Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky that represent pictures or shapes. There are 88 official constellations defined by the IAU. Circumpolar constellations like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Draco can be seen all year from northern latitudes as they circle the North Star Polaris. Other notable constellations include Orion the hunter, Canis Major containing the brightest star Sirius, and Scorpius containing the bright star Antares.

1. CONSTELLATIONS

2. Constellations
• Constellations are chance groupings
of stars that form a pattern or
picture.
• The International Astronomical Union
(IAU) divided the sky into 88 official
constellations.
• Parts of star patterns are called
asterisms.

3. Constellations
• Polaris is known as the North Star.
• Constellations that are found around
the North Pole are called
circumpolar constellations.

4. circumpolar
constellations
• Constellations that are found around
the North Pole are called
circumpolar constellations.
• There are five major circumpolar
constellations: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor,
Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Draco.

5. Ursa Major
• Ursa Major also
called the Big
Bear.
• one of the most
famous
constellations and
is the third largest
of all

6. Ursa Major
• The tail and the
body of the bear
makes up the Big
Dipper.

7. Ursa MINor
• also called the
Little Bear, is made
up of relatively
faint stars.
• Its tail is called the
Little Dipper, which
is easily seen
because its end is
near the Polaris.

8. CASSIOPEIA
• Depending on
the time of the
year, Cassiopeia
looks like a letter
W or a letter M,
representing its
throne.

9. CASSIOPEIA
• The five major stars
– Shedir, Caph,
Gamma,
Cassiopeiae, and
Ruchbah- are very
bright; thus
Cassiopeia can be
easily recognized.

10. CEPHEUS
• The constellation
Cepheus is the 27th
largest constellation,
it was named after
Cassiopeia’s
husband.

11. CEPHEUS
• It is a little dimmer
than Cassiopeia.
• Some of the stars of
the Cepheus
include Alderamin,
Alfirk, Alrai, and
Garnet.

12. DRACO
• Draco is another circumpolar
constellation made up of nine stars,
including Etamin, Aldibain, Rastaban,
Altais, and Aldhibah.
• Estamin is the brightest star that shines in
Draco

13. NON-circumpolar
constellations
• The second type of constellations,
called the noncircumpolar
constellations, is found lower in the
sky.

14. circumpolar
constellations
• The celestial meridian is an imaginary
line that runs at North and South
Poles of the Earth
whereas the celestial equator runs
across the east and west.

15. ORION
• Orion the hunter
appears during
the winter season.
• Orion contain two
of the brightest
stars in the sky-
Rigel and
Betelgeuse.

16. CANIS MAJOR
• Canis Major is a
constellation that
represents a
bigger dog
following Orion.
• It is home to the
brightest star in
the sky, Sirius.

17. CANIS MINOR
• Canis Minor
represents
another dog
following Orion,
but its name
describes it as the
smaller dog or
the lesser dog.

18. CANIS MINOR
• Canis Minor
holds the eighth
brightest star in
the sky-Procyon.

19. SCORPIUS
• The constellation
Scorpius is one of
the oldest
constellations
identified by
human
civilization.
• The brightest in
Scorpius is
Antares.