Expert: Tom Whiting - 1/8/2008

Question
Hi Tom,

I'm planning a project with 3rd graders so they can learn a few constellations.

You may have seen the project--cut a large hole in the end of an oatmeal container lid, cut a viewing hole in the other end, and then mount circular pieces of black construction paper in the lid end, with pinholes poked in it to show the various stars of a given constellation.  We want the kids to be able to make more than one constellation so they can have a little set of constellations to look at.

So I'm writing you for suggestions as to which would be good constellations to choose for the kids to make.  I was thinking of Orion, Big Dipper (I know this is part of Great Bear, right?), maybe Cassiopeia.  I know Orion is more easily seen in the winter, Big Dipper in the summer.  Any other suggestions to make this a well rounded selection?

Many thanks for any help.

Answer
Hi Susan,
Three of my favorite areas (And they are AREA's now since
1930 when the IAU - International Astronomical Union-
decided on firm, unchanging boundaries, just like states
of the United States).....and easy to sketch out, are
Scorpius, Cygnus (Northern Cross), and Sagittarius (nicknamed the Teapot). Long gone are the days of picturing
animals or men in the sky. That's nice..they are strictly
Areas now...after all, we don't picture a man or an animal
for Michigan, Colorado, or Pennsylvania.
Yes, the Big Dipper is only an asterism (grouping of stars) representing only 7 out of 57 naked eye stars of Ursa Major.  Of course, we really don't picture a bear, but rather a very large area of sky, like Texas.  But yes, Orion and Cassiopeia are full constellations...the "Belt of Orion" being the 3 middle stars of that area.  We really don't picture a belt though, it's kind of like saying the "panhandle of Texas" or the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan...it narrows down the area of the "search".
In fact, that is the whole (and ONLY) purpose of constellation identification....for a framework to identify
where things are at. You can't find the Armory in Columbus,
Ohio until you first know where Ohio (constellation equivalent) is, then the City of Columbus (bright star
equivalent), then offset 10 miles to the south to find
the armory.  We astronomers do exactly the same thing in the night sky.
And if you can learn and memorize 4 adjoining states...PA,
OHIO, IND, ILL, then you can also learn and memorize 4 adjoining constellations like Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.  It's exactly the same process.

So that's why you need the foundation of constellation
identification first, and there are only about 40 of them
in the Northern Hemisphere.  (There's 50 States!) So why not teach the 3rd graders the entire night sky- all 40 of them????  
If and when you cover the states of the United States, are you just going to outline and sketch out--- 4 or 5 "key states", like California, Texas, Florida, and Maine...and then say to the students, "Well, that's it...you're on your own now for the rest of the 50 states!!"  NO! Of course not!  You'll cover them all, perhaps with the capitals and major cities.

So, why not cover all 40, and the 15 bright 1st magnitude stars representing the "major cities"??....It's exactly
the same process!

OR, you can just sit back and remember Carlyle's plaint as it rings down through the years;  "Why did no one teach me the constellations when I was a child?"

Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA

FOLLOW UP:  
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the nice comments.  Yes,  there are actually a
total of 88 constellations, but over half of these are only
visible from the southern hemisphere skies.  (I'll assume
you are either a USA or Canadian resident)....so up north
we only have to learn 40 of them as we can never see
the others as they never rise above our southern horizon.

A nice program is the Google Earth nightsky program, if
you have Google Earth.  Another is a freeware called
"skyglobe" that I use for the night sky.  And if I can be
of any further help, please feel free to contact me directly
at bwhiting@velocity.net   if you need any more help, as
I am retired USAF with lots of free time.
Clear skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA
Oh, And  please visit our astronomy club website at
http://www.velocity.net/~bwhiting
for more good astronomical information.