Sunday, September 7 th, 2008 SPACE Constellations Part II

Today there are 88 commonly accepted constellations by star watchers around the world. animation

Traditionally, constellations were used to find directions (using an astrolabe seen here) They were even used by escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad trying to find their way to Canada. They looked for the pointer stars in the big dipper to find the North Star because they knew if they went North they would eventually get to Canada and safety.

They called the big dipper the “Drinking Gourd” and sang a song with secret code words in it to remember where to go. Hear the song

DID YOU KNOW! The North Star (Polaris) is the only star in the night sky that doesn’t move! The earth rotates under this spot making it appear as if all of the other stars rotate around it. That’s why it’s the only one that will lead you in the same direction at all times.

Another constellation that is easy to find is Casseopeia. To find her, use use the pointers to find polaris and then keep going toward the other side of the sky. One Last One!

Build Your Own Sextant or Astrolabe! Look through the straw at a star and measure the angle of the string on the protractor. Wait one hour and re- measure the same star and see if the angle changed.

Homework Find Orion or the Big Dipper in the sky tonight. Use your homemade sextant to look at it at 7:00 and then at 8:00 – was it at the same degree each time ?

Just For Fun! Constellation Hunt!