CONSTELLATIONS

CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS

STARS
•Are large celestial bodies composed of
hot gases.
•They emit electromagnetic radiation as
light which is a product of nuclear
fusion within the star.

Which is the hottest?
The blue one or the
yellow one?
Red stars are the coolest.
Yellow stars are hotter than
red stars. White stars are
hotter than red and yellow.
Blue stars are the hottest
stars of all.

• Our sun is a typical star.
• Star is consist of photosphere which is an
atmosphere of hot gases.
• The corona or the outer atmosphere of the sun
consist of outflowing stream of particles called
solar wind.
• Sunspots are the cooler areas of the photosphere.
• Star contain mostly hydrogen and helium.

STARS CHARACTERISTICS
•MAGNITUDE – stars brightness, it
depends of the following
- Distance from Earth
- Larger star is brighter
- High temperature

•Stars of the first magnitude – are
the brightest star
•Stars of the sixth magnitude – are
the dimmest star

FIVE CLASSIFICATION OF STARS
• Color
• Temperature
• Size
• Composition
• Brightness

STARS COLOR
• Depends on its temperature
• Super giants are very large stars, and use their hydrogen
very fast and die young. They will eventually die and
explode into a supernova or nova and may become a
black hole.
• Super giants are very bright but cooler on the surface

STARS BRIGHTNESS
• Apparent brightness – is star’s brightness as
seen from Earth.
• Absolute brightness – is the brightness the star
would be if it were at a standard distance from
Earth.

FYI
• STARS ARE IN THE SKY BOTH DAY AND NIGHT.
• AS THE EARTH ROTATES, THE PART OF THE SKY
THAT YOU CAN SEE WILL CHANGE – UNLESS
YOU ARE EXACTLY ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH
POLES.

Constellations are patterns of stars visible
to the unaided eye, or regions of space
seen from Earth that are bounded by
borders designated by the International
Astronomical Union.

Ursa major is probably the
most famous constellation, with
the exception of Orion. Also
known as the great bear, it has
a companion called ursa
minor, or little bear.
Everyone living in the northern
hemisphere has probably
spotted the easily recognized
portion of this huge
constellation. The body and tail
of the bear make up what is
known as the big dipper.

Several different cultures saw
a big bear in the sky. The
ancient Greeks had a few
different stories to explain how
the animal ended up there. In
one story, Hera discovered Zeus
was having an affair with Callisto
and turned her into a bear. Zeus
put her in the sky along with her
son, Arcas, who became the
Little Bear.

The Big Dipper is the most visible part of
Ursa Major, and its name is often used
synonymously with the Great Bear.
However, the Big Dipper itself is not a
constellation. It is an asterism, a
distinctive pattern formed by two or
more stars.
Its host constellation, Ursa Major, is the
third largest constellation in the sky
(after Hydra and Virgo) and covers a
much larger area.

The stars of the Big Dipper
outline the Great Bear’s
hindquarters and tail. The stars
marking the celestial Bear’s
head, torso, legs, and feet are
not as bright or as easy to see
from light-polluted areas.

Asterisms are also naked-eye
star patterns, but they do not
form constellations on their
own.

A constellation is an official
group of stars. An asterism
is an obvious pattern or
group of stars with a
popular name

A constellation is an official
group of stars. An asterism
is an obvious pattern or
group of stars with a
popular name

The Big Dipper is an asterism formed by seven bright stars in
the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is one of the
most recognizable star patterns in the night sky.
The asterism is well-known in many cultures and goes by many
other names, including the Plough, the Great Wagon,
Saptarishi, and the Saucepan.
The seven stars that form the Big Dipper are: Alkaid (Eta Ursae
Majoris), Mizar (Zeta Ursae Majoris), Alioth (Epsilon Ursae
Majoris), Megrez (Delta Ursae Majoris), Phecda (Gamma Ursae
Majoris), Dubhe (Alpha Ursae Majoris), and Merak (Beta Ursae
Majoris).

