7/2/2022

Constellations • Origins
The Constellations
People of ancient
– Star patterns named
time saw the by ancient peoples
A pattern or constellations as after gods,
group of stars character or animals goddesses, animals,
in the sky is in the sky. They monsters, and
called a made up stories to mythic heroes.
constellation. explain how the – The constellations
object, animal, or used by Western
Culture today
character came into
originated in
the night sky. Mesopotamia
around 3,000 B.C.

The Constellations The Constellations 3D Constellations

• Only certain stars were
• The stars of a
part of the pattern and • The ancient civilizations
belonged to the we got the 48 classical constellation only
constellation. Faint stars constellations . appear to be close to
were not part of any couldn’t see the entire one another
constellations. southern sky. • Usually, this is only a
• Frequently constellations • During the Age of Sail, projection effect.
were named for their European explorers • The stars of a
brightest star. added 40 modern
constellation may be
• Of the constellations constellations in the
“uncharted” areas of located at very
defined by the
the sky. different distances
Babylonians, Egyptians,
and Greeks, 48 are still from us.
used today.

(Ancient) History of the Constellations (Ancient) History of the Constellations

• Named for
– Mythological gods
– People • Different cultures had their
own constellations
– Animals • Some constellations are
– Objects shared by different cultures,
but with different myths:
• Named by – Orion, the Hunter (Greeks)
– Poets – Al Jabbar, the Giant (Syrians)
– White Tiger (ancient Chinese)
– Farmers Praja-pati, the Stag (ancient
• The stars in constellations are not even associated –
– Astronomers Indians)
with each other! are different names for the same
– Priests group of stars

1
 7/2/2022

Orion is one
of the
Orion
When the gods
brightest
constellations
were tired of There are two different versions of the Orion Unfortunately for him, with his
him, the sent a myth, depending on the identity of his
and is a immense strength came an
scorpion to bite parents.
mythological
and kill him. immense ego, and he boasted that
character. The first of these identifies the sea-god he could best any animal on earth.
The gods felt Neptune as Orion's father and the the great
According to
bad for doing huntress Queen Euryale of the Amazons as
Greek myths,
having Orion his mother. In response to his vanity, a single
Orion was a
killed, they they small scorpion stung him and
hunter who used
to brag all the placed him in Orion inherited her talent, and became the killed him.
the sky. greatest hunter in the world.
time. This bother
the gods.

In anger,Orion attempted to gain possession of the

He also walled in the coasts of Sicily against maiden by violence.
Another version of the Orion myth states that
he had no mother but was a gift to a pious the encroaching sea and built a temple to the Her father, incensed at this conduct, having made
peasant from Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury. gods there”). Orion drunk, deprived him of his sight and cast him out
on the seashore.
"Orion supposedly was able to walk on water Orion fell in love with Merope, daughter of
Oenopion and princess of Chios. The blinded hero followed the sound of a Cyclops'
and had greater strength and stature than any
hammer till he reached Lemnos, and came to the forge
other mortal. of Vulcan, who, taking pity on him, gave him Kedalion,
Her father the king, however, would not one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun.
A skilled blacksmith, he fabricated a consent to give Orion his daughter's hand in
subterranean palace for Vulcan. marriage--even after the hunter rid their Placing Kedalion on his shoulders, Orion proceeded to
island of wild beasts. the east, and there meeting the sun-god, was restored
to sight by his beam.

After this he dwelt as a hunter with Diana,

with whom he was a favourite, and it is even . The archer-goddess discharged a shaft with
(Modern) History of Constellations
said she was about to marry him. fatal aim. • In 150 A.D. Ptolemy
recorded 48 northern
Her brother [Apollo] was highly displeased and The waves rolled the body of Orion to the constellations in the
chided her [she was, after all, a virgin Almagest
land, and bewailing her fatal error with many
huntress], but to no purpose. • Most of the
tears, Diana placed him among the stars constellations have
Greek names and myths
One day, observing Orion wading through the • 44 southern
ocean with his head just above the water, It is also stated in some versions that Apollo, constellations were
Apollo pointed it out to his sister and worried for Diana's chastity, sent a scorpion to added after 16th
maintained that she could not hit that black kill Orion. century
thing on the sea.

