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How to Make a Book of Constellations

Since stars are long-lived they appear in our sky year after year, serving as a very reliable navigational tool. However, since memorizing the position of each star is not practical, ancient peoples used to group stars and other celestial bodies together to form easily-recognizable shapes called constellations. Constellations were named after objects, such as the Big Dipper, as well as real people and characters from stories, like Orion and Cassiopeia. Since many different cultural groups practiced constellation-naming, there is no single way of mapping the stars; everyone is free to make-up constellations and name them as they wish.

Things You'll Need

Paper
Cardboard
Tape
Compass
Colored pencils
Markers
Binder
Hole punch

Instructions

- 1
  Lie down on the ground in an open area at night. Wait 10 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
- 2
  Tape a sheet of paper to a sheet of cardboard. Use one piece of tape for each corner.
- 3
  Place your compass on the ground away from any electrical equipment. Wait for the needle to point north.
- 4
  Hold the paper up against the sky at a comfortable arm's length. Label each side of the paper north, south, east and west, according to the compass.
- 5
  Observe the sky and look for bright stars, dark clouds and other distinctive celestial bodies. Imagine a series of lines connecting each individual celestial object to form a constellation.
- 6
  Lie down with the cardboard overhead and sketch the components of the constellation. Do not color the paper black, use a crisp dot for each star. Vary the thickness of each dot to indicate the relative brightness of the star. Use a colored pencil to color in clouds.
- 7
  Repeat until there are four or five constellations in each corner of the paper.
- 8
  Use a hole punch to punch holes in the side of the paper.
- 9
  Label the sheet with your name, the geographic location, date and time. You can also include other details such as the weather or unusual phenomenon such as meteors or comets.
- 10
  Open the rings of the binder, insert the sheet and close the book.
- 11
  Use a permanent marker to label the binder "Book of Constellations."
- 12
  Make additional star maps from the same location weekly for one year. Add each page to the binder in order.
- 13
  Collaborate with friends to get more constellation maps from different locations.
- 14
  Print out official constellation maps from a space-related organization such as NASA. Include the maps in the back of your book as a tool for comparison.

Astronomy