Title: Drawing Constellations
1(No Transcript)
2- As early as 5000 years ago, people became
fascinated with the star-studded skies and began
to name the patterns they saw. - These patterns of stars, called constellations,
were named in honor of mythological characters or
great heroes. - Today, 88 constellations are recognized.
- They are used to divide the sky into units. Every
star in the sky is in, but is not necessarily
part of, one of these constellations.
3Clusters The little specks in the sky that we
see may really be one or more stars clustered
together. Why dont star patterns
change? Because they are so far away from us!
4- Astronomers label stars within a constellation
based on apparent magnitude, brightest alpha,
second brightest beta, etc. - Some of the brightest stars have actual names,
like Rigel Betelgeuse (both in the
constellation Orion)
5Ursa Major
- Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is visible in the
Northern Hemisphere all year long. - Ursa Major is the best known of the
constellation and it appears in every reference
known. - The story behind it
- Callisto was changed to a bear because of Zeus's
jealousy and transferred her to the sky. This is
improbable, as the constellation was already well
established before this time. The drawings all
show a bear with a long tail, again not likely
correct since bears have no tails. The most
likely explanation for the bears is the fact that
Native Americans called the constellations the
bear, but instead of the tail they depict the
bear being chased around the pole by seven
braves.
6Ursa Major
7Ursa MajorCircumpolar Constellation
8How to find the Big Dipper
9Ursa Minor
- Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, is visible in the
Northern Hemisphere all year long. - Ursa Minor is mostly known for Polaris, the
North Star which may be found at the end of the
handle. - The story behind it
- Ursa Minor does not have any mythology attached
to it, it was created in the 6th century B.C. as
a navigational aid for sailors out of a long
forgotten constellation called the Dragon's wing.
10Ursa MinorCircumpolar Constellation
11Cepheus
- The story behind it
- Cepheus was the King of Ethiopia. He married
Cassiopeia and they had a daughter Andromeda.
Cassiopeia was incredibly beautiful but immensely
vain. She was also proud of her daughter's
beauty. In fact she continually boasted that the
two of them were more beautiful than any of the
fifty sea nymphs who attended Poseidon's court. - These nymphs (the Nereids) complained to
Poseidon, who felt he had to defend his own
reputation. So he sent a flood to devastate
Cepheus' kingdom. The oracles told Cepheus that
in order to save his people he must sacrifice his
daughter to a great sea monster Andromeda was
tied to a rock along the coastline, dressed only
in her jewelry. The monster would be along in due
time to take his prize. - At that moment Perseus came flying by. He had
just killed the Gorgon Medusa and was carrying
the severed head back to Athene. To make a long
story short, he saved her then turned everyone
into stone by showing them the severed head. - Poseidon then put the stone frozen Cepheus and
Cassiopeia into the heavens, but with a twist he
made the vain Cassiopeia spin around on her
chair, spending half the year upside down. As for
Cepheus, Poseidon gave him a number of medium
sized stars that go to make his square face with
a pointed crown.
12CepheusCircumpolar Constellation
13Cassiopeia
- This constellation is at the edge of the Milky
Way galaxy and has the shape of a "W". - The story behind it
- Cassiopeia had been the wife of Cepheus. Because
she thought herself more beautiful than the
daughters of Nereus, a god of the sea, she
angered the god Poseidon. To punish her, her
daughter was chained to a rock of the coast as a
sacrifice for a sea monster. Andromeda was saved
from death by Perseus. To learn humility
Cassiopeia was banned to the sky hanging half of
the time head downward.
14CassiopeiaCircumpolar Constellation
15Draco
- Draco, the Dragon, used to hold special
significance as the location of the pole star,
but due to the Earth's precession, the pole has
shifted to Polaris in Ursa Minor. - The story behind it
- The dragon is Ladon, the guardian of the 'golden
apples' of immortality which grew in the garden
of Hesperides, beyond the River of Time, in the
land of death. It is Ladon which Hercules kills
in his 11th labor to get the golden apples.
