CONSTELLATION

Observers in ancient times imagined group of stars that form pictures of animals, objects and people.
These imaginary group of stars are called CONSTELLATIONS.

Many of these constellations have names that can be traced back to early Babylonians and Greek
civilizations, but nearly all cultures have different names for constellations. For example, the Greek
called the large constellation Orion which means hunter and is prominent in the night sky all over the
world in winter. Early Filipinos visualized the same group of stars as Balatik, a trap used in hunting wild
pigs. Christian Filipinos named the three stars (at Orion’s belt) Tatlong Maria or Tres Marias.

The POLARIS Polaris, commonly known as the North Star, is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa
Minor (Little Dipper). It is very close to the North Celestial Pole, making it the current northern pole star.
Polaris stands almost motionless in the sky and all the stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate
around it.

In the Philippines, to locate Polaris, face North and locate the Big Dipper. Two stars (Merak and Dubhe)
in the Big Dipper are called pointer stars because they seem to point to Polaris.

We see different star patterns through the year While the rotation of the Earth on its axis caused the
apparent nightly movement of the stars across the sky , the revolution is responsible for the fact that we
can see different parts of the sky at different parts of the year. An observer from Earth will be able to
see the stars on the night side. The stars on the same side as the sun cannot be seen because sunlight
overpowers all the starlights.

During summer, in the Philippines, the constellations of Orion and Taurus are not visible at night. They
will be visible again as the cold season begin. During that time, Scorpiuswill not be seen in the night sky.
As the Earth revolves around its orbit, the stars that were concealed by the bright light of the Sun in
the previous months will appear in the night sky.

HOW EARLY PEOPLE USE CONSTELLATION?

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.

While constellations were associated with religion, they also have practical uses. Before the calendars,
people had no way of determining when to sow or harvest except by looking at these patterns in the
sky. Ancient people developed a way to remember the patterns by giving them names and stories

For example, in the northern hemisphere, the constellation Orion indicates the coming of cold season.
The constellations made it easier for them to recognize and interpret patterns in the sky. For example,
Gemini is seen in the Philippines during the months of April and May. Farmers interpreted the
appearance of Gemini as the end of the planting season and it signified rich harvest
Another use of constellations was in navigation. The Polaris is widely used in navigation because it does
not change its position at any time of the night or year. Also, one can figure out his/her latitude just by
looking at how high Polaris appears in the night sky. This allowed sailors to find their way as they sail
across the seas

The constellations are used today by astronomers to determine the location and name of the stars.
When astronomers go to conferences they like to share their research with others. And usually they will
want to tell someone which stars or objects they may be looking at. If they just give the coordinates
(numbers) the other person is not likely to have an immediate idea of where the star is located in the
sky. But if you say that the star's name is Alpha Tau then you will know that is the brightest star in the
Taurus constellation. The stars are named based on the constellation they are in (all stars are in some
constellation). The naming goes from brightest to dimmest star and is designated by the Greek alphabet.
For example Beta Ori is the second brightest star in Orion (also called Rigel).

The Zodiac The sun, the moon, and the planets travel on a set path through the sky known as the
eclipticas the Earth rotates. The list of 13 constellations they pass through are known as the stars of the
Zodiac. The Zodiac constellations' names are:

1. Capricorn 6. Cancer 11. Ophiuchus 2. Aquarius

7. Leo 12. Sagittarius 3. Aries 8. Virgo

4. Taurus 9. Libra 5. Gemini 10. Scorpio

In astronomy, the zodiacal constellations are a convenient way of marking the ecliptic (the Sun's path
across the sky) and the path of the moon and planets along the ecliptic. Modern astronomy still uses
tropical coordinates for predicting the positions the Sun, Moon, and planets, except longitude in the
ecliptic coordinate system is numbered from 0° to 360°, not 0° to 30° within each

Astrologers use 12 of these constellations as signs of the Zodiac, omitting Ophiuchus, to make
predictions. [Unlike astronomy, astrology is not a science. Signs differ from constellations, bearing only a
loose reference to one another. The sign of Pisces, for instance, corresponds to the rise of the
constellation of Aquarius. Ironically, if you are born under a particular sign, that constellation it is named
for is not visible at night. Instead, the sun is passing through it around that time of year, making it a
daytime constellation that can't be seen