DRACO
• Draco the dragon, is only present in the Northern
Hemisphere, so those living in the Southern Hemisphere will
never see this long constellation.
• The easiest way to spot Draco is by finding his head. It
consists of four stars in a trapezoid, burning brightly just north
of Hercules. From there, the tail slithers through the sky,
eventually ending between the Big and Little Dippers. It can
be difficult to trace Draco in the night sky. From the head,
follow the body north towards Cepheus. It suddenly shifts
south and west, ending up between the two dippers. The end
of the constellation is held by Thuban, which was the pole
star over 4,000 years ago.

ARRANGEMENT OF STARS IN A GROUP

CONSTELLATIONS
• Certain groupings of stars that form configuration of
objects or creatures in the sky is known as a
constellation. Constellations are useful in tracking
artificial satellites and assisting navigators and
astronomers in locating certain stars.

POLARIS
• Is located in the constellation of Ursa Minor. It also goes
by the name “Stella Polaris”.
• Polaris the North star
• The companion stars (Polaris Ab and Polaris B) are both
yellow-white dwarfs. Polaris is the brightest star in Ursa
Minor. Polaris is the only star in the night sky that
appears to remain stationary.

THERE ARE 88 CONSTELLATIONS
• But in earliest systematic account there are 43
constellations
• 21 – Northern constellations
• 12 – Zodiacal Constellations
• 15 – Southern constellations

NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS
• Andromeda
• Cassiopeia
• Draco
• Hercules
• Pegasus
• Sagittarius
• Serpens
• Ursa major and ursa minor

SOUTHERN CONSTELLATIONS
• Argo
• Canis Major
• Canis Minor
• Orion
• Hydra
• Lepus
• Australis
• Pisces

ZODIACAL CONSTELLATIONS
• Aries
• Aquarius
• Cancer
• Capricorn
• Gemini
• Leo
• Libra
• Pisces
• Sagittarius
• Scorpius
• Taurus
• virgo

MODERN CONSTELLATIONS
• The IAU (International Astronomical Union) was
formed in 1919, they made a list of 88 official
constellations and approved each boundary by
1928.
• Eugene Joseph Delporte improved this system and
is still use today.

CHANGING POSITION OF
CONSTELLATION DURING THE
NIGHT AND AT THE DIFFERENT
TIMES OF THE YEAR.

Why do stars move? Are they really moving?
• They appear to move from East to West.
Because Earth spins on its axis, Earth is tilted
23.5 degrees that is also the reason why we
have different seasons.

WHY DO WE SEE DIFFERENT
CONSTELLATIONS DURING
THE YEAR?

RELATIONSHIP OF CONSTELLATION WITH THE ORBIT
OF THE EARTH
• If you look at the sky you see different constellations it
changes around the year.
• As the Earth orbits around the Sun, constellations move
slowly to the west over the course of a year and we see
different parts of the sky at night because, as the seasons
change, we are looking in a different direction in space.

CLUSTERS OF STARS THAT
CAN BE SEEN ALL YEAR LONG
POLARIS

BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
ABOUT CONSTELLATIONS
AND ASTROLOGY

DO YOU BELIEVE IN HOROSCOPE?
• A horoscope – is a prediction of what is going
to happen to you, based on the position of the
stars and planets at the time of your birth.

ZODIAC SIGNS
• Or star sign – reflects the position of the sun when
you were born.

BELIEFS AND
PRACTICES
ABOUT
CONSTELLATIONS
AND ASTROLOGY

ASTROLOGY
- IS THE ART THAT TREATS OF
SUPPOSED INFLUENCE OF THE
POSITIONS OF STARS ON HUMAN
ACTIVITIES AND HUMAN EVENTS.

CONSTELLATIONS OF THE
ZODIAC
- CONSTELLATIONS THAT APPEAR
TO BE ALONG THE ELLIPTIC

SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
- THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE
ELIPTIC IS DIVIDED INTO 12 REGIONS
TO THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE
ZODIAC.

CALENDAR YEAR, WE SEE
DIFFERENT CONSTELLATIONS. THE
SIGN OF ZODIAC INDICATES THE
CONSTELLATIONS THAT IS BEHIND
THE SUN DURING A CERTAIN
DATE.

SEE THE CONSTELLATION ARIES; HENCE,
THE CONSTELLATION ARIES LIES BEHIND
THE SUN. IN ASTROLOGY, A CERTAIN
CONSTELLATION IS BELIEVED TO
INFLUENCE ANY PERSON BORN WITHIN
THE RANGE OF DATES COVERED BY THE
CORRESPONDING SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.

