Reading the Night Sky

Students learn why the sky appears to turn, how to use Polaris and pointer patterns to navigate the sky, and why most constellations are chance line-ups of stars at very different distances.

Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops9 stops

The full guide, with the 40-minute plan, discussion key points, exit ticket, activities, transcript and PDF, comes with a teacher license. Already licensed? Use Open the full guide.

What students will see and do

Students fly from Earth to Polaris, Vega, Deneb, Arcturus, Orion, Sirius, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran while Aetherion narrates how to star-hop from one pattern to the next. The class pauses at Polaris, Orion and Betelgeuse to discuss latitude, seasonal constellations and star color.

Learning objectives

• Explain that the apparent nightly motion of stars is caused by Earth's rotation and the seasonal change in constellations is caused by Earth's orbit around the Sun.
• Use the Big Dipper's pointer stars and handle, and Orion's belt, to locate Polaris, Arcturus, Sirius and Aldebaran on a star chart.
• Describe how the altitude of Polaris above the horizon relates to an observer's latitude.
• Distinguish between a constellation, an asterism and a true star cluster, using Deneb, Vega, Aldebaran and the Hyades as evidence.

NGSS connections

Stops on this journey

1. Why the Sky Turns
2. The North Star (discussion stop)
3. Vega and the Summer Triangle
4. Deneb, the Far Away Giant
5. Arc to Arcturus
6. Orion the Hunter (discussion stop)
7. Sirius, the Brightest Star
8. Betelgeuse, the Red Shoulder (discussion stop)
9. Aldebaran, the Bull's Eye

Vocabulary

• constellation
• asterism
• celestial sphere
• celestial pole
• latitude
• light-year
• precession
• red supergiant