Astronomy Constellations

Educator Information and Extension Activities

Directions
This packet is a complement to our video My Planisphere
lesson Constellations. The following pages On pages 10 to 13, you learned how to use
include these items: and read a planisphere. But what about a
planisphere for your specific location on our
● Review Vocabulary (p. 2) planet? There are planispheres that can
● Guided Notes (pp. 3-6) show you what’s visible in the night sky
● Constellation Storytelling (pp. 7-9) wherever you may be! With your guardian’s
● Practice with a Planisphere (pp. permission, search online for instructions to
10-13) make your own planisphere. You’ll be able
● Stargazing Field Study (pp. 14-16) to find resources with PDFs of planispheres
for any location!
We recommend printing this packet prior to 50 Gold/$coops
your student watching the video so that
they can follow along with the guided Star Chart App
notes, which they can then use when Star charts were developed by ancient
answering practice questions. civilizations to show where constellations
are located in the night sky. Nowadays, you
The ungraded extension activities promote can see these star charts right from your
the following: smartphone!

● Critical thinking Before your next stargazing adventure, and

● Observational skills with your guardian’s permission, find a few
● Inquiry skills star chart apps to try out. Several of them
● Vocabulary mastery use augmented reality to show the
constellations above you! Some questions to
Suggested Gold/$coops consider while using a star chart app:
Using the reward function on the first tab of ● Are there any planets visible?
your parent account, you may wish to ● Can you see the constellation without
award Gold/$coops for extension activities the app?
and/or accomplishments completed outside ● What information does the app tell
the website. you about the visible constellations?
50 Gold/$coops
We recommend the following amount for
each successfully completed lab and Stargazing Playlist
activity: 50 Gold/$coops There are so many songs about stars,
constellations, starlight, space travel, and
other planets. With your guardian’s
permission, create a stargazing playlist of
songs to listen to on your next stargazing
adventure.
25 Gold/$coops

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
1
Constellations
 Constellations Vocabulary Review

Please review these key terms to develop a better understanding of this lesson.

1. Constellation - a group of stars that appear to form a pattern or picture

2. Asterism - an identifiable pattern of stars but smaller than a

constellation

3. Hemisphere - half of the Earth

4. Star chart - a map of the night sky showing where constellations are
located

5. Star - a large celestial object made up of gas and dust that produces
energy

6. Polaris - also known as the North Star; Polaris is located very close to the
celestial North Pole, making it a perfect reference point for navigation

Vocabulary Practice
Pick two vocabulary words from this list. Then, write a sentence that uses both
vocabulary words:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved 2
Constellations
 Constellations
Guided Notes

Instructions
Download and print this PDF to complete while watching the Constellations
teaching video. Fill in each of the blanks with the appropriate word or
phrase. It’s OK to pause the video when it’s time to write.

Overview
In this lesson, you are going to learn about constellations, including
identification, cultural significance, and visibility, based on seasons and
location.

A History of Constellations

1. People have been noticing and creating constellations out of the stars in
the sky for __________________ of years!
2. Most of the constellations that we recognize today are attributed to the
ancient ____________. There are records that show civilizations all over
the ancient __________ were all gazing up at the ________ night sky,
creating constellations as well. Roman, Middle Eastern, and African
civilizations all have records of creating constellations throughout
______________.
3. Constellations have been used throughout the ages to represent
____________________, objects, ______________, and creatures from
a civilization’s history. They were often associated with __________ and
______________ from the cultures of civilizations around the world.
4. People used constellations to create lore and tell ______________ of
amazing ____________, perilous animals, and treacherous ___________
that we passed down from generation to generation.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved 3
Constellations
Big and Little Dipper

