Constellations

Key facts

Orion

Orion is one of the easiest constellations to recognise, thanks to three bright stars in a row forming the hunter’s belt. Because it sits on the celestial equator, everyone on Earth can see it.

Ursa Major & the Big Dipper

The Big Dipper is a pattern of seven bright stars inside the larger constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Two of its stars point straight to the North Star, which makes it one of the most useful star patterns.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is a bright “W” of five stars on the opposite side of Polaris from the Big Dipper. In Greek myth she was a vain queen who boasted about her beauty.

Scorpius

Scorpius really looks like a scorpion, with a curling tail and a bright red heart: the supergiant star Antares. It lies along the rich, star-packed band of the Milky Way.

Crux – the Southern Cross

Crux is the smallest constellation but one of the most famous. Its four bright stars form a cross that points towards the south celestial pole, guiding travellers in the Southern Hemisphere.

Cygnus

Cygnus is a swan flying along the Milky Way. Its brightest star, Deneb, together with Vega and Altair, forms the Summer Triangle. The Kepler space telescope stared at a patch of sky near Cygnus to discover thousands of planets around other stars.

Quiz

1. How many official constellations are there?

   • ☐ 12
   • ☐ 48
   • ☐ 88
   • ☐ 100

2. Which two stars of the Big Dipper point to the North Star?

   • ☐ Mizar and Alcor
   • ☐ Dubhe and Merak
   • ☐ Alioth and Alkaid
   • ☐ Rigel and Sirius

3. Are the stars in a constellation close to each other?

   • ☐ Yes, always
   • ☐ No – they just look close from Earth
   • ☐ Only in Orion
   • ☐ They are touching

Find it in the sky

Use the Sky Finder at seethestar.com. Tick what you find and write when you saw it.