Constellations

By http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:B00P & me (SAE1962 10:04, 2 April 2008 (UTC)) - English Wikipedia, but modified it., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3815568

A constellation is a group of stars in the night sky that make a recognisable shape.

Some constellations are:

Ursa Major and Minor

Ursa Minor is of particular interest to navigators as it points to the Northern Star, Polaris. This allows navigators to gauge where they are and the direction they are moving, as moving in the direction of Polaris means that you are moving North. However, there is no equivalent for the Norther Star in the southern sky.

Orion

The Orion constellation represents the mythical hunter of the same name. It is often depicted in star maps as either facing Taurus, the bull, or pursuing the Pleiades sisters represented by the famous open cluster.

Constellations were used for navigation and helped sailors figure out where they were.

Reflection:

I could have improved on the radio design presentation at the beginning of the lesson by asking the presenters questions, being more prepared, having everything on hand and making a better use of the resources available. The presentation on constellations was ok. It was quite a direct topic and the points were presented clearly. It contained a good amount of content. However, it was a bit rushed and only lasted 20 minutes.

We used stellarium to view the constellations and see what the night sky would look like at any given time.