Star Constellations

Lesson Plan - Get It!

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After studying the positions and patterns of the stars, early explorers realized that the stars stayed within the same pattern (constellations) as they moved across the sky (as the earth revolved around the sun) throughout the year.

Early explorers decided to use the stars to navigate because they knew they could rely on the position of the stars.

• Did you know that the stars in the Northern Hemisphere are different from the Southern Hemisphere?

You see different stars based on where you live. Visible stars can also change during different seasons, based on your location relative to the sun.

As people studied more about the stars, they created star maps. These maps showed the brightest visible stars.

The more they looked at the night sky, the more they saw patterns in the star maps and created constellations.

Constellations are stars that outline a distinct shape in the sky. As of 2023, there were 88 recognized constellations.

Some constellations represent or are named after mythological creatures, while others are named after famous men and women from real life and legend.

You might have heard of Orion, a constellation that represents a Greek hunter. The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation based on a bear.

These constellations were tracked and studied so that early travelers could count the days and changes in the seasons, and the North Star was used as the primary point for navigation.

While constellations may have many purposes on the earth, they are also beautiful to observe.

Reflect on the following questions.

• Why do you think ancient people named and organized the stars around stories?
• What interesting ideas did you come up with?

Sail to the Got It? section and choose one constellation to study in detail!