THE UNIVERSE

CONSTELLATIONS

INTRODUCTION

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CONSTELLATIONS ?? When a group of stars form a pattern in the sky ,

it is called a constellation . Ancient people named these constellations after animals or mythological characters . There are 88 constellation , some of the famous and easily identifiable ones include Ursa major , Ursa Minor , Orion , Scorpius , The Pleiades and Cassiopeia.

Ursa Major The Ursa Major is the third largest

constellation and is also known as the Great Bear , The Bigger Dipper , or the plough . It is visible in the northern hemisphere almost throughout year . It has great mythological significance throughout the world . The constellation consists of seven stars and is well known as the saptarshi mandal in India

Ursa MinorAlso known as the Little Dipper ,

this constellation also consist of seven star and the star at the end of the dipper handle is the Polaris , commonly known as the pole star . It is not easy to spot this constellation since it is not so bright .

Orion This constellation is one of the most prominent and

can be easily identified . When the stars constituting the constellation are joined together , they depict the shape of a hunter holding a shield in his right hand and the left arm is lifted . He wears a three star belt from which hangs a glittering sword . With the help of this constellation , it is easy to spot the brightest star in the night sky – Sirius . Sirius is aligned with the imaginary line formed with the three stars constituting the hunter’s belt.

ScorpiusThis is a fairly large constellation

situated in the southern hemisphere near the centre of the Milky Way . It can only be seen during the summer season . It consists of seven stars and is shaped like a scorpius

The Pleiades

This constellation is an open cluster of stars which becomes clearly visible in the winter sky .There is no particular arrangement of stars in this constellation . The Indian name is kruttika

CassiopeiaCassiopeia is visible from the

Northern Hemisphere during winters . It cosists of five star which form a shape that look like a ‘M’ or a ‘W’ . This constellation comprises of several star clusters , each cluster containing innumerable stars .

Done by Aslam kadapa 8th B