Constellations and star maps

1. A constellation is a group of stars that make an imaginary shape
in the night sky. They are usually named after mythological
characters, people, animals and objects. In different parts of the
world, people have made up different shapes out of the same
groups of bright stars. It is like a game of connecting the dots. In
the past creating imaginary images out of stars became useful for
navigating at night and for keeping track of the seasons. Because
all the stars are at different distances, the constellations would
look totally different to inhabitants of another planet orbiting
another star.-coolcosmos
CONSTELLATIONS IN THE NIGHT
SKY

2. • Historically, certain stars have been used to navigation because travelers
would use them to map their direction and path of travel through the night
• The famous star known as The North Star is scientifically known as Polaris,
and is located directly above the North Pole. No matter where you are, this
star appears in the same exact spot every night. It never moves
• If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and you can find the North Star, you
will know which direction North is.
STARS AND NAVIGATION
• Unlike the North, the Southern Hemisphere does not have a star that
directly signifies the Southern Pole
• Instead, there are a series of stars that are in the shape of a cross
• The Southern Cross has two very bright stars, and two very dim stars.
Together, there four stars point directly to the South Pole

3. The North Star
The Southern Cross 

4. CONSTELLATIONS
• Since the Earth rotates on an axis, this causes the majority of
constellations to rise in the east and set in the west throughout
the night
• The Constellations appear in many different places throughout
the night due to the earths rotation around the sun
• There is a special group of stars known as “circumpolar”. This
group of stars does not rise or set. Instead they circle the
Northern Pole throughout the night.

5. Star Charts
• A star chart is a map of the stars and their location in
the night sky
• Star charts are made up of a map of lines that show
constellations
• There are different star charts that must be used at
different times throughout the year based on the
position of the earth
• Many of the stars in the Northern Hemisphere cannot be
viewed in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa

6. Popular Constellations
• Some constellations represent significant life evens
and connections. There are a series of constellations
known as Star Signs that are related to humans
based of the time of their birth
• There is a whole science based off of these
constellations known as astrology
• These signs include:
• Aries
• Taurus
• Gemini
• Cancer
• Leo
• Virgo
• Libra
• Scorpius
• Sagittarius
• Capricorn
• Aquarius
• Pisces

7. OTHER WELL-KNOWN
CONSTELLATIONS

8. Cassiopeia
This constellation tells the story of a vain
queen who often boasted about her beauty.
She was the mother of Princess
Andromeda, and in contrast to other figures
being placed in the sky in honor,
Cassiopeia was forced to the heavenly
realms as punishment. As the story goes,
she boasted that her beauty (or her
daughter’s, depending on the story) was
greater than that of the sea nymphs. This
was quite an offense, and she was banned
to the sky for all to gawk at.

9. Orien
Orion is one of the largest and most
recognizable of the constellations. It is
viewable around the world, and has been
mentioned by Homer, Virgil, and even the
Bible, making it perhaps the most famous
constellation.
Orion was a massive, supernaturally gifted
hunter who was the son of Poseidon. It was
said he regularly hunted with Artemis
(Goddess of the Hunt) on the island of Crete,
and that he was killed either by her bow, or by
the sting of the great scorpion who later
became the constellation Scorpius

10. Ursa Major
The Greek myth of Ursa Major also tells the
story of Ursa Minor. Zeus was smitten for a
young nymph named Callisto. Hera, Zeus’s
wife, was jealous, and transformed Callisto
into a bear. While in animal form, Callisto
encountered her son Arcas. Being the man
that he was, he was inclined to shoot the
bear, but Zeus wouldn’t let that happen,
and so turned Arcas into a bear as well,
and placed mother (Ursa Major) and son
(Ursa Minor) permanently in the night sky.

11. Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor is better known as the Little
Dipper. It’s visualized as a baby bear,
with an unusually long tail. The north
star (Polaris) is the very end of the little
dipper, on the handle (or the bears tail)