2
 7/2/2022

The Constellations
The Constellations
• The 48 classical and the 40 modern constellations
make up the 88 official constellations used by
astronomers today.
• The term constellation also now has a new
meaning:
– No longer refers to the pattern of stars itself.
– Now refers to a well defined region of the sky that
contains the traditional star pattern.
– Everything inside that region of the sky is now part of
the constellation, like a “celestial state”.

The Celestial Sphere

What Is An Asterism? Celestial Sphere Concepts
Zenith = Point on the
THE CELESTIAL SPHERE REPRESENTS THE APPARENT VIEW OF celestial sphere directly
• In addition to the 88 THE UNIVERSE AS SEEN FROM THE EARTH. overhead
official constellations • A huge globe of stars surrounding the Earth.
there are several Nadir = Point on the c.s.
• An ancient concept of the Cosmos.
directly underneath
unofficial but popular IT IS A USEFUL CONCEPT TODAY BECAUSE: (not visible!)
star patterns. • it is understandable in terms of spherical geometry. Celestial equator =
• Called asterisms. • it can be used to extend map concepts for the Earth to the projection of Earth’s
sky. equator onto the c. s.
• Examples: • it is useful in navigation. North celestial pole =
– The Big Dipper RELATIONSHIP TO THE VISIBLE SKY projection of Earth’s
– The Little Dipper • The visible sky is 1/2 the celestial sphere. north pole onto the c. s.
– The Northern Cross • Half of the celestial sphere is above the horizon, while the
– The Great Square other half is below the horizon.

Why were the constellations Constellations Constellations

important?
• Constellations are groups of stars which may
resemble something. We make up E.g. the Big Dipper;
• Agriculture constellations, so it makes it easier for us to Orion; Cassiopeia
spot individual stars etc…
• Calendars
• Navigation
• It helps as it breaks the night sky up into
• Rituals and manageable bits, so you may be able to
Traditions identify a group of stars very quickly and
easily, e.g. The Big Dipper

3
 7/2/2022

Constellations Stars as Tools for Navigation Stars as Tools for Navigation

 The North Star is called Polaris and located directly above
 Earth rotates on its axis, this makes most
• Patterns of stars in the sky. the North Pole. This star appears in the same place every
constellations appear to rise in the east and night all year long.
• 88 constellations (1930). set in the west during the night.  In the Northern Hemisphere, if you find Polaris you will
• Served as a calendar. be able to tell which direction is north.
 Most constellations appear in many different
• Some imagination.
positions in the sky as the Earth revolves around The Southern Hemisphere does not have a star to help
• No physical relation the sun. you find its pole. In stead it has what is known as a
between members Southern Cross.
 There is a group of stars that appear in the sky all night
of any constellation. long and all year long. It seems that these stars do not rise
 The Southern Cross consists of 4 bright stars and some
and set, but circle the Earth’s north pole each night. These
dimmer ones. All of these together point to the south
stars are called circumpolar. pole.

Stars As Calendars Zodiac: circle of animals Using Constellations

 It seems that the constellations in the east rise a little earlier each a band in which planets move.
• Many would have used the constellations for religious
evening. This means that the seasons are changing and we are
purposes - i.e. they may have formed a shape which early
seeing different constellations.
people took to mean something
 An example is in the Northern Hemisphere, Orion is high in the
sky during the winter and Scorpio can only be seen during the
summer. • Agriculture has also benefited from constellations - some
 People of ancient times used these seasonal changes in the stars constellations are only seen during certain parts of the
as calendars. year - this helped before proper calendar systems!
 It is believed that the ancient people used the constellations to
tell them when to plant and harvest crops. An example would be Leo • Navigation also used constellations, and sometimes still
and Virgo in the night sky would signify that the last frosts of the does today. Some constellations could be spotted, e.g.
year have happened and it is safe to plant. This worked much like Ursa Minor contain Polaris, the North Star (which always
our paper calendars work for us today.
points North).

Orion . In addition, his shoulder is marked by

the red supergiant Betelgeuse (literally
Orion is one of the most well-known "armpit of the central one" in Arabic),
constellations, visible in the southern sky and his left leg is marked by the blue-
during northern hemisphere winters. white supergiant Rigel.

