Orion star chart how to#

The distinctive pattern of Orion has been used historically and in the modern World extensively. Its most famous inhabitant, the Orion Nebula, is one of the most spectacular deep sky objects in the sky. Named after a great hunter in Greek mythology, it contains two first magnitude stars, many other bright stars, a famous belt, spectacular nebulae, some impressive multiple stars and fine open clusters. Straddling the celestial equator it can be seen from all locations on Earth. Using yarn and a child-safe needle, weave the yarn through the cards to connect the stars to show the constellation.Orion is a prominent constellation that's one of the brightest and most familiar sights in the night sky. Print the large individual constellation cards onto cardstock.

Orion star chart how to#

See how to make a planetarium from simple supplies! 6. Have people guess what constellation you are projecting. The constellation should appear on the wall. Hold them up to a flashlight and shine the light through the holes. Using a hole punch, punch out the stars on the constellation cards. Head outside on a clear night and try to find as many of the constellations as you can. Then, dip a paintbrush into paint and splatter to create the smaller stars that surround the large stars of the constellation. On a piece of black construction paper, dip the sponge into the paint and stamp the constellation onto the paper. Constellation ArtĬut sponges into star shapes. On large index cards or paper, draw a constellation card and use star stickers to recreate the constellation. Take turns flipping two over to try to get a match. I pasted ours on cardstock to make them a bit more durable. Print off two sets of the constellation cards. Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges?Ĭlick below to get your quick and easy space theme STEM challenges!ĬONSTELLATION ACTIVITIES 1. Zeus sent an eagle to retrieve the lyre and placed both Orpheus and his lyre into the sky. Orpheus was eventually killed by Bacchantes who threw his lyre into the river. In the famous story about the Argonauts crossing the ocean filled with Sirens who sang songs (which enticed the sailors to come to them, thus crashing their ships) it was Orpheus who played his lyre and drowned out even the Sirens with his beautiful music, making the sailors safely get to shore. He was known to be able to charm everyone with his music. When he was young, Apollo gave Orpheus a golden lyre and taught him to play. This constellation represents a lyre, a popular musical instrument and goes with the myth of the Greek musician and poet Orpheus. Leo is a Zodiac constellation and one of the largest and oldest in the sky. Orion’s belt is a string of very bright stars that is very easy to find and well known. His constellation can be found facing a bull or chasing the Pleiades sisters in the sky. In mythology, Orion was known as one of the most handsome men. The Big Dipper is used often to find the North Star, making it useful for directions. Once you can find it, you can find the Little Dipper which is also part of a larger constellation, Ursa Minor (the Little Bear). It is actually part of a larger constellation, Ursa Major (the Great Bear). This is one of the most well known and easiest things in the sky to spot. If you go outside and look up into the night sky, you might be able to see these constellations below.

Read on to find out what the 7 major constellations that you will see in the night sky are, and even a few fun constellation facts for kids. These patterns are named after what they form or sometimes they are given the name of a mythological figure. Learn a bit about the constellations in the night sky! Our constellation printable cards are a great way to incorporate hands-on learning and simple astronomy for kids.īut first, what is a constellation? Constellations simply are a group of stars that form a recognizable pattern.