CONSTELLATIONS FOR GRADE 9

2.  Constellations are apparent groupings of stars that make optical
projections at different times of the year.
 Ancient people used to observe constellations to distinguish seasons;
thye made constellations a significant part of their culture and
religion.
 Samarians and Babylonians were the first people to have a notion of
the constellations and their ideas reached Greece.
 Aratus wrote Phaenomena which accounts 43 constellations and
named 5 individuals stars.
 Almagest of Ptolemy accounts 48 constellations; it became the basis
for modern constellation systems.
 88 constellations are now recognized by astronomers (star patterns)

3.  Constellations, viewed from the Earth, shows apparent groupings of
stars (not the actual physical groupings in space)
 Polaris (the North Star) points the observers to the North Pole.
 Polaris has a constant position all throughout the year and it is
aligned with Earth’s rotation.
 To locate Polaris, locate the North Pole and find the handle of the
Little Dipper.
 Asterism are figures that can be easily seen the heavens but are
only parts of a constellation. (eg. Big Dipper is an asterism of the
constellation Ursa Major.)

4. The Circumpolar Constellations
Constellations that are found around the North Pole
 Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
 Cassiopeia
 Cepheus
 Draco
The Noncircumpolar Constellations
 Found lower in the sky
 Orion
 Canis Major
 Canis Minor
 Scorpius

5. URSA MAJOR
Also called the Big Bear
One of the most famous constellations
Third to the largest constellation
The Big Bear was a woman named Calisto, the beautiful
hunter whom Zeus, the king of the gods fell in love with.
Hera, Zeus’ wife got jealous and turned Calisto into a
bear
Calisto found her son Arcas, but Arcas was about to kill
her with spear but Zeus turned him to a small bear,
Zeus pulled the bears by their tails and lifted them to
the heavens and pulled their tails long.

7. URSA MINOR
Little Bear
Made up of five relatively faint stars
The tail is the Little Dipper (easily seen
because the end is near Polaris).

9. CASSIOPEIA
Looks like the letter W or the letter M depending on the
time of year
The W or M represents its throne
The five major stars which are very bright-Shedir, Caph,
Gamma, Cassiopeiae, and Ruchbah make up Cassiopeia
(with many nebula clouds).
Cassiopeia was the vain an powerful queen of Ethiopia.
She was set in the skies as a punishment for her vanity
and for claiming that she was more beautiful than the
nymph goddesses.

11. CEPHEUS
27th largest constellation
Cassiopeia’s husband
Identified by the “Home Plate” asterism
Some of the stars of the Cepheus include
Alderamin, Alfirk, Alrai, and Garnet.

13. DRACO
Made up of 9 stars (including Etamin, Aldibain,
Rastaban, Altais, and Aldhibah.
Etamin is the brightest star that shines in Draco; it rests
between the Big and the Little Dippers.
Draco is the hardest circumpolar constellation to find
because its stars rise and set.
Draco represents the dragon named Ladon (who guards
the golden apple tree owned by the goddess Hera, when
Hecules her husband needed a golden apple as part of is
12 labors, he had to slay Ladon).
In his honor Hera placed in the skies.

15. ORION
 Orion the Hunter appears during the winter season
 It can be found by locating the three very close stars (which make
up the belt) and by finding the trapezium asterism
 Orion contains two of the brightest stars in the sky- Rigel and
Betelgeuse.
 The Greek mythology tells that Orion was a very good hunter and
he bragged about it to Artemis, the Earth goddess, and his mother
Leto.
 Artemis sent a giant scorpion to kill him and his mother. He died
defending his mother.

17. CANIS MAJOR
Represents a bigger dog following Orion
Home of Sirius, the brightest star
In myth, Canis Major represents Laelaps, the fastest
dog.

19. CANIS MINOR
Represents a another dog (a smaller dog) following Orion
Home of Procyon, the 8th brightest star
In myth, Canis Major represents Laelaps, the fastest
dog.

21. SCORPIUS
One of the oldest constellations identified by
human civilization
Shows a scorpion figure
In Scorpius, the brightest star is Antares.

23. ASTRONOMY
Deals with the study of all celestial bodies such as
planets, stars, comets, asteroids, and galaxies.
It aims to explain their origin, existence, and the
changes that happen to them.
Deals with astronomical concepts.

24. ASTROLOGY
A pseudoscience (“pseudo” means false)
It aims to relate the path of the constellations to a
person’s fate
It uses a system called zodiac to make predictions.
Zodiac refers to an imaginary band that is the center of
the path that the Sun travels through in its annual
motion.
There are 12 constellations that can be found in the
zodiac, depending on what time of the year it is.