He is generally shown as a hunter According to the versions of the myth

attacking a bull with an upraised club, which have him killed by Scorpius, the
and is easily recognizable by his bright two were placed on the opposite sides of
belt of three stars. the sky from each other so that they are
never visible at the same time.

4
 7/2/2022

Observable Constellations
Orion, the Hunter Orion, the Hunter • Orion - also known as the Hunter
• The top left star in Orion –
• Orion is one of the most beautiful of all the right shoulder - Betelgeuse –
constellations, and one of the easiest to find. It • Near the center of the rectangle, look for a short
diagonal line of three stars — Orion's belt. And is a giant red star.
looks like a large rectangle high in winter's south- extending south from the belt, you'll see another,
southeastern sky. In comparison, the bottom right star
fainter line of stars that forms Orion's sword.
• Two of the brightest stars in the evening sky lie at • One of the objects in Orion's sword isn't a star at of the constellation, Orion's right foot - Rigel - is blue
opposite corners of the rectangle: bright red all. It's a nebula — a cloud of gas and dust that's • There are three stars that represent Orion's "belt",
Betelgeuse at the northeastern corner and even like a giant fluorescent bulb. Hot young stars
brighter Rigel at the southwest. inside the nebula pump energy into its gas, and three below which make up his "sword". Of
causing the gas to glow. those that are the sword, one is not a star but a
nebula, where stars are formed

Naming The Stars Naming the Stars Scam Alert!

• The brightest stars have had proper names for • Proper names are often a literal description of the • NO organization has been
star’s location in the constellation: given official legal power to
thousands of years. – Betelgeuse – “Shoulder of the giant” name the stars.
– Typically from Arabic – Rigel – “Foot” • Astronomers consider the
– Deneb – “Tail” names designated by the
• Islamic astronomers produced many detailed star International Astronomical
charts during the middle ages. – Procyon – “Before the dog”
– Algol – “Eye of the ghoul” Union official, but the IAU
– Also many stars have names that are from the has no true legal authority
• Star proper names also sometimes describe the star. to name stars (or demote
Greek – Sirius – “Scorching” planets, for that matter).
• Greek astronomers also produced many star charts. – Antares – “Rival of Mars” • Companies that sell star
– Kochab – “Star” names as gifts are a SCAM!

Bayer Letter Names Bayer Letter Names

• Johann Bayer • A star’s Bayer Letter Name is:
– Bavararian lawyer – It’s greek letter first…
– Published a sky atlas: – …followed by the possessive form of the constellation name.
Uranometria. • Example: The star Rigel Kentarus is the brightest star in the
• Assigned lower case greek
letters to brighter stars in constellation Centarus:
each constellation. – Alpha Centauri
• Usually assigned in rough
order of brightness.
– Alpha = brightest star.
– Beta = second brightest
– Gamma = third brightest
– And so on…
• Astronomers continue to use
these “Bayer letters”

5
 7/2/2022

Ursa Major , Big Dipper In Greek mythology, Zeus (the king of the gods) lusts
Naming after a young woman named Callisto, a nymph of
Artemis. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, transforms the
•  is the brightest star in a constellation. beautiful Callisto into a bear. Callisto, while in bear
•  is the 2nd brightest. form, later encounters her son Arcas. Arcas almost
• And so on … shoots the bear, but to avert the tragedy, Zeus turns
• Example: Betelgeuse is  of the Orion. them into bears and put in the sky, forming Ursa
Major and Ursa Minor. Callisto is Ursa Major and her
»Rigel is  of the Orion.
son, Arcas is Ursa Minor. In ancient times the name
The Great Bear of the constellation was Helike, ("turning"), because
it turns around the Pole. In Book Two of Lucan it is
called Parrhasian Helice, since Callisto came from
Parrhasia in Arcadia, where the story is set.[4]

Arcas was the son of Callisto, who was Juno was annoyed that the pair should be In Hinduism, Ursa Major is known as
transformed by Juno into a bear. When Arcas given such honor, and took her revenge by Saptarshi, each of the stars representing one
was fifteen, he was out hunting in the forest convincing Poseidon to forbid them from of the Saptarshis or Seven Sages viz. Bhrigu,
when he came across a bear. The bear behaved bathing in the sea. It is for this reason that Ursa Atri, Angirasa, Vasishta, Pulastya, Pulalaha and
quite strangely, looking him in the eyes. He of Major and Ursa Minor are both circumpolar Kratu. The fact that the two front stars of the
course could not recognize his mother in her constellations, never dipping beneath the constellations point to the pole star is
strange shape, and was preparing to shoot her horizon when viewed from northern latitudes. explained as the boon given to the boy sage
when Jupiter prevented him. Arcas was Dhruva by Lord Vishnu.
transformed into a bear like his mother, and
the two were taken up into the sky.

