constellations: in the night sky
Constellations have a great history and are important!
What are constellations?
Constellation are stars grouped together to form a picture in the night sky. Some constellations can only be seen in certain parts of the year and sometimes people can see different constellations depending on there location.
Can Constellations break apart of change?
If you waited along you would see that constellations also do change completely. The stars and constellations appearance change with aging. Constellations change Exactly 1 inch per day. This is due to the Earths orbit around the sun.
Some of the main constellations!
The Ursa major
this family is in the northern hemisphere and is one of the original families. A family constellation means there are multiple constellation in this big constellation.
Virgo constellation
The 6th sign of the zodiac constellations and is the second largest constellation in the sky.
The Canis major
It is in the southern hemisphere and was made in the 2nd century.
Constellations Are very important!
Constellations importance
- In the past constellations were very useful for navigating at night or keeping track of the seasons.
- Constellations represent stories from different cultures and are a sky map.
- Astronomers refer to the zodiac constellations To describe the location of other planets.
- Back in the day constellations were used as a storytelling device.
- Constellations were also navigational markers/guides for early sea farmers
- Constellations were also used for agriculture. The constellations were helpful to tell the people when it was times to sow or harvest. To recognize the patterns in the sky.
- Finally, Constellations help astronomers name stars.
What is a zodiac constellation?
The constellations of the zodiac are the constellations that the sun seems to pass through each year when the year is over (when the Earth fully orbits the sun once).
There are 13 official zodiac constellations.
The names of these constellations are Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus.
The zodiac is the belt that the planets seem to appear to move across the sky.
Procession is when a planet spins like a top. This leads to constellations changing position.
Each month one of these constellations appears in the night sky.
This constellation keeps on moving across the sky from night to night until it disappears.
The Universe: The Constellations | History