Star+Watch

Science Space Project Star Watch Samantha Park, Jade Roberts Carlton, Scott Muirhead

Constellations weren’t actually discovered they were invented. Poets, farmers, and astronauts had invented them for over 6,000 years.
 * __Who discovered them?__ **

If you were wondering why farmers had used and invented constellations, the reason is quite simple. Farmers had used them to tell which month and season it was because in some places the seasons, autumn and spring were so similar (most crops are planted in spring and then harvested in autumn) that they would be planted in the wrong season. So to fix this the farmers used monthly constellations.

They were also used as memory aids and stories.  (Dolan, What Are Constellations?)   Four major constellations that I will write about are Andromeda, Orion, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Andromeda means “The Ethiopian Princess” or “The Chained Lady”. The abbreviation is And. The genitive for Andromeda is Andromedae. Andromeda is best seen in November around 9 p.m. Andromeda appears in the myth of Perseus. In Andromeda there are 4 named stars, and they are: Ø Alpheratz Ø Mirach Ø Almaak Ø Adhil (Dolan, Andromeda) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">__Major constellations__ **<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">

Then we have another big constellation which is Orion. Orion means “The Great Hunter”. The abbreviation is Ori and the genitive is Orionis. Orion is best seen in January around nine p.m. as well. There is also a myth about Orion and how he became a constellation. In the constellation of Orion, there is a sword and one of the “stars” in that sword isn’t a star, it’s actually the Great Orion Nebula. In Orion there are 14 named stars and they are: <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Betelgeuse <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rigel <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bellatrix <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mintaka <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alnitak <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nair al Saif <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Saiph <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Meissa <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Thabita <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tabit (times four) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">(Dolan, Orion) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">

Ursa Major means “The greater bear”. The abbreviation is UMa and the genitive is Ursae Majoris. Ursa Major is best seen in April around the same time as Orion and Andromeda. There is a story about Ursa Major as well. The big dipper is one of the most recognizable patterns in the Northern sky. It’s harder to see the entire constellation because of the city lights. In other culture the big dipper is seen as other things for example some cultures see it as a wagon. In the constellation Ursa Major there are 16 named stars, they are: <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Dubhe <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Merak <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Phad <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Megrez <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alioth <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mizar <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alkaid <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Talitha <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tania Borealis <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tania Australis <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alula Borealis <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alula Australis <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Musicda (times three) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alcor <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">(Dolan, Ursa Major) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">

Ursa Minor means “The lesser bear”. The abbreviation is UMi and the genitive is Ursae Minoris. Ursa Minor is best seen around the same time as Ursa Major. The most famous star found in the little dipper would be Polaris, the North star. In the constellation Ursa Minor there are 5 named stars which are: <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Polaris <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kocab <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pherkad <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Yildun <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pherkad Minor <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">(Dolan, Ursa Minor) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">

If you’re wondering about the big dipper and the little dipper they aren’t constellations, they are a part of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The handles are the tails and the Dipper’s cups are the bear’s flanks. The big dipper and the little dipper are actually asterisms which are basically a distinctive group of star. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes; msonoproof: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">(Dolan, Ursa Major) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">Dolan, Chris. __Andromeda.__ ? May 2009 <http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Andromeda.html>. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">Dolan, Chris. __Orion.__ ? May 2009 <http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Orion.html>. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">Dolan, Chris. __Ursa Major.__ ? May 2009 <http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Ursa_Major.html>. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">Dolan Chris. __Ursa Minor.__ ? May 2009 <http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Ursa_Minor.html>. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-no-proof: yes;">Dolan Chris. __What Are Constellations?__ ? May 2009 <http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html>.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">__Bibliography__ **


 * __Stellar Brightness__**

The process of measuring stellar brightness is called the Magnitude scale. A Greek astronomer named Hipparchus in 150 BC invented this system, and though it has changed improved through the years, the Magnitude system is still used to measure stellar brightness today. Apparent magnitude is how bright a star appears in the sky, and Absolute magnitude is the Apparent magnitude that a star would have if it were viewed from 32.6 light years away from the Earth. Stars have different apparent brightness’s for different reasons. For example, one star could look very bright because it is intrinsically very luminous, and another star could be intrinsically faint but if it is located near by it looks very bright. The process of measuring apparent magnitude is called Photometry. The bigger the magnitude is, the fainter the star is. Stars can be as bright as magnitude -8 and as faint as magnitude +16. While apparent magnitude depends on the distance of the star, there is also something called Intrinsic Luminosity, which measures the total energy output of he star in watts, it is a physical property of the star itself and does not depend on the distance. The magnitude system has evolved a lot since it was invented. At the beginning it worked a lot differently. There was a scale from one to 6, and first magnitude was the brightest star, second magnitude was the second brightest star, etcetera, until sixth + magnitude, which are the faintest stars. Now, if the magnitude is bigger the star is fainter just like before but now the stellar brightness corresponds directly with its magnitude in the sense that an increase of 5 magnitudes is equal to a decrease in brightness by a factor of 100. To measure luminosity, you need to know the distance away from Earth and the apparent brightness. The formula is L=4(3.14159)d2B __Recognizing constellations__ It would take a very long time to be able to recognize every constellation, but the first step is to be able to recognize major constellations.

One of the most famous constellations is Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper. If you look in the sky and see a constellation that looks like a spoon consisting of 3 stars for the handle and 4 stars for the spoon then you’ve found Ursa Major.

Once you’ve found Ursa Major, look at the two stars farthest away from the handle, and draw and imaginary line upwards from there until you get to a bright star. Once you’ve done that you’ve found Polaris, or the North Star.

Polaris marks the last star on the handle part of Ursa Minor.

Look to the opposite side of Polaris to Ursa Major, and you’ll see a constellation shaped like a house. That is called Cephius the King, to the west of that you’ll see a constellation shaped like a W. This is called Cassiopeia the Queen.

By finding that one major constellation, you are able to recognize those 4 other major constellations. So if you wanted to find a particular constellation, you could just learn where it is in the sky relative to a constellation that you know how to find and you can find what you’re looking for.

Learning about all of the constellations is complicated, but once you learn that everything is linked together somehow it makes it easier.