Ideas on Projects in School on Taurus the Constellation

Drawing Taurus

• Ancient astronomers saw Taurus̵7; region of the sky as a bull with a red eye (the bright star Aldebaran), horns (the V-shaped stars collectively known as the Hyades), front legs and part of a body. However, modern students may find it very difficult to see this bull without drawing out the shape of an animal around the stars themselves.

  Find a star map that shows just the stars of Taurus, and have your students try to draw their own connections between the stars, making whatever shapes they see. Next, provide the students with a map of the same stars but this time with the connections between stars drawn. Ask the students to identify the shape, and work with them to find the bull. Have the students look back at the stars-only map to see whether they can find the bull in the stars without the help of the connecting lines. Allow the students to draw a more artistic bull in the area of Taurus.

Plotting the Moon in Taurus

• Of all solar system objects, the Moon orbits the most quickly, giving students a chance to observe its path through Taurus in a short amount of time.

  Use an online atlas program to find out when the moon comes close to Taurus during the month. Have your students observe the sky for several nights around the time the moon enters the constellation̵2;ask them to make their observations at about the same time from night to night. Have the students mark the location of the moon on a star map of Taurus each night.

  If you miss the observation window due to bad weather, wait until the next month when the moon will again enter the constellation of Taurus. Your students will find it easiest to make observations in the late fall and winter, when Taurus is visible in the sky during the evening hours. During the spring and summer, your best observations will take place late at night, before sunrise.

Making a Taurus Planetarium Display

• Using your star maps as a guide, poke small holes in heavy black construction paper in the location of each star. Once you have all of the stars in the constellation of Taurus, place the paper over a bright light source large enough to illuminate the entire constellation at one time. In a dark room, project the image of the constellation against a wall or ceiling. Have the students consult their star maps in order to identify the individual stars of the constellation.