RECOGNIZING

CONSTELLATIONS

• The constellations are

totally imaginary things

that poets, farmers and

astronomers have made up

over the past 6,000 years

• The real purpose for the

constellations is to help us

tell which stars are which,

nothing more

THE THREE YEAR-ROUND

CONSTELLATIONS

• There are only three

constellations that can

be seen all year round

in the Canadian sky

• The first is the URSA

MAJOR which is

called the big bear

URSA MAJOR

• Ursa Major holds the

more commonly known

BIG DIPPER

• The Big Bear, Ursa Major, is the third largest constellation in the skies, seen at northern sky in evening of spring. The constellation has no first magnitude stars, but the Big Dipper that forms the bear's tail is a rough guide on the clarity of the evening's sky. Though Ursa Major contains no bright celestial objects, it has plenty of galaxies in outer space.

• CAN YOU FIND THE STARS FOR THE BIG DIPPER?

URSA MINOR

• The second

constellation that can

be seen year round is

called URSA MINOR

• It is more commonly

known as THE

LITTLE DIPPER

THE LITTLE DIPPER

• The little dipper also holds the

most important star in our sky

• This star is called Polaris or

the North Star

• Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, includes the Pole Star, it seems to rotate around the celestial North Pole as if flatten itself against the sky. The constellation is visible all the year round at Northern Hemisphere, and we amateur astronomers have used the constellation as a rough guide to explore the evening's sky

CASSIOPEIA

• The third constellation

that can be seen every

clear night in Canada

is Cassiopeia

ETHIOPIAN

QUEEN

• Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus, the Ethiopian king, and the mother of Andromeda. The asterism clearly shows the chair upon which Cassiopeia sits. It looks like a shape of "W", and is a guide to find out the Polar Star like the Big Dipper

OTHER CONSTELLATIONS

• There are many other familiar constellations

that can be seen in our sky depending on the

time of year.

• There have been many calendars based on

the movement of the constellations in the

sky.

ORION • the constellation of Orion is one of

the most recognizable patterns of

stars in the northern sky.

• It was said of Orion that he was so

tall that he could stride across the

bottom of the sea with his head

sticking out above the waves, but

his father Poseidon gave him the

ability to walk on the surface of

the water. In the sky Orion carries

an unbreakable bronze club. In his

other hand he bears the pelt of a

lion.

ORION

The Zodiac Signs

• There are 12 Zodiac signs that inhabit our sky.

• They are placed in a line across the sky and only a couple at a time can be seen.

• You should be able to see your sign in the sky on your birthday.

Capricorn

22 December - 20 January

• The Sea Goat is associated with the Greek God Pan. Pan the son of the Messenger of the Gods, Hermes. He was the lusty god of the countryside, associated with fertility and fecundity. Pan loved music and invented the Pipes of Pan, which you can think of as an ancient version of the harmonica. Pan spent his time chasing females or sleeping off the aftermath of a binge. Pan was the good time party god!

Aquarius

21 January - 29 February

• The Water Carrier is

the cup bearer to the

gods living atop Mount

Olympus. His name is

Ganymede. He is

usually protrayed as

pouring water from his

jar into the mouth of

the Southern Fish,

Piscis Austrinis

Pisces, 20 February - 20 March

• The Fish represent Aphrodite and her son Eros (to the Romans, Venus and Amor, who was also known as Cupid). Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love and Eros was her son with Ares, the God of War, known as Mars to the Romans. Aphrodite represents love and Eros, desire.

Aries, 21 March - 20 April

• Aries is connected with one of

the great epics of Greek myth,

the story of Jason and the Quest

for the Golden Fleece. The story

begins with the unhappy

children of a broken family.

• Athamas took the children to the

top of a nearby mountain to

make the sacrifice, but their

mother, Nephele, was watching

from heaven. She bade the gods

to send down a golden ram from

heaven to carry the children to

safety. This is the ram of Aries.

Taurus, April 21 - May 20

• Most likely Taurus represents Zeus, who took the form of a bull to abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of King Agenor of Phoenicia, as she was bathing with her girl friends on the beach at Tyre.

Gemini, May 21 - June 21

• The Twins represents the two brothers, Castor and Polydeuces (in Latin, Pollux). Their mother was Queen Leda of Sparta, who was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan. That same night she also slept with her husband King Tyndareus. As a result she bore the Twins, one of whom was mortal, and the other immortal

Cancer, 22 June - 22 July

• The Crab was sent by Hera to distract Hercules in the midst of the struggle with the Hydra. The Crab scuttled out from the swamp to bite at Hercules feet with its claws, but Hercules crushed the Crab with his heel. The goddess Hera rewarded the Crab by placing it among the stars.

Leo, 23 July - 23 August

• The Lion lived in a cave near

the town of Nemea southwest

of Corinth. This was no

ordinary Lion. Some say it

was the spawn of the terrible

monster Typhon thrown up

by Earth in that terrible ten

year war between the

Olympian gods and the

Titans. Others say that it was

the offspring of the two-

headed dog Orthrus that

guarded the cattle of Geryon.

Virgo, 24 August - 23 September

• Virgo has been identified with many different goddesses. She is often seen as Dike, the Goddess of Justice, known as Justa or Justitia to the Romans. From this the neighboring constellation of Libra is often seen as the Scales of Justice.

Libra, 24 September - 23 October

• The constellation of Libra is sometimes seen as the Scales of Justice. This leads to an association with the constellation of Virgo, who has been identified with Astraea or Dike, the Goddess of Justice. It is the Goddess who judges the souls of men after their death by weighing them in her balance.

Scorpio

24 October - 22 November

• Orion was the son of the God of

the Sea, Poseidon (Neptune to the

Romans) by a mortal woman.

Orion was a giant and a powerful

hunter, but he was mortal, and he

met his end - at least temporarily -

because he had offended Artemis

(Diana to the Romans), the

Goddess of the Hunt

• In any case, the goddess

(whichever it was) sent the

Scorpion to sting Orion as a

punishment for his behavior.

Orion died, so that forever in the

sky Orion is seen setting into the

underworld as the Scorpion rises.

Sagittarius

23 November - 21 December

• Sagittarius is a centaur. The Archer is half-man, half-horse. The Archer represents the upper body of a man growing out of the body of a horse. The man's body replaces the neck and head of the horse.