Book 1, Question 89
Why Do We Draw Constellations? Stars, Stories and Maps!
Constellations are pictures we imagine in the night sky. The page explains that stars in a constellation are not really connected, since they are huge distances apart, and we draw lines only to imagine shapes. Our brains love patterns and are wired to connect dots, and constellations worked as star maps and stories to help people remember the sky and find their way. Different cultures saw different things in the same stars, like a dragon, a hunter or a canoe. Invent your own shape from five dots and tell its story.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- Today, there are 88 officially recognized constellations.
- Astronomers use constellations as regions of the sky, to help find where objects are located.
- Astronomers still use constellations to name stars and meteor showers.
- The constellations you can see depend on where you are on Earth and the time of year.
- Different cultures around the world have had different names and numbers of constellations.
- A star pattern that is not an official constellation is called an asterism. The Big Dipper is one. Its stars are part of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
- Inside the constellation Sagittarius is a star pattern that looks like a teapot.
Sources: NASA Space Place, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
How many constellations are there?
There are 88 officially recognized constellations.
Is the Big Dipper a constellation?
Not exactly. It is an asterism, a star pattern that is part of the constellation Ursa Major.