5. The Big Dipper isn’t a constellation itself. It is a recognizable __________

with its own name, but it’s ______________ than a full constellation.
These are called __________________. Often, asterisms will be a
smaller ________ of a full constellation.
6. The Big Dipper is this ladle-shaped asterism:
7. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation
Ursa __________, or the Great ________.
The Big Dipper contains __ stars, while Ursa Major contains 22.
8. Ursa Major is often associated with the __________ legend of Callisto,
who was turned into a bear by ________! Ursa Major is mirrored by
another constellation called Ursa __________, or ____________ Bear.
9. Ursa Minor contains the Little Dipper ________________, and the Little
Dipper contains the __________ Star Polaris at its tail.
10. These two constellations were very commonly used for _______________
for thousands of years due to their ____________________ location in
the night sky. The cup portion of the Big Dipper ____________ directly to
the North Star, so you can always spot it. Both Ursa Major and Minor are
located relatively close to the North Pole, so all you need to do is look
__________ to spot them!

Orion

11. The constellation Orion was named after the famous _______________
from Greek mythology, Orion the ____________. According to myth, Orion
was the greatest hunter in all the land and was placed in the sky as a
constellation as a way to __________ his hunting prowess.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
4
Constellations
12. Orion contains very two prominent __________, Betelgeuse and Rigel. It
is most often recognized by its very ____________ and visible __-star
section in the middle, known as Orion’s ________.
13. Orion is ________________ to spot than Ursa Major or Minor because it
is ______ located above the North Pole. As a result, it isn’t always visible
in the ________ place in the sky, because Earth’s ________ means we
aren’t always angled ____________ it. The half of the Earth, or
____________________, you are located on also affects ________ and
where you can see constellations.

Locating Constellations

14. As Earth ____________ the Sun, different parts of the sky become
______________ at different times.
15. Circle the constellations you recognize or have heard of before:

16. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you will want to look to the
_______________________ sky to find Orion, and in the Southern
Hemisphere, he will be in the ________________________ sky.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
5
Constellations
Hydra

17. The constellation Hydra covers a ____________ section of the sky than
any of the other ____ official constellations. Hydra has been associated
with a serpent, ____________, or many-headed creature by different
cultures throughout history.
18. Hydra is thought to be first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy
and is a representation of the ________ that Hercules had to defeat.
19. Hydra is visible from ________ hemispheres, because it sits over the
______________ and stretches across both. It is very ____________ to
spot, because the entire constellation is composed of very ______ stars.
20. Hydra is best spotted during ____________ and early summer in the
Northern Hemisphere, which is autumn and early ____________ in the
Southern Hemisphere. It is often located by using the planet
______________ as a guide. If you can spot Jupiter, the grouping of stars
that make up Hydra’s head is just __________ of it.

Mapping the Constellations

21. Ancient civilizations developed what is essentially a ______ of the night

sky, showing where constellations are located. This is called a star
__________. They are broken into hemispheres and lay out the
________________ of constellations and where you need to look to find
them.
22. Nowadays, you can even see these star charts right from an ______ on
your smartphone, which makes it easier than ever to spot these amazing
patterns in the night sky.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
6
Constellations
 Constellation Storytelling

Practice your storytelling and create your own constellations.

Pegasus is a constellation that tells the story of a powerful and beautiful

winged horse. According to Greek mythology, Pegasus was known for his speed
and beauty. He was tamed by Bellerophon, a hero and a prince. Together, they
flew to Mount Olympus and defeated the Chimera, a monster with a lion’s
head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. As a reward for his bravery, Zeus
placed Pegasus in the sky as a constellation.

This is the constellation

known as Pegasus, along
with a drawing of him.

What if you could redesign the Pegasus constellation? Use the blank space to
create your own sequence or pattern of stars to tell the story of Pegasus. Then
represent the constellation you designed in the space to the right by connecting
different points.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
7
Constellations
 Constellation Storytelling

This constellation is known as Canis Major, or “the Great Dog.” It contains the
brightest star in the night sky, known as Sirius. This constellation is visible in the
very early morning hours. You can see it from the Northern Hemisphere
between December and March and the Southern Hemisphere between
November and April. Tell the story or legend that you think could go with this
constellation.

