THE CONSTELLATIONS:

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THE CONSTELLATIONS

• Laurentian Universitys Lets Talk Science
  Partnership Program

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What is a constellation?
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What is a constellation?

• Constellation (astronomy) any of various groups
  of stars imagined to represent outline of a being
  or thing.

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What constellations do you know?
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What constellations do you know?

• The Big Dipper is inside Ursa Major - The
  Great Bear

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What constellations do you know?

• The Little Dipper is inside
• Ursa Minor The Little Bear

Kocab
Polaris
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What constellations do you know?

• Orion - The Hunter

Betelgeuse
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What constellations do you know?

• Cassiopeia The Ethiopian Queen

Navi Cassiopeia
Caph
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What constellations do you know?

• There are 88 constellations!

NOTE Constellations were inserted randomly
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How did the constellations get their names?

• Constellations can be named after characters in
  ancient stories such as Orion, who was a hunter
  and had a great big dog (Canis Major).
• Zodiac constellations Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
  Cancer, Leo, Virgo etc were the stars that
  first rose in the sky in the East during their
  corresponding month 2,000 years ago
• The Shape Some constellations get their names
  from shapes such as Corona Borealis (Northern
  Crown)

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Why should one know the names of the
constellations?
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Why should one know the names of the
constellations?

• Life skill for navigation and orienteering
• Careers Space Agencies, Outdoor Adventure
  Camps, teaching, writing, astrophotography,
  astronomy equipment (sales or innovations)
• Great Hobby join an astronomy club and meet
  lots of interesting people
• Interesting knowledge be a life long learner -
  it takes a long time to learn the skies and the
  knowledge you can share makes for interesting
  dinner conversations

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Before written history, how might constellations
have been taught?

• There are 6,000 stars visible in the night sky
  not subjected light pollution!
• That is a lot of knowledge to pass down, without
  computers, let alone having no paper and ink

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Before written history, how might constellations
have been taught?

• Elders or knowledge-keepers may have passed the
  information about the constellations down to next
  generation through storytelling.

Homer and a student Circa 800 BC
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Before written history, how might constellations
have been taught?

• Do you know the story of the fall of the ancient
• city of Troy? It was written about by
• Homer in around 800 BC in the
• epic poem The Iliad?
• The story takes place
• in Greece and Troy around
• 4000 BC.
• You might remember the story.
• It was in the movie with
• Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom
• TROY.

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The Iliad The Siege of Troy by the Greeks

• You might also remember The Iliad from the story
  about the Trojan Horse.
• Trojans, trust not the horse. Whatever it be, I
  fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts"

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Before written history, how might constellations
have been taught?

• There is growing evidence that Homer's
• The Iliad is a cataloguing of the stars in
• the night sky.
• This theory is eloquently described
• in a book published in 1999 called
• Homers Secret Iliad by Florence
• and Kenneth Wood.
• Their theory is built upon the
• work of Edna Leigh an
• Ancient studies professor and
• Amateur astronomer

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Theory that Homers The Iliad may be cataloguing
of the night sky

• One theory is that each soldier in the battle is
  depicted by a star of certain magnitude
  (brightness).
• The brighter the soldier's star is the more
  powerful he is in battle. The details are
  overwhelming.
• The authors proceed through The Iliad showing who
  killed whom. Repeatedly they show that the killer
  always was represented by a star of brighter
  magnitude.

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Evidence that Homers The Iliad may be
cataloguing of the night sky

• You might remember Achilles (Brad Pitt), the
  mightiest warrior EVER
• In the night sky, according to the theory,
  Achilles is represented by Sirius (constellation,
  Canis Major), the brightest star in the night
  sky.
• Eventually Achilles joins the battle and kills
  many Trojan warriors including one of their
  mightiest, Pariss brother Hektor, who is
  represented by a less bright star, Betelgeuse
  (constellation Orion).

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More evidence that Homers The Iliad may be
cataloguing of the night sky

• You might also remember that Achilles (Brad
  Pitt), at first he refused to fight in the battle
  of Troy because he was angry at King Agamemnon
  for stealing his woman.
• What Achilles absence and return from the Battle
  of Troy might represent
• The authors suggest that Achilles presence and
  return from battle represents the periodic
  absence and return of Sirius from the night sky
  represents precession which is the wobbling of
  the Earths axis

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More evidence that Homers The Iliad may be
cataloguing of the night sky

• Precession, the wobble of the Earth's spin on its
  axis in a 26,000 year cycle. Precession is like
  the wobbling of a spinning toy top. Because of
  precession, the Polar stars change in 26,000 year
  cycle and so do the stars we can see

PRECESSION
http//www.mhhe.com/physsci/astronomy/fix/student/
images/03f15.jpg
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More evidence that Homers The Iliad may be
cataloguing of the night sky

• Achilles absence and return from battle
  represents precession
• Over Greece, Sirius disappears from the night sky
  for about 3,000 years and then returns in the
  26,000 year cycle. When Homer wrote The Iliad,
  the Star Sirius had just returned to the night
  sky over Greece after a 3,000 year absence.

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Evidence that Homers The Iliad may be
cataloguing of the night sky

• Read the book Homers Secret Iliad, if you
  interested to learn more
• Determine for yourself if you think that The
  Iliad is a story that catalogues the night sky.

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Constellation Activity

• You will be given a constellation on a piece of
  paper.
• Draw a picture around the stars that you see.
  Think of a story that might go with picture.
• Colour the picture, cut it out and paste it on
  one of the constellation maps (the maps without
  lines)
• Please clean up your work area when you are done.
• Take a look at the posters and books in the room
  if you wish