Constellations clusters/group of stars that form a picture.

. These stars may form images of mythological creatures, animals, objects, and persons. Stars in a constellation have no actual relationship to each other. They were just connected to easily identify which star is which. Stars in a constellation can be so far away from each other but they would look close. The word constellation comes the Latin words con- meaning together and stella- meaning stars. The constellations are divided into two hemispheres the Northern and the Southern. The Northern Hemisphere has 37 Constellations while the Southern Hemisphere has 51 Constellations. All in all we have 88 Constellations in our skies. Some Famous Constellations Ursa minor or Little Bear - a Northern Hemisphere constellation that contains the 7 stars of the Little Dipper. It starts at the Polaris/North Star. Ursa Major or Great Bear - has a companion called Ursa Minor. The body and the tail of the bear make up what is known as the 7 stars of the Big Dipper. Orion - named after a hunter in the Greek Mythology. It is sometimes called The Hunter. It has very noticeable belt, sword, and shield. This can be partly seen in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Cassiopeia - has a very distinct shape. She looks like a "W" or "M" in the sky, depending on where she is. This constellation is very near Polaris. Cassiopeia can be viewed all year long. Crux/Southern Cross - cross-shaped Southern Hemisphere constellation is on the Australian flag. The brightest star in Crux is Acrux at the base of the cross. This constellation is surrounded by the constellation Centaurus on three sides. It is the smallest constellations out of the 88. Canis major or The Great Dog - a constellation near Orion. The brightest star in Canis Major and the brightest star in the sky is Sirius or the dog star. Canis Major is one of Orion's hunting dogs (together with Canis Minor). Hydra - the largest known constellation. Asterism - a pattern of stars seen in Earth's sky which is not an official constellation. It is usually a part of a constellation or constellations. The Zodiac - an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic or the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac namely Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The North Star or the Polaris is very useful especially to navigators because it doesnt seem to change its place at any time of the night. So when they see the North Star, they could easily locate the directions. The North Star can be located easily using the Big Dipper. Because the two stars at the end of the dipper of the constellation Big Dipper namely points you directly to the Polaris.

Constellations clusters/group of stars that form a picture. These stars may form images of mythological creatures, animals, objects, and persons. Stars in a constellation have no actual relationship to each other. They were just connected to easily identify which star is which. Stars in a constellation can be so far away from each other but they would look close. The word constellation comes the Latin words con- meaning together and stella- meaning stars. The constellations are divided into two hemispheres the Northern and the Southern. The Northern Hemisphere has 37 Constellations while the Southern Hemisphere has 51 Constellations. All in all we have 88 Constellations in our skies. Some Famous Constellations Ursa minor or Little Bear - a Northern Hemisphere constellation that contains the 7 stars of the Little Dipper. It starts at the Polaris/North Star. Ursa Major or Great Bear - has a companion called Ursa Minor. The body and the tail of the bear make up what is known as the 7 stars of the Big Dipper. Orion - named after a hunter in the Greek Mythology. It is sometimes called The Hunter. It has very noticeable belt, sword, and shield. This can be partly seen in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Cassiopeia - has a very distinct shape. She looks like a "W" or "M" in the sky, depending on where she is. This constellation is very near Polaris. Cassiopeia can be viewed all year long. Crux/Southern Cross - cross-shaped Southern Hemisphere constellation is on the Australian flag. The brightest star in Crux is Acrux at the base of the cross. This constellation is surrounded by the constellation Centaurus on three sides. It is the smallest constellations out of the 88. Canis major or The Great Dog - a constellation near Orion. The brightest star in Canis Major and the brightest star in the sky is Sirius or the dog star. Canis Major is one of Orion's hunting dogs (together with Canis Minor). Hydra - the largest known constellation. Asterism - a pattern of stars seen in Earth's sky which is not an official constellation. It is usually a part of a constellation or constellations. The Zodiac - an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic or the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac namely Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The North Star or the Polaris is very useful especially to navigators because it doesnt seem to change its place at any time of the night. So when they see the North Star, they could easily locate the directions. The

North Star can be located easily using the Big Dipper. Because the two stars at the end of the dipper of the constellation Big Dipper namely points you directly to the Polaris.