• Ursa Major Ursa Major, the Great Bear Ursa Major, the Great Bear

• Ursa Major - also known as the Plough or as Big Dipper • Ursa Major — the great bear — is always • Of all the star patterns in the sky, the Big
or Great Bear above the horizon in the northern latitudes, Dipper is the most universally recognized.
• It is identifiable by the double star that represents the but the best time to see it is in the spring • The dipper's seven bright stars form a portion
handle of the plough, which some people know as the when its high above the northeastern horizon. of the great bear.
horse and rider • It's hard to see the rest of the bear, especially
• Ursa Major is best known as the home of the from light-polluted cities.
• With the naked eye, it's clear that there are two stars here, Big Dipper.
but if you turn binoculars or a telescope on this
constellation, it becomes clear that there are three

6
 7/2/2022

Ursa Major,
the Great Bear Ursa Minor, The Little Bear Ursa Minor, The Little Bear

• After you locate the dipper, look at the two stars

that mark the outer edge of its bowl. Now Ursa Minor is better known as the Little
connect these two stars, then extend the line Dipper.
above the dipper's bowl. Polaris, the north star,
lies along this line, about five times the distance Polaris, the star marking the end of the
between the two pointers. No matter where the dipper's handle, is located at the north
Big Dipper is in our sky, those two stars always celestial pole.
point to Polaris.

Finding the North Star Cassiopeia, the Queen

• Polaris, the North Star,
can be found 5 paces from
the Big Dipper, if 1 pace is • The mythological queen Cassiopeia floats
length between the two overhead in fall and winter.
rightmost stars in its • The best time to see her is in November, high
bucket. in the northeastern sky. Cassiopeia looks like a
flattened "W" against the frothy background
of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The "W"
consists of five bright stars. It's surrounded by
fainter stars, so it's fairly easy to pick out.

Mythology of the
constellation Cassiopeia
||
Trying to avert such a fate, Cepheus and Canis Major, the Great Dog
Cassiopeia consulted a wise oracle, who told
Cassiopeia, the wife of King Cepheus, ruler of Ethiopia,
was beautiful, arrogant and vain, and it was these latter them that the only way to appease the sea gods
two characteristics which were to lead to her downfall. was to sacrifice their daughter. Accordingly,
Her continual boast that both she and her daughter Andromeda was chained to a rock at the sea's • Canis Major loyally follows its mythical master,
Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, edge, and left there to helplessly await her fate Orion, across the southern skies of winter.
daughters of Nereus, the sea god, brought the wrath of at the mercy of the sea monster. But Perseus
Poseidon, ruling god of the sea, upon the kingdom of • he brightest star in Canis Major also is the
arrived in time and saved Andromeda. Poseidon brightest in the entire night sky — brilliant
Ethiopia. (Differing accounts state that either Cetus, the
sea monster, on Poseidon's instructions, was to destroy considered that Cassiopeia should not escape Sirius, which is just 8.6 light-years away. That's
the land, or that the whole country was to be flooded.) punishment entirely, and placed her in the only twice as far as our closest stellar
heavens in such a position that she circles the neighbour.
celestial pole in an upside-down position for half
the time.

7
 7/2/2022

Gemini, the Twins

Sirius • Gemini is easy to find as it glides high overhead in

mid-winter, above and to the left of Orion.
• It's two brightest stars — Castor and Pollux —
represent the mythological twins brothers of Helen
of Troy.

Gemini, the Twins Gemini, the Twins Leo, the Lion

• Pollux is the brighter of the twins.

