F4 Batillano, Anastasha Yzabel M.

9E-St. Isidore

CONSTELLATIONS
1. How are the stars grouped together?
- Each constellation is a collection of stars that are distributed in space in three dimensions –
the stars are all different distances from Earth. The stars in a constellation appear to be in
the same plane because we are viewing them from very, very, far away. Stars vary greatly
in size, distance from Earth, and temperature. Dimmer stars may be smaller, farther away,
or cooler than brighter stars. By the same token, the brightest stars are not necessarily the
closest. Of the stars in Cygnus, the swan, the faintest star is the closest and the brightest
star is the farthest!
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/constellations/
- The star patterns that we see also doesn’t mean that these are stars that are all in one
place. The stars are actually at a lot of distances from each other from a three-dimensional
standpoint, it just looks to us like they are all lined up.
http://www.planetsforkids.org/what-is-a-constellation.html

2. Are there patterns formed? What do these patterns depict?

- In the past, our ancestors thought that the patterns in the stars were designs that reflected
some of their heroes, gods and goddesses and even stories that they passed from one
generation to another. They identified the star patterns with their own life cycles and it
was reassuring that their guardians were watching over them. Today, we call those star
clusters and patterns, constellations.
http://www.planetsforkids.org/what-is-a-constellation.html

3. What is a constellation?
- A constellation is a group of stars that make an imaginary shape in the night sky. They are
usually named after mythological characters, people, animals and objects. In different parts
of the world, people have made up different shapes out of the same groups of bright stars.
It is like a game of connecting the dots. In the past creating imaginary images out of stars
became useful for navigating at night and for keeping track of the seasons. Because all the
stars are at different distances, the constellations would look totally different to inhabitants
of another planet orbiting another star.
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/259-What-are-constellations-
- A constellation is essentially a specific area of the celestial sphere, though the term is more
often associated with a chance grouping of stars in the night sky. Technically, star
groupings are known as asterisms, and the practice of locating and assigning names to
them is known as asterism. This practice goes back thousands of years, possibly even to
the Upper Paleolithic. In fact, archaeological studies have identified markings in the famous
cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France (ca. 17,300 years old) that could be
depictions of the Pleiades cluster and Orion’s Belt.
https://www.universetoday.com/19516/constellations/
4. How many constellations are there? What are the major constellations?
- Many of our present day constellations can be found in a book called the Almagest, written
circa 150 A.D. by Ptolemy, an Alexandrian astronomer. Ptolemy made his own celestial
observations from about 120-150 A.D. but also used historical data. He stated that the
oldest astronomical record he had access to was from Babylonia in the 8th century B.C.
 While some of the star data in the Almagest was his own Ptolemy certainly got part, and
perhaps most, from Hipparchus, a 2nd century B.C. Greek astronomer. The 48
constellations listed in Ptolemy's Almagest are:

21 Northern Constellations

Andromeda, Aquila, Auriga, Boötes, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Corona Borealis, Cygnus, Delphinus, Draco,
Equuleus, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Pegasus, Perseus, Sagitta, Serpens, Triangulum, Ursa Major,
Ursa Minor

12 Zodiacal Constellations

Aries, Aquarius, Cancer, Capricornus, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Taurus, Virgo

15 Southern Constellations

Ara, Argo Navis, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Centaurus, Cetus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater,
Eridanus, Hydra, Lepus, Lupus, Orion, Pisces Austrinus

All of the Ptolemaic constellations are still in use today. The only one you may not be familiar with is
Argo Navis (the Ship Argo). In our modern constellations the Ship has been broken up into smaller
parts, Carina (the Keel), Puppis (the Stern), and Vela (the Sail).

https://www.modernconstellations.com/constellationhistory.html

- At its first meeting in 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), astronomy's
governing body which is responsible, among other things, for assigning names to celestial
objects and features on those objects, officially adopted the list of 88 constellations that we
use today.

http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/asp/constellation.faq.html

5. What are constellations for?

-The first use for Constellations was probably religious. People thought that the Gods lived in
the heavens and that they created them. Many cultures believed that the positions of the stars
were their God's way of telling stories. So it seemed natural to recognize patterns in the sky,
give them names, and tell stories about them. We inherited the names for our constellations
from the Greeks. And they named the constellations after their mythological heroes and
legends. So behind every constellation there is a story. For example, to the ancient Greeks,
Orion was a great hunter. He was the son of Neptune (god of the sea). But the same stars
were considered to depict Osiris by the Egyptians. Each different culture developed their own
interpretation.

A more practical use for constellations was agriculture. Before there were proper calendars
people had no way of determining when to sow, or harvest except by the stars. Constellations
made the patterns of the stars easy to remember. The ancient peoples knew for example that
when the constellation Orion started to be fully visible winter was coming soon. Or they could
look at the Summer Triangle to know when Summer or Spring were coming as well. The stars
allowed farmers to plan ahead and form agriculture, and constellations made it easier to
recognize and interpret the patterns in the sky.

The constellations also helped with navigation. It is fairly easy to spot Polaris (The North Star)
once you've found Ursa Minor (Little Dipper constellation). One can figure out his/her latitude
(North/South) just by looking at how high Polaris appears in the night sky. This allowed for
ships to travel across the globe. It allowed for the discovery of America, the spread of
European culture, and civilization as we know it today.

The constellations have a practical purpose today too. They determine how stars are named.
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/117-the-universe/stars-and-star-
clusters/constellations/375-what-are-constellations-used-for-intermediate
 My constellation story

There’s a man, but he’s just a brain, just veins and no flesh. Since
he was a child, the only ones he can be with are just animals. Though
one night, he thought of looking up to the skies and that’s where he saw
a constellation that’s shaped like a heart. He found that constellation to
be beautiful to the point where he decided to follow it. There were times
where he fell down while following the constellation, but every time he
fell down, he stood up again. He just followed and followed the
constellation until he realized that it was almost morning so he’s starting
to lose sight of the constellation. He ran and ran hoping to not lose sight
of it, but them he bumped into someone.

They started talking to each other. Asking questions like “who are
you?”, “Where are you from?”, until they got to know each other. Then
after that, they realized that, they were following the same constellation
all along. They held hands and they both started running to follow the
constellation. Not too long, the constellation suddenly fell down the sky
and right in front of them. Both of them was shocked that the
constellation fell in front of them, but they don’t realize on what will
happen next. The constellation suddenly flew right between them, both
still holding hands, and they realized that something was changing.

They started growing flesh! They started to become more human,

they’re starting become something more, something big. They realized
that the constellation that brought them together was the same one that
changed them both. After all of those that happened, they decided to
name the constellation, “Amor de Dios” or God’s love. The constellation
represents the love that God gives to us in our everyday lives. No matter
how many hardships we encounter, we can still overcome them as every
one of them has something special in exchange.