๐ช Space and stars โจ Stars and galaxies
Constellations
๐ In short
A constellation is a group of stars that look close together in the sky, and people imagine they make a shape like an animal, a person or an object. Astronomers have divided the whole sky into 88 constellations, like the Great Bear, Orion and Scorpius.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- Astronomers have divided the sky into 88 constellations.
- Different constellations appear in summer and winter.
- People in the southern half of the world see constellations we don't, like the Southern Cross.
- The stars in one constellation can be very different distances from us.
๐ Find out more
๐ Pictures in the sky
Long ago people looked at the stars on clear nights and joined them with lines in their imagination, seeing a scorpion, a lion, a hunter and a bear, and telling stories about them.
๐ The Great Bear
One of the best-known constellations is the Great Bear, with seven bright stars shaped like a big ladle, which the Arabs call โthe daughters of the bierโ. From them we can find the North Star.
๐ก Arabic names
The Arabs named many stars, and those names are still used all over the world, like Aldebaran, Rigel, Betelgeuse and Altair.
๐ฏ The zodiac
There are twelve constellations the Sun passes in front of during the year, called the zodiac, like Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Leo. Farmers and sailors knew the seasons by when they appeared.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 How many constellations are there according to astronomers?
2 What do the Arabs call the seven stars of the Great Bear?
3 Astronomers have divided the sky into ?? constellations.
4 Which picture shows โConstellationsโ?