• It's an orange-giant star that's about 35 light-
• Many cultures have seen two humans in this star years from Earth. • The zodiacal constellation Leo, the lion, is one
pattern — marked by two roughly parallel lines of of a handful of constellations that really does
stars capped by two of the brightest stars in our • Castor consists of six stars — a cosmic sextet
locked in a gravitational ballet. This crowded look like its namesake. Look for Leo high in
night sky. But the legend that endures is that of
Castor and Pollux. Gemini's two brightest stars bear system lies about 50 light-years from Earth. south in April and May.
the names of the twins.

Leo, the Lion Leo, the Lion Sagittarius, the Archer

• Leo's brightest star is blue-white Regulus, one of

the brightest stars in the night sky. • Sagittarius, the archer — whose brightest stars
• Regulus rises almost due east, with the body of form the shape of a teapot — slides low
the lion following it into the sky over the next • About two hours later, look low in the east for
across the southern sky of summer. Sagittarius
couple of hours. Leo's tail — a white star named Denebola —
is a centaur — a mythological half-man, half-
• Once Regulus climbs into the sky, look to its left — an Arabic name that, appropriately enough,
horse — who has drawn his bow. His arrow is
toward the north — for a group of stars forming a means "tail of the lion."
pointing at Antares, the bright red heart of
backward question mark. These stars outline Leo's Scorpius, the scorpion.
head and mane.

8
 7/2/2022

Sagittarius, the Archer Sagittarius, the Archer

• The center of our Milky Way galaxy lies inside

Sagittarius, about 27,000 light-years away. It is
• The archer is avenging Orion, who was slain by
immersed in the glow of the starclouds a little
the scorpion's sting. However, to modern
above the "spout" of Sagittarius' teapot.
eyes, the brightest stars of Sagittarius appear
to outline a teapot. Steam pours from the • The constellation also contains several
spout — the hazy star clouds of the Milky globular clusters — tightly packed collections
Way. of hundreds of thousands of stars.

Scorpius, the Scorpion Taurus, the Bull

• Three bright stars form the "head" of Scorpius,

the celestial scorpion, while its tail curves away
• Taurus, the bull, is marked by a V-shaped
below it in the southern sky of summer. pattern of stars that outlines the bull's face.
• The brightest star in Scorpius is Antares, which is Bright red Aldebaran, the "eye" of the bull,
in the middle of the scorpion's curving body. This stands at one point of the V. This pattern is
brilliant red star is one of the behemoths of our part of a cluster of stars called the Hyades —
stellar neighborhood. If you placed it at the the second-closest star cluster to Earth. It
center of our own solar system, it would swallow consists of several hundred stars that lie about
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and almost
reach Jupiter. 130 light-years away.

Taurus, the Bull Taurus, the Bull Perseus, the Hero

• Perseus, the hero, arcs high overhead in fall

• . It's about 70 light-years away, half as far as and early winter. Many of its stars are
• Aldebaran outshines all the other stars that the stars of the Hyades. Aldebaran is a red- immersed in the faint glow of our galaxy, the
outline the bull's face. But Aldebaran isn't a giant — an old, bloated star that's used up Milky Way. In fact, if you look at Perseus under
member of the Hyades cluster — it just lies in most of its nuclear fuel. It's much larger and dark skies, you may be able to see three of the
the same direction. much brighter than our own middle-aged Sun. spiral arms that enfold the Milky Way.

9
 7/2/2022

Perseus, the Hero Perseus, the Hero

• One of the brightest and most interesting stars • Today, astronomers know that Algol is two
in Perseus is Algol. The name Algol means separate stars. About once every three days,
"demon star." Ancient skywatchers thought it the fainter member of the pair passes in front
was cursed because its brightness changes. of the brighter one, and Algol grows fainter.
That's because Algol — which is about 75 • A faint star cluster in Perseus, called M34 is
light-years from Earth — is the most famous visible with binoculars.
"eclipsing binary" star.

Aquila, the Eagle Aquila, the Eagle

• Aquila glides on outstretched wings through • The brightest star in Aquila is a white star
the glowing band of the Milky Way. Look for it about 16 light-years from Earth called Altair,
high in the south in late summer. the Arabic word for eagle. Altair is the
southern point of a pattern of three bright
stars called the Summer Triangle.

