What is your zodiac sign?! Let’s learn five crazy constellations facts for kids.
A constellation is a group of visible stars that form a pattern in the sky. The pattern they form may take the shape of an animal, a mythological creature, a man, a woman, or an object such as a plough or a crown. Many constellations can be seen by the naked eye at night. Using a telescope and stargazing is a great way to see constellations in greater detail and to see the proper outline of the shape they form.
Orion is one of the most visible constellations from Earth. Because of where the constellation is located, it can be seen throughout the world. Orion is named after a hunter from Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Betelgeuse and Rigel. Inside the constellation of Orion is a set of three stars in a line. This is called Orion’s Belt. Carvings of the Orion constellation have been found in caves from thousands of years ago! How cool is that? The Hydra is the largest constellation in the night sky and it looks like a long snake.
There are 88 different constellations all around the Earth. Star maps give the positions and magnitudes of the stars. Star maps can be used to help you find constellations. Some stars are bright because they are close to Earth while others are bright because they are very large stars. What constellations you can see also depends on what part of the world you live in. Some of them can only be seen in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere, while others are more visible in the Southern Hemisphere.
The zodiac constellations are the constellations that are located in the same band where the Sun, the Moon, and the planets all move. There are 13 zodiac constellations. These are Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. Twelve of these are also used as signs for the zodiac calendar and astrology. These constellations are also known as star signs. The date and month of the year you were born depends on the type of star sign you have. For example, someone born between March 21–April 19 would be an Aries, while someone born between May 21–June 21 would be a Gemini.
Today we look at constellations in the sky and admire them. However hundreds of years ago, constellations were actually quite useful. The constellations had uses in ancient times. They were used to help keep track of the calendar. This was very important so that people knew when to plant their crops. Another important use for constellations was navigation. The Ursa Minor constellation makes it easy to spot the North Star, which helps people in the Northern Hemisphere navigate.
Hope you enjoyed these facts on constellations. Why not go outside when it is dark tonight and try and see what constellations you can spot in the night sky.
We hope you enjoyed learning more things about constellations as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic these constellations are, you can move on to learn about our Space like: Comets, Meteors and Stars.
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