9 SCIENCE

Pangasinan National High School

Constellations
MELC: Show which constellations may be observed
at different times of the year using models

Quarter3: Module 3/Week7-9 (S9ES-IIIj-35)

OHMARK V. VELORIA
Science Teacher
 Objectives:
• Name some famous constellations.
• Describe the different characteristics of stars
• Infer that the arrangement of stars in a group
(constellation) does not change for a very long
period of time;
• Observe how the position of a constellation changes
in the course of a night;
• Use charts that show which constellations may be
observed at different times of the year.
Pretest: True or False

1. Blue stars are much cooler than the red stars.

2. The star we see in the constellations are very close to each other.
3. On the night sky you can see about 3000 stars.
4. All constellations are visible on Earth throughout the year.
5. Besides the sun, the stars are not even part of our solar system.
Pretest: True or False

1. Blue stars are much cooler than the red stars. False
2. The star we see in the constellations are very close to each other.
False: It appears close to each other but actually light years apart.
3. On the night sky you can see about 3000 stars. True
4. All constellations are visible on Earth throughout the year. False: Part
of sky visible at night at particular place gradually changes as seasons
change. There are Different constellations at diff. part of the year.
5. Besides the sun, the stars are not even part of our solar system. True:
Sun, the nearest star on earth and only star in solar system.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

▪ A star is a massive ball of plasma

STAR (hot gas) that emits light through
nuclear fusion.
 STARS
When we look at the night sky, we see thousands of stars.
In reality, there are approximately 400 billion stars in our
galaxy, and there are about 170 billion galaxies. A person can
see only about 3,000 stars on the average.
These stars differ in many ways. We see stars of
different sizes, brightness, and color.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS
BRIGHTNESS
Two characteristics define brightness:
➢ Luminosity is the amount of light that a star radiates. The size of the
star and its surface temperature determine its luminosity.
➢ Apparent magnitude of a star is its perceived brightness, factoring in
size and distance, while absolute magnitude is its true brightness
irrespective of its distance from earth.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS
Color
➢ A star's color depends on its surface
temperature.
➢ Cooler stars tend to be redder in color,
while hotter stars have a bluer
appearance.
➢ Stars in the mid ranges are white or
yellow, such as our sun.
➢ Stars can also blend colors, such as red-
orange stars or blue-white stars.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS
Size
➢ Astronomers measure the size of a
given star in terms of our own sun's
radius. Thus, a star that measure 1
solar radii would be the same size as
our sun. The star Rigel, which is much
larger than our sun, measures 78 solar
radii. A star's size, along with its
surface temperature, will determine its
luminosity.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS
Size
➢ Sun, the closest star to Earth, as
compared to some other stars that we
see at night. As we can see, the Sun is
so small compared to other nearby
stars. Also, Sirius, which appear bigger
than Rigel, is actually very small
compared to Rigel. It appears larger
only because it is closer to us.
CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS

Mass
A star's mass is also measured in terms of our own sun, with 1
equal to the size of our sun. For instance, Rigel, which is much
larger than our sun, has a mass of 3.5 solar masses. Two stars
of a similar size may not necessarily have the same mass, as
stars can vary greatly in density.
HERTZSPRUNG-RUSSELL DIAGRAM
 ▪ A pattern the we recognize on the night sky is
called an asterism. The familiar Big Dipper, the
Little Dipper, W, and the Tres Marias are
asterisms. Asterism are small and simple pattern

Asterism in the sky. Actually, the Big Dipper is not really a

constellation, but an asterism. The Big Dipper is
a part of Ursa major constellation.
 ▪ A larger grouping or arrangement of stars (from
two Latin words, cum, together with; and stella,
star).
▪ An asterism forms part of a constellation. The big
dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major (Big
Constellation Bear) and the Litter Dipper is part of Ursa Minor
(Little Bear).
▪ Over half of the 88 constellations the IAU-
International Astronomical Union recognizes today
are attributed to ancient Greek, which
consolidated the earlier works by the ancient
Babylonian, Egyptian and Assyrian.
 CONSTELLATIONS

Many of these constellations have names that can be traced back

to early Babylonians and Greek civilizations, but nearly all cultures
have different names for the constellations. For example, the Greeks
called the large constellation Orion, which means hunter and is
prominent in the night sky all over the world during winter. Early
Filipinos visualized the same group of stars as Balatik, a trap used in
hunting wild pigs. Christian Filipinos named the three stars (Orion’s
belt) Tatlong Maria or Tres Marias.
CONSTELLATIONS
ORION

DRACO
Motions of the Stars and Constellations
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The moon, in
whatever phase, rises in the east and sets in the west. The new
moon rises and sets at sunset. The full moon rises in the east at
sunset and sets at sunrise. The stars and constellations, too, rise
in the east and set in the west. We perceived all celestial bodies
rising in the east because earth rotates from west to east.

If the whole sky is imagined to be a celestial sphere around the

earth, the it is as if this celestial sphere is slowly moving around the
earth. All the constellations move together with this celestial
sphere. Just like the Sun, stars and constellations are also seem to
move from East to West.
Motions of the Stars and Constellations
 Motions of the Stars and Constellations
The constellations visible at
a certain time of the year are
those constellations that are in
opposition to the sun. A
constellation is in opposition to
the sun when it is on the side of
the sky facing the night side of
the earth while the sun is shining
on the other side of the earth.
Because the earth is revolving
around the sun, the
constellations in opposition
change through the year. We see
the sun in different
constellations month by month.
Motions of the Stars and Constellations

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fircamera.as.ariz
ona.edu%2Fastr_250%2FLectures%2FLECTURE_01.
 The Polaris
Polaris, commonly known as
North Star, is the brightest star in the
constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper).
It is very close to the north celestial
pole, making it the current northern
pole star. Because it lies nearly in a
direct line with the axis of the Earth's
rotation "above" the North Pole, Polaris
stands almost motionless in the sky, and
all the stars of the Northern sky appear
to rotate around it. In Figure 3, Polaris
and the star trail are seen. Star trail is a
type of photograph that utilizes long
exposure times to capture the apparent
motion of stars in the night sky due to the
rotation of the Earth.
How Early People Used the Constellations
Other Uses!

Another use of constellations was in navigation. The

Polaris is widely used in navigation because it does not
change its position at any time of the night or year. Also,
one can figure out his/her latitude just by looking at
how high Polaris appears in the night sky. This allowed
sailors to find their way as they sail across the seas.
Summary

➢ Stars can be describe based on its characteristics:

brightness, color, surface temperature, size and
mass.
➢ Constellations are group of bright stars that
appears to form patterns; asterism is a part of
constellations.
➢ We can observe the different constellations in
different part of the year because of Earth’s
revolution around the sun.
Answer the Activity 6.1 and
6.2
Activity No 6.1: LET’S DO THE DOTS
1. Draw the different dot to dot pattern of constellations using the star pattern.
2. Name the constellations in the star map using the clues on the box below.

2.
1.

3. 4.

5.
Activity No. 6.2 PATTERNS IN THE SKY
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Look at the series of star maps below.
This is how you see the night sky in the Philippines at different months of the year.
Thank you for
listening!