Aquila, the Eagle Auriga, the Charioteer

• Auriga, the celestial charioteer, has neither

• Deneb, in the constellation Cygnus, forms the chariot nor horse. Instead, he's drawn as a man
triangle's northeastern point. Vega, in Lyra, holding the reins in his right hand, with a goat on
the harp, is in the northwest. Altair is nice and his left shoulder — the star Capella — and two
bright and easy to find right up to the baby goats in his left arm. Look for him cruising
beginning of winter. high across the southern sky in January and
February.

10
 7/2/2022

Auriga, the Charioteer Auriga, the Charioteer Lyra, the Harp

• It's easy to find Lyra, the harp, by first finding
• The constellation has an uncertain origin. It might Vega — one of the brightest stars in Earth's
represent Neptune rising from the sea in a chariot. • But the light from Capella actually comes from night sky. Look for Vega high overhead in mid-
Or it might honor a legendary king of Athens; two separate stars. Both are yellow, and both lie summer. Lyra looks like a small, lopsided
according to this tale, he invented a chariot that about 43 light-years from Earth. Each star emits square, with Vega just beside one of the
was drawn by four horses. dozens of times more light than the Sun. In fact, corners of the square.
• Capella is one of the few bright stars that is yellow, any residents of the Capella system probably
like our Sun. Both Capella and the Sun are yellow would take little notice of our Sun, which at
because they have roughly the same surface Capella's distance would barely be visible to
temperature. human eyes

Pegasus, the Flying Horse Pegasus, the Flying Horse

• Pegasus is a large pattern of stars marked by a great square
— four bright stars that form the body of the winged horse.
• The brightest star in the Great Square — Alpheratz — isn't
• Pegasus is a large pattern of stars marked by a great in the constellation Pegasus. It's in Andromeda, which is
just northeast of Pegasus. It's part of the ancient sky picture
square — four bright stars that form the body of the that we know as Pegasus. But when astronomers drew the
winged horse. official boundaries for the constellations, this star was
placed just across the line in Andromeda.
• The brightest star in the Great Square — Alpheratz — isn't • The brightest star in the constellation Pegasus is called
in the constellation Pegasus. It's in Andromeda, which is Markab, which means "the saddle." It's at the
just northeast of Pegasus. It's part of the ancient sky southwestern corner of the Great Square.
picture that we know as Pegasus. But when astronomers
drew the official boundaries for the constellations, this
star was placed just across the line in Andromeda.

Boötes, the Herdsman Boötes, the Herdsman

• The brightest stars of Boötes form

a cone shape, with brilliant
yellow-orange Arcturus at the base • But Arcturus is nearing the end
of the cone. of its life.
Arcturus, the fourth-brightest • In astronomical parlance, Arcturus has moved
star in Earth's night sky, is about 20 times larger off the main sequence and entered the "giant"
than the Sun, and it produces about a hundred phase of its life. At a distance of about 35 light-
times as much energy. years, it's closer to us than any other stellar giant.

11
 7/2/2022

Capricornus, the Sea-Goat

Boötes, the Herdsman

• The name Boötes comes from a

Sumerian word that means "Man • Capricornus, the sea goat, bounds low across the
southern sky in late summer and fall. Like all the
Who Drove the Great Cart." The
constellations of the zodiac, Capricornus has as
"Great Cart" was the Big Dipper. many mythological tales as it has stars.
Boötes trails the Big Dipper as it Capricornus gets its name from a Greek myth
wheels around the North Star. that says the god Pan was transformed into a
half-goat, half-fish when he dived into the Nile
River to escape the giant Typhon.

Capricornus, the Sea-Goat Capricornus, the Sea-Goat Cygnus, the Swan

• Capricornus looks like a large triangle of fairly • The closer of the two is about 115 light-years
• The brightest stars of Cygnus form a cross, so
bright stars. The brightest stars are side-by- from Earth, while the other is 10 times farther.
side at the triangle's western tip. Farthest the swan is also known as the Northern Cross.
Just southeast of Giedi is Dabih — the
west is Giedi — the goat. Binoculars reveal Find it soaring high overhead during late
slaughterer — a name that refers to sacrifices
that this is really two stars. Although the stars summer evenings.
made by ancient Arabs when Capricornus rose
appear near each other, they're really
at the same time as the Sun. It, too, consists of
separated by a thousand light-years.
more than one star.

