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    Pictures in The Stars: by Kelly Hashway

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    atiqah90
    1) A constellation is a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw when viewing the star group. There are currently 88 officially recognized constellations. 2) Long ago, constellations like Cassiopeia were shaped differently than they appear today due to the expansion of the universe causing the stars to move and change positions over time. 3) Different cultures in ancient times saw different shapes in the same constellations. For example, Greeks saw the Big Dipper as a bear while the British saw it as a plow.

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    Pictures in The Stars: by Kelly Hashway

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    atiqah90
    244 views5 pages
    1) A constellation is a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw when viewing the star group. There are currently 88 officially recognized constellations. 2) Long ago, constellations like Cassiopeia were shaped differently than they appear today due to the expansion of the universe causing the stars to move and change positions over time. 3) Different cultures in ancient times saw different shapes in the same constellations. For example, Greeks saw the Big Dipper as a bear while the British saw it as a plow.

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    4th Constellations

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    1) A constellation is a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw when viewing the star group. There are currently 88 officially recognized constellations. 2) Long ago, constellations like Cassiopeia were shaped differently than they appear today due to the expansion of the universe causing the stars to move and change positions over time. 3) Different cultures in ancient times saw different shapes in the same constellations. For example, Greeks saw the Big Dipper as a bear while the British saw it as a plow.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    244 views5 pages

    Pictures in The Stars: by Kelly Hashway

    Uploaded by

    atiqah90
    1) A constellation is a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw when viewing the star group. There are currently 88 officially recognized constellations. 2) Long ago, constellations like Cassiopeia were shaped differently than they appear today due to the expansion of the universe causing the stars to move and change positions over time. 3) Different cultures in ancient times saw different shapes in the same constellations. For example, Greeks saw the Big Dipper as a bear while the British saw it as a plow.

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    You are on page 1of 5

    Name: __________________________________

    Pictures in the Stars


    by Kelly Hashway

    Have you ever stared at the clouds and tried to see


    pictures in them? Well, this is very similar to how ancient
    astronomers named the constellations.

    Constellations are groups of stars, and today there are 88 officially recognized constellations.
    Each is named for a figure or object that astronomers saw when they viewed the star group. Most of
    the constellations are named after characters in mythology. Hercules, Draco, Orion, and The Great
    Bear are just a few. Others are named after the signs of the zodiac, like Sagittarius, Capricorn, and
    Scorpius. But the way they were named is very similar. Just like we look at clouds today and see
    figures and other objects, the astronomers looked at the stars and saw things.

    But if you’ve ever played this cloud gazing game with your friends, you’ve probably noticed
    that different people see different things in the clouds. You may see a bear, while your best friend
    sees a lion in the very same cloud. This was also the case with naming the constellations. And as a
    result, the same constellation can be known by different names across the globe.

    One of the best-known constellations is the Big Dipper. If you’ve ever seen it in the sky, then you
    know it looks like a scooper or a dipper. But the ancient Greeks called the Big Dipper “Ursa Major” or
    “Big Bear”. The ancient Irish and French called the Big Dipper the “Chariot,” and the British referred to
    it as the “Plough”. So you can see how star gazing and studying the constellations to find shapes in
    the patterns can cause a single constellation to have multiple names.

    Another thing that contributes to these differing names is the


    expansion of the universe. The stars are moving and changing
    positions in the sky, which can make them look less like what they
    were originally named and more like something completely
    different. The constellation Cassiopeia originally looked like a W,
    but today it appears to be a squiggly line. Astronomers believe
    that the Big Dipper will look like a number five in 50,000 years.

    Imagine what you will see the next time you look at the stars.

    Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com


    Name: __________________________________

    Pictures in the Stars


    by Kelly Hashway

    1. What is a constellation?

    a. a group of stars that are close to Earth


    b. a group of stars that is named after a zodiac symbol
    c. a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw
    d. a group of stars shaped like an unusual animal

    2. How many officially recognized constellations are there? _______________

    3. Long ago, the constellation Cassiopeia was shaped like a W. Today it is shaped like a squiggly
    line. Why does it look different today than it did many years ago?

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________

    4. Complete each sentence below.

    The ancient Greeks thought the Big Dipper looked like a _____________________________________.

    Long ago, people of Britain thought the Big Dipper looked like a _____________________________.

    Ancient Irish and French people thought the big dipper looked like a ________________________.

    5. In the box, draw a picture of what the


    Big Dipper Will probably look like in 50,000
    years.

    (note: The Big Dipper has seven stars.


    Be sure there are 7 stars in your picture.)

    Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com


    Name: ____________________________

    Pictures in the Stars


    Vocabulary Activity

    The words below are scrambled words from the article.


    Unscramble each word and write it on the line. Look
    back in the article to be sure each word is spelled correctly.

    1. c a n n
    t e i _________________________________

    Clue: from long ago

    2. n m i i
    a g e _________________________________

    Clue: to form an picture in the mind

    3. a c r h
    t o i _________________________________

    Clue: two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse

    4. n m t e s s
    r r o o a _________________________________

    Clue: people who study stars and outer space

    5. a o s x i
    n n e p _________________________________

    Clue: growth; getting bigger

    6. l l o o i a c
    e t t s n n s _________________________________

    Clue: the 88 group of stars that makes an officially recognized shape

    Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com


    ANSWER KEY

    Pictures in the Stars


    by Kelly Hashway

    1. What is a constellation? c

    a. a group of stars that are close to Earth


    b. a group of stars that is named after a zodiac symbol
    c. a group of stars that was named for a figure or object that ancient astronomers saw
    d. a group of stars shaped like an unusual animal

    2. How many officially recognized constellations are there? 88

    3. Long ago, the constellation Cassiopeia was shaped like a W. Today it is shaped like a squiggly
    line. Why does it look different today than it did many years ago?

    Because the universe has expanded since then.

    4. Complete each sentence below.

    The ancient Greeks thought the Big Dipper looked like a big bear.

    Long ago, people of Britain thought the Big Dipper looked like a plough or plow.

    Ancient Irish and French people thought the big dipper looked like a chariot.

    5. In the box, draw a picture of what the


    Big Dipper Will probably look like in 50,000 Picture should consist of stars shaped like the
    years. number five.

    (note: The Big Dipper has seven stars.


    Be sure there are 7 stars in your picture.)

    Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com


    Name: ____________________________

    Pictures in the Stars


    Vocabulary Activity

    The words below are scrambled words from the article.


    Unscramble each word and write it on the line. Look
    back in the article to be sure each word is spelled correctly.

    1. c a n n
    t e i ancient

    Clue: from long ago

    2. n m i i
    a g e imagine

    Clue: to form an picture in the mind

    3. a c r h
    t o i chariot

    Clue: two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse

    4. n m t e s s
    r r o o a astronomers

    Clue: people who study stars and outer space

    5. a o s x i
    n n e p expansion

    Clue: growth; getting bigger

    6. l l o o i a c
    e t t s n n s constellations

    Clue: the 88 group of stars that makes an officially recognized shape

    Super Teacher Worksheets - www.superteacherworksheets.com

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