Asterism

As we gaze up to the sky at night, we see the stars shining brightly above us. Constellations may come and go, but the light that shines along with our beloved moon, they will never fail to twinkle. The constellations known to man today may mostly be the Big Dipper, Ursa Major and Minor, Canis Majoris and the Little Dipper. Yet, there are constellations with a beautiful and sometimes, a tragic story to tell. Everyone knows what happens to him or her but, what about the other Greek or Roman people that have been put up to the sky to be praised and honoured for their bravery or deed. What about Orpheus? His, lyre? The instrument that he had played tunes with so beautifully. Lyra is the constellation in the shape of an eagle, bearing a lyre on its claws, raised high, up into the beautiful night sky. This constellation bears one of brightest stars in the galaxy. That star is called as Vega. It's like the main star of that constellation. The myth of Orpheus isn't very popular or known by everyone in this world. Unlike the myths about the gods of Olympus like Zeus, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Hades, Poseidon, Ares, Apollo, and more, this one is a little more hidden and kept. The story of the lyre of Orpheus starts like this: Orpheus and Euridice are very much in love with one another. They love each other to the ends of the earth, to the moon and back, and love as big as the universe. Yet, on one fateful day, Euridice was threatened to be attacked and she, of course, ran for dear…

When participating in this observation of the sky many things were brought to my attention. The sky has many mysterious things including the stars’ movement. I made eight observations where I live Del Mar Heights. Most of the descriptions of observation were an hour to complete. These observations over the semester from September to December were done with drawings I’ve below, I’ve noted any constellations that were visible I also used an astronomy website to name and understand what I was…

This row spans over a distance of five moon diameters and ends at NGC 1502, which is a compact open cluster of stars. This asterism was discovered and named after a Franciscan Friar named Father Lucian J. Kemble. He described the sight as “a beautiful cascade of faint stars tumbling from the northwest down to the open cluster NGC 1502.” (nightskyinfo) NGC 1502, an open cluster containing about 45 stars and contains two double stars, Struve 484 and Struve 485. Struve 484 has faint components…

then are named after those perceptions. Some of these names come from Ancient Rome or even farther back in Ancient Egypt. A couple have more modern names as they are seen as forming new technology. The International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 constellations that cover the entire northern and southern sky. These 88 constellations are used by astronomers or navigators identify regions where stars or other important matter are. Constellations also help in tracking man made satellites.…

better understanding of what constellations and asterisms are. Next, the experimenter must note and investigate how humans developed, named, and used constellations historically. In addition, the experimenter must define and research circumpolar constellations by discovering when the various circumpolar constellations are visible in the night sky. Then, over the course of two different nights and times, the experimenter, using the Sky View app, observes the constellations visible in the sky at…

My favorite constellation is Pegasus. In the second century, it was listed as a constellation along with forty-seven others by the astronomy Ptolemy. I choose Pegasus because of the mythological legends behind such a magnificent organization of stars. Also, Pegasus particularly interests me because of the near perfect arrangement of four stars in a square: Markab, Scheat, Algenib, and Alpheratz/Sirrah (to use their Arabic names) are the four corners of the square asterism. In Greek mythology,…

Who knew, that our stars string together to form the most unique, odd, and compelling shapes and figures. You, probably have heard of the Big dipper, Little Dipper, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, and Orion. These are the most well known and popular constellations and asterisms. An asterism is a group of stars that is not a constellation, but is well known by many astronomers. The history of how constellations came to be is amazing. Things including people, the discovery, why they were used, and how…

The constellation I have chosen to study for this assignment is that of Lupus. Lupus is Latin for “wolf” and is located in the southern hemisphere and was one of the 48 original listed by Ptolemy, a second century astronomer, despite previously being an asterism associated with Centaurus. In mythology, it is thought that Lupus represents the African dog of the first King of Arcadia. It wasn’t until Ptolemy called the constellation “Lupus” that the constellation was associated with the wolf as…

Many skywatchers rate October as one of the year’s best observing months. The early sunsets mean that most of the summer’s stars linger in the west late into twilight. Waiting up only a few hours more brings many of winter’s best sights into view in the east, and it’s not too cold yet in the mid-northern latitudes. Even though the Autumn season is firmly in place, not all of the summer Milky Way has been lost. A short drive into the countryside away from city lights will reveal an impressive…

30 seconds. I chose these particular settings because there was a bright waxing gibbous moon. Much of the aurora was drowned out by the moonlight, but as the image shows, the windmill and rural landscape was illuminated by the moonlight. Another display occurred on the evening of September 1, 2016 which generated intense purple colors with blotches of green-yellow pillars and curtains. My first aurorae sighting and image was captured on October 29, 2003 in St. Jacob, Illinois. A large solar…