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LOOKING AT THE STARS
WHAT IS A GALAXY ? A galaxy is made up of stars, planets, gases and dust.
There are many galaxies in the Universe.
Our Milky Way Galaxy has billions of stars.
The Milky Way looks like a white, cloudy
band of light stretching across the sky.
WHAT IS A CONSTELLATION ?
When you look up at the stars,
some of the bright stars form
a pattern or star-picture.
You might see the outline of a hunter,
a great bear, or a queen.
Long long ago people gave these
star-pictures names like Orion
(the hunter) or Cassiopeia (the queen).
The Big Dipper is a pattern of stars in
the constellation of Ursa Major or the
Great Bear. Nearby is the Little Dipper.
Ursa Major
The North Star is at the end of the
Little Dipper's handle.
The North Star helped
to guide people for hundreds of years.
The constellations change positions
with the seasons. Some constellations are
seen at different times of the year.
If you are interested in looking at stars
and constellations, you need a telescope
and sky charts ( maps of the sky ).
Astronomers use huge telescopes in places
called observatories for studying the stars.
You can also go to a planetarium to find out
about stars. A projector shows the moving
stars and planets on a domed ceiling.
SPACE INDEX
web page by J.Giannetta (Jan/99)
updated 2011
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