THE
ASTROLOGICAL
CALENDAR

SIGNS OF THE
ZODIAC
COMMON NAME DATES OF BIRTH
COVERED
ARIES THE RAM MARCH 21 TO
APRIL 19
TAURUS THE BULL APRIL 20 TO MAY 20
GEMINI THE TWINS MAY 21 TO JUNE 20
CANCER THE CRAB JUNE 21 TO JULY 22
LEO THE LION JULY 23 TO AUGUST 23
VIRGO THE VIRGIN AUGUST 23 TO
SEPTEMBER 22
LIBRA THE SCALES SEPTEMBER 23 TO
OCTOBER 22

SCORPIO THE
SCORPION
OCTOBER 23 TO
NOVEMBER 21
SAGITTARIUS THE BOWMAN NOVEMBER 22 TO
DECEMBER 21
CAPRICORN THE GOAT DECEMBER 22 TO
JANUARY 19
AQUARIUS THE WATER
CARRIER
JANUARY 20 TO
FEBRUARY 18
PISCES THE FISHES FEBRUARY 19 TO
MARCH 20

HOROSCOPE
- THE PREDICTIVE CHARTS OF LIFE, IN
PREDICTING FUTURE EVENTS IN THE
LIFE OF A PERSON AND IN
DESCRIBING THE PERSONALITY OF A
PERSON.

• It is also a prediction of what is
going to happen to you.
• Most people used this birth chart
as a guide in their daily lives.
• Everyone has a corresponding
zodiac signs according to the
period his/her birthday lies in.

ZODIAC SIGN OR STAR SIGN
• Reflects the position of the sun when you were born.
• If you let your belief on your star sign stand strong on your personalities, characters and emotions, it
can be a powerful tool for understanding yourself and relationship.

ASTROLOGY
• It is an ancient study that dates back to the 2nd
millennium BCE when it was mainly used to predict
seasonal shifts.
• Now it refers to the beliefs that the positions of sun,
moon and planets against starry background
influence’s people’s personalities and shape their
lives.

• It is the basis of ones horoscope.
• It also predicts and affects the destinies of individuals,
groups and nations

ANCIENT PHILIPPINES
• Star goddess “Tala” and “Tinggian” – Diwata of the
stars
• Were manifestation of God they worshipped.
Filipinos follow the signs provided by constellations
and motions in order to conduct vital activity such as:
• Period of harvesting
• Fishing
• Hunting

BALATIK AND MOROPORO
• Balatik is popularly known as the “Tres Marias”, Magbangal in
Bukidnon and Seretar in Teduray and in Palawan Ibaloi.
• It is composed of perfectly and evenly aligned spaced stars which
act as the “belt” of the constellation Orion.

• It is usually a sign to foretell the beginning of Kaingin period and the time for planting despite the facts
that it depicts a hunting trap.
• According to Fay-Cooper Cole in his study “Wild Tribes of Davao District Mindanao”.
• It was also used by the Bagobo tribe as a reminder of the yearly sacrifice.

MOROPORO
• Is also known by many names “Supot ni Hudas”, Mapolon in Tagalog , San Apon in Ibaloi and Kufukufu in
Teduray
• In other parts of the world, it is known as Pleiades (seven sisters)
• Moroporo are viewed differently, some see it as “Boiling lights” and a “Flocks of Birds”
• It is connected to sea navigation but , like Balatik it is also used as the signal of the beginning of the
planting season

PREDICTIONS OF ASTROLOGERS FAIL. IT
FOLLOWS THAT PREDICTIONS THAT COME
TRUE HAPPEN MERELY CHANCES. IN
HOROSCOPES, DESCRIPTIONS ABOUT THE
PERSONALITIES OF PERSONS ARE SO
GENERALIZED THAT DIFFERENCES IN THE
PERSONALITIES OF PERSONS HAVING THE
SAME SIGN OF ZODIAC ARE NOT
ACCOUNTED FOR.

ASTROLOGERS BELIEVED THAT
THE END OF THE WORLD WOULD
BE ON DECEMBER 21, 2012, THE
DAY SIX PLANETS ALIGNED, BUT
NO END OF THE WORLD TOOK
PLACE.