16Circumpolar Constellations
17Circumpolar Constellations
18Circumpolar Constellations
19Circumpolar Constellations
20Circumpolar Constellations
21Circumpolar Constellations
22Orion
- Orion is the master of the winter skies. He lords
over the heavens from late fall to early spring,
with his hunting dog Sirius trailing at his feet.
- The story behind it (Orion holding a bow)
- Orion was a handsome and famous hunter. The
Battle-Goddess Anat fell in love with him, but
when he refused to lend her his bow, she sent
another man to steal it. This chap bungled the
job, and wound up killing Orion and dropping the
bow into the sea. This is said to explain the
astronomical fact that Orion and the Bow (an
older version of the constellation) drops below
the horizon for two months every spring. - Another story behind it (Orion holding an
animal) - Orion was known as the "dweller of the mountain",
and was famous for his prowess both as a hunter
and as a lover. But when he boasted that he would
eventually rid the earth of all the wild animals,
his doom may have been sealed. The Earth Goddess
sent the deadly scorpion to Orion to kill him.
Orion engaged the scorpion in battle but quickly
realized its amour was impervious to any mortal's
attack. Orion then jumped into the sea and died.
In his eternal hunting, Orion is careful to keep
well ahead of the scorpion. Orion has disappears
over the horizon by the time Scorpio rises in the
east, as it becomes his turn to rule the evening
sky.
23Orion Not a circumpolar constellation, but a
seasonal constellationBetelgeuse, the right arm
of Orion (or "armpit" as the name suggests),
glows with a dull red. Rigel, in the opposite
corner of the constellation, is much brighter.
24- On the left The Hunter - Orion
- In the middle Name The Bull - Taurus
- On the right Name The Greater Dog - Canis Major
25- On the left The Lion - Leo
- There is a record of the Lion in an astronomical
poem from Greece in the 3rd or 4th century B.C. - In the middle The Herdsman - Böötes
- On the right The Virgin - Virgo
- At first, this constellation was recognized as
the figure of a stalk of wheat, and then was
introduced to the Greeks and become the figure of
a virgin who holds a stalk of wheat, linking it
with Greek mythology and legend.
26Summer
- On the left The Crab - Cancer
- Its name is Cancer in Latin, which is the same
name as the disease, cancer. This disease was
named after the shell of the crab, which is
similar to the shape of breast cancer. - In the middle The Scorpion - Scorpio
- The Scorpion has existed since the oldest of
times. After sunset, around the 7th of July, you
can see it in the shape of a large S above the
southern horizon where the milky way is streaming
down. The figure of this constellation was
originally the figure of a scorpion with
scissors. Later the scissors were separated to
become the Balance. - On the right The Archer - Sagittarius
- The Archer has been recognized since the
Babylonian era. At that time it was the figure of
a man with a bow in his hand, not the present
figure of the half man half horse which is
recognized in Greek mythology.
27- On the left and in the middle Andromeda
- The Andromeda constellation is famous for
containing the Andromeda Nebula, the closest
galaxy to our Milky Way. Andromeda was chained up
for a sea monster to devour her. - Andromeda is also the daughter of Cassiopeia
Cepheus - On the right The Fishes, Pisces
- In ancient Babylon, this constellation was viewed
as the figure of a mermaid tied together with a
swallow with a fish tail. The present figure
appeared in a 3rd or 4th century B.C. Greek poem.
28Signs Of The Zodiac
From our perspective on earth, the sun takes a
path through the sky (known as the ecliptic). It
passes through these constellations.
29Ecliptic Constellations Zodiac Signs
- A band of 12 constellations around the sky
entered on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun
on the earth as the earth revolves around it). - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Taurus, Virgo,
Capricorn, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, Cancer,
Scorpio, and Pisces.
30Ecliptic Constellations
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