April 2020 Star Map for North Carolina Skies

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April 2020 Star Map for North Carolina Skies

CAROLINA SKIES | APRIL 2020 NORTH To use your star chart, hold it over your head. To avoid ruining your night vision with a bright flashlight, use a red light. Or stretch a red balloon or brown paper bag over your flashlight for a muted glow. CEPHEUS ~75 minutes after sunset Vega CASSIOPEIA April 24-25, 2020 r) ta Align north on the chart with north in the night sky by S th or Larger dots mark N e finding Polaris, the North Star. Begin by locating the th DRACO (to brighter stars. Little Dipper Big Dipper. Draw a line between the Dipper’s Polaris Algol “pointer stars” to guide you to Polaris, going URSA PERSEUS MINOR ) about four and a half times the distance between r a t S h t r the two pointer stars. The Dipper’s handle o N e h t “arcs” toward the orange star Arcturus, where o t ( The Pleaides you can “speed on to Spica” and then HERCULES Capella Big Dipper “curve on to Corvus.” BOÖTES Moon AURIGA (4/24) Mizar TAURUS Moon The winter constellations Orion, Taurus, and Venus (4/25) CORONA URSA MAJOR s) Gemini are still visible in early spring in the BOREALIS ru tu Aldebaran rc A o west. Tracing a line through Orion’s belt t c WEST r Cor Caroli a ( Castor will lead you westward to Aldebaran (the Arcturus orange “eye” of Taurus) or eastward to GEMINI ORION EAST Pollux Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky). ) a c i p Betelgeuse S These winter stars and constellations are Algieba o t n o LEO CANIS MINOR followed across the sky by the spring d e e p s patterns Leo, Ursa Major (which includes ( Regulus Procyon Rigel ) s iu the Big Dipper) and Virgo. Find the Lion LIBRA r Leo i VIRGO S o t lt just south of the Big Dipper by locating the e b ’s n io backward question mark that outlines Leo’s r O Spica ( head and mane. HYDRA Sirius CORVUS CANIS MAJOR Bright Venus appears in the western evening sky. Where’s the Moon? The Moon’s apparent position changes as it goes through its phases from new to full and back again in about a “moonth.” During the Statewide Star Party on April 24 and 25, 2020, the waxing crescent MOON PHASES Moon will be visible in the early evening western sky. April 1 – first quarter April 7 – full moon The International Space Station orbits Earth every 90 minutes at April 14 – last quarter 17,000 mph. When can you see it? Check http://spotthestation.nasa.gov SOUTH April 22 – new moon April 30 – first quarter The Statewide Star Party is made possible by the generous grant support of North Carolina Space Grant. www.ncsciencefestival.org/starparty/ © 2020, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to duplicate for educational purposes only. .

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Constellation Creation
Constellation Creation Constellations are fun to identify in the night sky, have helped humans navigate and chart the seasons for thousands of years, are the stuff of great legends and myths, but what can these patterns really tell us about stars? Students create constellation models as a team to find out. Grades Next Generation Science Standards • 5-8 • ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars. The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth. Time • 5-ESS1-1. Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun • Prep 15 min compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth. • 30 min activity plus pre-activity • MS-ESS1-3– Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar class time system. discussion Materials Utah Science 7 copies of Orion and Big Dipper sheet in color, cut in half Standards 12 blue stars, 1 Betelgeuse, 1 Mizar prints in color • 6.1.3 Use computational thinking to analyze data and Cardboard or poster board determine the scale and Glue properties of objects in the solar system. Scissors or razor blade Popsicle sticks Extra copies of the Orion and Big Dipper sheet for your Earth observers Do Ahead • You want to have 7 stars for each constellation that students can hold. Cut out 6 blue stars and one Betelgeuse for Orion, glue onto board, glue Orion constellation on back, attach popsicle stick for holding. • Cut out 6 blue stars and 1 Mizar for the Big Dipper, glue onto board, glue Big Dipper on back, attach popsicle stick for holding.
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Constellations with Prominent Stars That Can Be Found Near the Meridian at 10 Pm on January 15
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Naming the Extrasolar Planets
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Creating a Constellation
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Educator's Guide: Orion
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In This Exercise, You Will Learn Some of the Stars That Make up Patterns in the Sky
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Winter Constellations Orion
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The Mongolian Big Dipper Sūtra
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Focus on Zeta Ursae Majoris - Mizar
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The Story of Astronomy
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