CONSTELLATIONS

By:-
Piyush, Sahana, Jaithra,
Srivardhan
What are Constellations?
.a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a
mythological figure.

.thousands of years ago, astronomers divided the starts into groups and drew imaginary pictures around them, such
as that of a hunter or a bear. This made it easier for them to remember the star patterns . Such a group of stars is
called a CONSTELLATIONS . The shape of the constellations always remains the same. Constellations appear to
move from east to west . Today , 88 constellations are recognized by astronomers. Remember, however, that the stars in a
constellations are actually unrelated.

. Some of the constellations are :

1. Ursa major {great bear}

2. Ursa minor {little bear}
3. Orion
4. Scorpius
5. Cassiopeia
 MOVEMENTS OF STARS :
. Let us observe the directions in which stars move. The
pole star appears to be stationary in the sky and all other
appear to revolve around it from east to west. This
happens because of the rotation of the earth around its
axis.

. As the earth rotates its axis from west to east, the

starts appear to move from east to west to an observer
on the earth.

. The centre of the umbrella does not rotate at all

because it lies on axis of rotation of the umbrella. In the
same way, the pole star appears to be stationary as it
lies on the axis of rotation of the rotation of the earth
• URSA MAJOR
- Srivardhan
• Ursa Major, along with
asterisms that incorporate or
comprise it, is significant to
numerous world cultures,
often as a symbol of the north.
Its depiction on the flag of
Alaska is a modern example of
such symbolism.

• Ursa Major is visible

throughout the year from most
of the northern hemisphere,
and appears circumpolar
above the mid-northern
latitudes. From southern
temperate latitudes, the main
asterism is invisible, but the
southern parts of the
constellation can still be
viewed.
Ursa Minor (Little Bear)
- Sahana
 Ursa Minor (Little Bear)
• The constellation – Ursa Minor is a group of seven
bright stars similar to the Ursa Major. The group of
stars are commonly called the ‘Little Dipper’.
• The handle of the Dipper is the Little Bear's tail and
the Dipper's cup is the Bear's flank.
• Ursa Minor is one of the 48 constellations identified
by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second
century.
• The Pole star is a part of this constellation (AKA
Polaris, The North Star).
• The Pole star was the most important star for
navigating at sea.
• The Indian name of this constellation is Laghu
Saptarishi.
ORION
- Jaithra
 ORION
• Orion also known as the hunter has
seven bright stars and several faint
stars.
• Its Indian name is Mriga.
• Betelgeuse and Rigel are the
brightest stars of this constellation.
• We can locate Sirius(the brightest
star in the sky) with the help of
Orion.
• It is named after Orion, a hunter in
Greek mythology.
• The earliest known depiction of
the constellation of Orion is
prehistoric Aurignacian -
mammoth ivory carving found in a
cave in West Germany which is
32,000 to 38,000 years old.
• Orion ranks twenty-sixth of the 88
constellations in size.
SCORPIUS
- Jaithra
 SCORPIUS
 It is visible during the summer
season. Scorpius is a beautiful and
easily recognizable constellation.
 It represents a scorpion sent by the
goddess Artemis to kill the hunter
Orion in a story from Greek
mythology.
constellation contains seven bright
stars. Along with other faint stars, it
forms the shape of a scorpion.
Cassiopeia
- Sahana
 Cassiopeia
• Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky
named after the vain queen Cassiopeia.
• It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-
century Greek astronomer Ptolemy.
• Easily recognizable due to its distinctive ‘W or M'
shape, formed by five bright stars.
• It is visible in the northern sky during winters in the
early part of night.
• Cassiopeia is the 25th largest constellation in the
night sky.
• The brightest star in the constellation is Schedar.
Why do we see less stars in the skies these day
s?
. We see less stars in the sky these days because of, the Edwin Hubble
expansion of the space. This theory is prove by American (1889-1953)
astronomer EDWIN HUBBLE.

. And also from HUBBLE TELESCOPE. Which was launched by

NASA ON 1920 . It was named after EDWIN HUBBLE

. And if the space expands then the stars would go away from
earth there are few stars visible from naked eye as per they are
huge but they will also not been seen for long time.

HUBBLE space
telescope