.

Textbook in Science and Technology 9 on pages 343-348 (first edition) and pages 293-297
(second edition)
 Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
REVIEW
• From the prior module, you learn about
stars and their characteristics: distance,
color and temperature, size, and mass.
• These characteristics are responsible for the
different brightness of stars seen from the
night sky.
• Stars are classified according to their
temperature and luminosity plotted in the
H-R diagram. Stars were observed to be at a
certain group or classification in the
diagram. These major classifications are
main sequence star, giant star, and dwarf
star.
 Dwarf star in
REVIEW Nebula Protostar the main Giant stars Collapse white dwarf
sequence
• Stellar Evolution
A. Pre-Main Sequence
a. Nebula
b. Protostar
B. Main Sequence
a. red dwarf
b. yellow dwarf
c. blue stars
C. Post-Main Sequence
a. red giant stars
a.1 white dwarf
star
b. blue supergiant star
c. red supergiant star
Explode neutron star
c.1 neutron star
c.2 black hole black hole
• When you are going to look at the night sky, you will see thousands of
stars. What have you observed?

• If you are going to connect the stars, can you create patterns or images
of certain animals?
 A. CONSTELLATION
A.1 Arrangement of stars in a group.
• Observers in ancient times also
imagined group of stars that form
pictures of animals, objects and
people. These imaginary groups of
stars or stellar patterns are called
constellations.
• The stars that make up
a constellation appear close to each
other from Earth. In reality, they are
distant from one another.
• There are 88 modern constellations
recognized by the International
Astronomical Union (IAU).
 Ex. This constellation is
called Orion. The features
you can see best are his
belt and sword. You can
see Orion's belt in the sky
from many locations.
Betelgeuse
 Orion is one of the most
visible constellations.
Orion is named after a
Rigel
hunter from Greek
mythology. Its brightest
stars are Betelgeuse
and Rigel.
A.2 Changing position of constellations
during the night and at different times of
the year
• The constellations stay the same night
after night. The patterns of the stars
never change. However, each night the
constellations move across the sky. They
move because Earth is spinning on its
axis. Just like the Sun, stars also seem to
move from East to West.
• Remember that the stars are not really
moving. It is the rotation of the Earth
from west to east that makes them look
as if they are travelling from east to
west during the night.
 Starting point

Ex. As the bus moves forward, person A

sitting in the bus may think he is at rest
and person B standing on the road
seems to move away from him. As the
bus moves forward, person B seems to
move backward. Thus, there is opposite
direction of motion.
Same with the bus, Earth is in
counterclockwise rotation and the
fixed star will seem to rotate in
clockwise direction
A.2 Changing position of constellations during the night and at different times of the year
• The constellations also move with the seasons called seasonal constellations. This is
because Earth revolves around the Sun. The constellations in the winter are different from
those in the summer.
• An observer from Earth will be able to see the stars that are on the night side. The stars on
the same side as the sun cannot be seen because sunlight overpowers all the starlight.
What is circumpolar constellation?
• Some stars and constellations never rise nor set, and they are called circumpolar. These
stars and constellations can be seen all year round because they are directly North and
South of Earth’s axis. These stars and constellations appears to move in a circle around the
sky instead of moving from east to west.

Northern Circumpolar Constellations Southern Circumpolar Constellations

• A circumpolar constellation is a
constellation that never sets
below the horizon as viewed
from a location on Earth. In the
northern hemisphere, the stars
and constellations appear to
move in a circle,
counterclockwise around the
"fixed" North Star, Polaris.
A.3 Beliefs and practices about constellations and
astrology
• Before the calendars, stars are used to tell the time.
People had no way of determining when to sow or
harvest except by looking at these patterns in the sky.
Ancient people developed a way to remember the
patterns by giving these patterns names and stories. For
example, in the northern hemisphere, the constellation
Orion indicates the coming of cold season. The
constellations made it easier for them to recognize and
interpret patterns in the sky.
• Another example, Gemini is seen in the Philippines
during the months of April and May. Farmers interpreted
the appearance of Gemini as the end of planting season
and it signified rich harvest.
• The table shows how the Matigsalug Manobo of
Bukidnon used the stars and constellations in relation to
their agriculture.
• Astronomy and astrology are two fields that
have common roots; they both study the
movement of celestial objects. However, they
are different.
• Astronomy is the study of celestial objects,
space and the universe as a whole. Astrology is
the study of movement and position of
celestial objects and their supposed influence
on events and the lives of human beings.
• The ecliptic is an imaginary line that marks the
annual path of the sun as seen from Earth. But
in reality, the Earth revolves around the Sun
through its orbit. Thus, ecliptic is the
projection of Earth’s orbit in celestial sphere.
Celestial Sphere is an imaginary sphere that
surrounds the earth on which celestial objects are
projected or can be observed.
• The Zodiac constellations lie along the ecliptic projected in the celestial sphere.
• As the Earth revolves around the sun, the seasons also change. There are certain
constellations in each season. Thus, visibility of constellations change as seasons change.
• Because of this, ancient people use these zodiac constellation in predicting the coming
of the season and their future.
• The zodiac constellation or zodiac sign
celestial sphere
is in the Zodiac region, 8-9° above or
below the ecliptic.

