The Solar System

The Solar System: Constellations and Stars : 

The Solar System: Constellations and Stars By: Mrs. Justice

Vocabulary Terms : 

Vocabulary Terms Astronomer - a person who studies the sky Star - A hot rotating ball of gas that creates its own light. Constellation - a shape in the sky, made by connecting stars Star pattern - A group of stars that forms a pattern within a constellation. Hemisphere - half of the Earth Light-year - the distance light travels in one year (9,458,000,000,000 kilometers) Magnitude - a number that describes how bright a star appears. Smaller numbers mean brighter stars.

Basic Facts about Stars : 

Basic Facts about Stars The sun is a star like all other stars. The sun is the center of our solar system, and Earth is one of nine planets that orbit it. Like the sun appears to move across a daytime sky, the stars appear to move across the nighttime sky because Earth rotates on its axis.

Star Patterns : 

Star Patterns People of ancient time saw the constellations as character or animals in the sky. They made up stories to explain how the object, animal, or character came into the night sky.

What is a Constellation? : 

What is a Constellation? People have watched the night skies for millions of years. Some just out of curiosity. Some out of boredom. Some were looking for something… patterns of stories from long ago. Constellations are recognizable patterns in the sky. There are 88 Constellations. 12 are based on the Zodiac. Orion, Leo, Aries, Taurus, etc.

Orion : 

Orion Orion is one of the brightest constellations and is a mythological character. According to Greek myths, Orion was a hunter who used to brag all the time. This bother the gods. When the gods were tired of him, the sent a scorpion to bite and kill him. The gods felt bad for doing having Orion killed, they they placed him in the sky.

CONSTELLATIONS : 

CONSTELLATIONS http://library.thinkquest.org/3645/constellations.html LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME CONSTELLATIONS…

URSA MINOR (Big Dipper) : 

URSA MINOR (Big Dipper)

URSA MAJOR (Little Bear) : 

URSA MAJOR (Little Bear) Ursa Major is probably the most famous constellation, with the exception of Orion. Also known as the Great Bear, it has a companion called Ursa Minor, or Little Bear. Everyone living in the Northern Hemisphere has probably spotted the easily recognized portion of this huge constellation. The body and tail of the bear make up what is known as the Big Dipper.

FAST FACTS : 

FAST FACTS 1.  The star that is closest to the Earth is the sun. 2.  A Star is a gigantic, glowing ball of plasma. 3.  Stars are first formed as clouds of dust and gas. 4.  Stars give off a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light and heat. 5.  Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. 6.  Stars that have really strong gravity grow smaller over time and eventually turn in black holes. 7.  The hottest stars give off a bluish light while the cooler stars give off a reddish light. 8.  Stars seem to twinkle because their light travels through the earth’s atmosphere and the turbulence in the atmosphere affects the way stars are seen. 9.  All the stars that make up Milky Way Galaxy revolve around the center of the galaxy once every 200 million years or so. 10. The oldest star that has been discovered is HE 1523-0901, which is an estimated 13.2 billion years old.

GAME TIME… : 

GAME TIME… LET’S PLAY A GAME! http://www.kidsastronomy.com/astroskymap/constellation_hunt.htm THE