Cygnus, the Swan Cygnus, the Swan

• The constellation's brightest star is Deneb —

an Arabic word that means "the tail.“
• Deneb — the tail of the swan — marks the • Although it lies about 1,500 light-years from
top of the cross. Earth, Deneb shines brightly in our night sky
• The swan's outstretched wings form the because it's a white supergiant — a star that's
horizontal bar of the cross, while the head of much larger, hotter, and brighter than the Sun.
the swan — a double star called Albireo — is Deneb is the northeastern point of a star
the bottom of the cross.
pattern called the Summer Triangle.

12
 7/2/2022

Cygnus, the Swan Observable Constellations

• Andromeda Galaxy
The brightest constellation is Crux (the Southern
Cross).
• The Andromeda Galaxy is
The constellation with the greatest number of about the most distant
• If you use binoculars to scan the area between visible stars in it is Centaurus (the Centaur - with object - at 2.5 million light-
the two bright stars that define the swan's 101 stars).
eastern wing, you'll see the remnant of a years away - that it is
supernova — a faint, incomplete ring of light The largest constellation is Hydra (The Water possible for anyone to see in
called the Cygnus Loop. Snake) which extends over 3.158% of the sky. the night sky

• Much of the lure of this galaxy Observable Constellations Observable Constellations

is its impressive distance from
us, that the time the light took • Pleiades
to reach us began so many years
before man even inhabited the Earth. • Seven stars which are • these are relatively young stars,
Astronomy really is a time machine - you are seeing all the only a couple of million years old,
clearly identifiable are called
stars in a different time, depending how long it's taken the and are a brilliant blue colour
light from them to get to us Pleiades, also known as
• Seven Sisters, • These stars are most clearly visible in the Northern
• As the seasons change, so do the stars which are most and individually named after the sisters in Greek Hemisphere from late summer into autumn
visible - the best time to view the Andromeda Galaxy is in mythology: Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia,
the autumn Taygete, Celaeno, and Alcyone

The Magnitude Scale The Magnitude Scale

Observable Constellations
• Invented by the Greek
• The Milky Way Astronomer Hipparchus in • Very useful system, but not perfect
• The galaxy that is the Milky Way – the 2nd century B.C. – Technically, it refers to Apparent Visual
the galaxy the Earth is part of – • Called the brightest stars in Magnitude
the night sky “stars of the • Brightness in visible wavelengths as seen from Earth
is another well-known feature of the night sky
first magnitude.” – Does NOT tell how bright the star actually is
• Second brightest were (absolute magnitude) because it does not take
• It arches right overhead us, across the sky - it is a “stars of the second into account how far away the star is from us.
band of cloud with structure, and it is one sky magnitude.” – Still useful because it is related to the brightness
feature that it is possible to see anywhere but in
• All the way down to “stars that you “see” (even through a telescope).
the most central part of cities.
of the sixth magnitude.”

13
 7/2/2022

The Magnitude Scale The Magnitude Scale

The Magnitude Scale
– So 5 “steps” in the magnitude scale corresponds
• Used for centuries, and then refined by to a 100× difference in brightness.
modern astronomers. If Star A has a magnitude …then Star A is this many
• What brightness difference corresponds to 1 step in this much less than Star B…
B… times brighter than Star B.
B.
magnitude?
– 1st magnitude stars are 100 times brighter than 1 2.512×
2.512 ×
• Need to know what number you have to multiply by
6th magnitude stars. itself five times to get 100. 2 6.310×
6.310 ×
• That number is 2.5118864315095…. (usually rounded
to 2.512 when used in calculations). 3 15.85×
15.85 ×
• So 1 step in magnitude corresponds to a 2.512×
difference in brightness. 4 39.82×
39.82 ×

5 100×
100 ×

The Magnitude Scale

The Magnitude Scale This thing in
The magnitude scale system can be extended towards negative parentheses here is
numbers (very bright) and numbers > 6 (faint objects): • Here’s the actual equation: an exponent. So
say mB – mA is a
number we’ll call X.
IA/IB = (2.512)(mB-mA) You would read this
equation as “2.512
raised to the X
power.”
This number right here is “how bright star A is compared to
star B” If it is >1, then star A is brighter than star B.
Sirius (brightest star in the sky): m v = -1.42 If it is <1, then star A is fainter than star B.
Full moon: m v = -12.5
Sun: m v = -26.5

14