1 / 17

Constellations

Constellations. Prominent luminous objects that form consistent patterns in the night sky. The IAU (International Astronomical Union) recognizes 88 constellations, but only 20 are truly prominent and may be easily identified. Ursa Major (Big Dipper). Made up of 7 stars

donovan-harris
Download Presentation

Constellations

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Constellations • Prominent luminous objects that form consistent patterns in the night sky. • The IAU (International Astronomical Union) recognizes 88 constellations, but only 20 are truly prominent and may be easily identified

  2. Ursa Major (Big Dipper) • Made up of 7 stars • Imagined by different cultures to represent a bear. The ‘Dipper” is described in different cultures because it points to the North star.

  3. Ursa Major (Big Dipper) • Made up of 7 stars • Imagined by different cultures to represent a bear. The ‘Dipper” is described in different cultures because it points to the North star.

  4. Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) • Also made up of 7 stars • Discovered by Ptolemy • Contains Polaris at its “handle”

  5. Ursa major and Ursa Minor • If one extends the last two stars in the “bowl” of Ursa Major, it will connect to Polaris (in Ursa Minor)

  6. Polaris AKA North Star AKA Pole Star • The brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation. • 430 light years from Earth • Actually a multiple star system

  7. Orion: The Hunter • Can be seen from November to February • Easily recognizable • Used to locate other stars

  8. Orion: The Hunter • Orion’s belt may be used to locate Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky)

  9. Canis Major – “Greater Dog” • Dog star constellation • Contains Sirius (brightest star in the sky) and VY Canis Majoris (Largest known star)

More Related