ecliptic
• Early astrologers identified 12 constellations
that correlated with the progression of the
seasons and named them after
certain animals or people. These became the
Zodiac signs. These early people used
astrology to explain things that are now
much better explained by science.
• When scientific tests are done to provide
evidence in support of astrological ideas, the
tests fail. When a scientific idea fails, it is
abandoned or modified. Astrologers do not
change or abandon their ideas when they
fail. Thus, astrology is not science.
• Astrology has been rejected by the
scientific community as having no
explanatory power for describing the
universe. Scientific testing has found
no evidence to support the premises
or purported effects outlined in
astrological traditions. Where
astrology has made falsifiable
predictions, it has been falsified.
• Although astrologers seek to explain
the natural world, they don't usually
attempt to critically evaluate whether
those explanations are valid — and
this is a key part of science.
A.4 Another use of constellations was in navigation
• The Polaris is widely used in navigation because it does not change its
position at any time of the night or year. Also, one can figure out his/her
latitude just by looking at how high Polaris appears in the night sky.
• Polaris, commonly known as North Star/Northern pole star, is the
brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). Because it
lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth's rotation "above"
the North Pole, Polaris stands almost motionless in the sky, and all the
stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate around it.
• The largest constellation is the Hydra, which takes up 3.2% of the Southern night sky.
The best time to see Hydra is in January. The top 10 largest constellations are as
follows:
1. Hydra - 3.2%
2. Ursa Major - 3.1%
3. Virgo - 3.1%
4. Cetus - 3%
5. Hercules - 3
6. Eridanus - 2.8%
7. Pegasus - 2.7
8. Centaurus - 2.6%
9. Draco - 2.6%
10. Aquarius - 2.4%
• The largest constellation is the Hydra, which takes up 3.2% of the Southern night sky.
The best time to see Hydra is in January. The top 10 largest constellations are as follows:
1. Hydra - 3.2%
2. Ursa Major - 3.1%
3. Virgo - 3.1%
4. Cetus - 3%
5. Hercules - 3
6. Eridanus - 2.8%
7. Pegasus - 2.7
8. Centaurus - 2.6%
9. Draco - 2.6%
10. Aquarius - 2.4%
B. THE EQUATORIAL SYSTEM
• The Equatorial Coordinate System is generally the preferred way astronomers use to keep
track of the positions of objects in the sky. Astronomers imagine that the Earth is
surrounded by a large sphere called the celestial sphere. The Earth's equator is projected
onto this sphere called as celestial equator.
• Lines of latitude become lines of declination (Dec; measured in degrees, arcminutes
and arcseconds) and indicate how far north or south of the celestial equator (defined by
projecting the Earth’s equator onto the celestial sphere) the object lies. Lines of longitude
have their equivalent in lines of right ascension (RA), measured in hours, minutes and
seconds east from where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic (the vernal equinox).
THE EQUATORIAL SYSTEM (468) YouTube
• Astronomers use constellations as a
mapping system in the celestial
sphere to locate the various celestial
bodies and phenomena they
observe.
• Constellations are useful because
they can help people to recognize
stars in the sky. By looking for
patterns, the stars and locations can
be much easier to spot.
 ASSESSMENT 12: (WRITE YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR SCIENCE
NOTEBOOK)

1-2. What does the word constellation mean?

3. How many modern constellations are there?
4. Are stars in a constellation close to each other?
5-6. Why do constellations change position in the course of a night?
7-8. Why do sets of constellations appear only in a certain time of a year?
9-10. How do modern astronomers use the constellation to study outer space
and heavenly bodies?
ASSESSMENT 12: (WRITE YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR SCIENCE
NOTEBOOK)

1-2. Constellation means group of stars forming a stellar pattern.

3. There are 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
4. Stars in a constellation are far away from each other.
5-6. Constellations change position in the course of a night because Earth rotates on its axis.
7-8. Sets of constellations appear only in a certain time of a year because they are fixed in the celestial
sphere as Earth completes one revolution around the sun.
9-10. Modern astronomers use the constellations as map to locate stars and other celestial objects as
well as space phenomena.
Refer to the following descriptions
for constellations:
11-15.