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
8
Constellations
 Constellation Storytelling

Design your own constellation. Tell the story or legend that goes with your
constellation, and share when and where it would be visible in the night sky.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
9
Constellations
 Practice with a Planisphere

Planispheres, or star charts, are used to identify the stars and constellations in
the night sky. This activity is designed to teach you how to use a planisphere. If
you would like to make the most accurate star chart based on your specific
location, check out the extension activity on page one called My Planisphere.

1. Carefully cut out the blue star chart circle on page 11. Be sure to cut on
the thick black line and keep the months attached to the circle.
2. Carefully cut out the white circle on page 12. This circle has
a series of smaller circles in the middle. This is for the
viewing window and changes depending on your latitude.
For this practice activity, carefully poke the scissors through
the center of the viewing window and cut around the line
marked 65°. This represents 65 degrees North in the Northern Hemisphere.
Other planispheres will have degrees labeled South for the Southern
Hemisphere.
3. The white circle has little lines around the edge. Notice how they start at
0 and go to 23? These represent the hours in a day, with 1:00 AM as hour
1 and 1:00 PM as hour 13. The blue star chart has months and numbers
around the edge. These numbers represent the days within each month.
4. Take your white circle and find the time of day 8:00 PM, or hour 20. Line
hour 20 up with the tenth of November on the blue star chart. The white
circle should fit within the blue circle.
5. The constellations that are visible within the viewing window are the
constellations that you can see above you at 8:00 PM on November 10th.

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
10
Constellations
 Practice with a Planisphere

6. You’ll need to position yourself to match the star chart. Notice how it has
N, W, S, and E? Face north and hold your planisphere with the N away
from you. When you look up, try to find a known point in the sky, such as
Polaris, or the North Star. That will help you get your bearings. Begin
looking around for other known constellations.
7. As time passes, the position of the stars in the sky will change. Adjust the
planisphere to match the current date and time by rotating the white
circle. Practice this by finding what constellations would be visible in the
Northern Hemisphere at 11:30 PM (hour 23.5) on November 10th.
8. Repeat the process of adjusting the planisphere to match the current date
and time to see which constellations are visible.
9. Have fun! The planisphere is a great tool for stargazing and learning
about the night sky.

Practice Getting Comfortable with Your Planisphere

1. Label the correct time in 24-hour format:

a. 8:00 PM = _____ b. 6:30 PM = _____ c. 10:15 PM = _____
2. Practice finding the location on your planisphere:
a. 9:00 PM on January 5th b. 2:00 AM on March 6th
c. 7:30 PM on October 20th d. 4:15 AM on June 14th

3. Practice identifying constellations on your planisphere. Choose your own

date and time and name at least two constellations that are visible:
___________________________ ______________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
11
Constellations
 Practice with a Planisphere

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
12
Constellations
 Practice with a Planisphere

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
13
Constellations
 Stargazing Field Study

This field study activity is a chance to observe and learn about the
constellations in the night sky. This activity will encourage students to use their
observation and critical thinking skills as they identify different shapes and
patterns in the stars. Use the note-taking pages on pages 14 or 15, or create
your own field journal to record your observations and drawings.

1. Choose a clear, dark location away from city lights to observe the stars.
2. Bring a star chart or use a smartphone app to identify constellations.
3. Lie down or sit comfortably, and observe the night sky for about 10-15
minutes to allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
4. Use the star chart or smartphone app to identify constellations, and
compare them to the actual night sky.
5. Make note of the different shapes and patterns you observe in the
constellations.
6. Try to identify at least three constellations, and make a sketch of each.
7. Repeat the activity on different nights to observe any changes in the
constellations’ positions.
8. Scientists love to collaborate! Share your observations by writing for the
newspaper, uploading a video of your field study site, or simply uploading
pictures of your journal entries. Work together and see how the
constellations can change depending on your location.
9. Use the opportunity to learn more about the stars, constellations, and the
night sky. Find out the story behind your favorite constellation.
10. Enjoy the beauty and wonder of the stars!

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
14
Constellations
 Stargazing Field Study

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
15
Constellations
 Stargazing Field Study

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

© Miaplaza, Inc. For MiaPrep, Miacademy, Always Icecream, and Clever Dragons All Rights Reserved
16
Constellations