 Weekend
Spotlight: Constellations
 Constellations
Activity Schedule
Exploring a Universe of Books
Constellation
Web sites
Constellation Facts
- The sky is divided up into 88 official constellations in much the same way the U.S. is divided into states. These constellations are mostly based on the ancient Greeks' interpretation of the sky. Astronomers say a celestial object is
"in" a constellation if it occupies that constellation's territory in the sky.
- Over the course of a year, we can see about 60 constellations from the Bay Area. The rest are only visible from latitudes south of the equator.
- One of the most famous star patterns in the northern sky – the Big Dipper – is not one of the official 88 constellations. Instead, the Big Dipper is an asterism: a group of bright stars that forms a recognizable pattern but is not an official constellation. The seven stars of the Big Dipper are part of the constellation Ursa Major.
- All stars appear to make a circle around the North Star (also called Polaris) over the course of about 24 hours. This illusion of moving stars is caused by Earth's rotation. Most stars dip below the horizon for part of their path, but some constellations are circumpolar – they are close enough to the North Star that they never rise or set and can be seen any time of night, any time of year.
- The stars really do move around in the Galaxy – just not fast enough to make a noticeable difference in the sky we see during our lifetimes. If you could see the big dipper 100,000 years from now, though, you wouldn't even recognize it! The stars will have moved so much, each in its own direction, that their pattern in our sky will look
completely different.
Exploring a Universe of Books
Sponsored by the City of Oakland
Look for these constellation books at your library or bookstore!
The Stars: A New Way to See Them, by H.A.
Rey, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1952. A delightful introduction to the constellations and the night sky.
Exploring the Night Sky: An Equinox Astronomy Book for
Beginners, by Terence Dickinson, Firefly Books, 1998. This award-winning book features beautiful illustrations and useful stargazing information.
Coyote Places the Stars, by Harriet Peck
Taylor, Simon & Schuster Children's, 1997. A myth about the origin of the constellations, great for reading aloud.
Constellation
Web Sites
http://glyphwebweb.com/esky/constellations/default.htm
Information about each constellation, including the direction in the Galaxy that
corresponds to the constellation
http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/constlist.html
More constellation information, including distances to stars
http://www.chabotspace.org/vsc/planetarium/thesky/stardome
Interactive simulation of the night sky from the Chabot Space & Science
Center Web site
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/leaflets/constellations/constellations.html
Good general information about constellations
http://www.fourmilab.ch/homeplanet/homeplanet.html
Download free planetarium software http://www.skymaps.com
Download a free monthly sky map.
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