Puzzlemaker
Clip Art Gallery
Lesson Plan Library
Kathy Schrock's
Guide for Educators
Brain Boosters
Learning Adventures
Science Fair Central
Curriculum Center
On TV
Young Scientist Challenge
Enter Username
Custom Classroom Resources will not be available after August 1st, 2008.

If you would like to access resources you have created for future use, you will need to save them to your local computer.
Science
Sky Watch
Navigation - Load image to continue

SpacerCalendar
Spacer Mythology In The Stars
Spacer    
CassiopeiaCassiopeia the Queen

On its circular journey around Polaris, Cassiopeia appears as an ’M’ high in December’s northern sky. Dark, clear nights reveal a multitude of objects in this region, and looking beyond the familiar ’M’, we see an arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Cassiopeia has rich open star clusters visible with binoculars or small telescopes. Next door to Cassiopeia, is her husband, Cepheus the king.

Cassiopeia - The December Sky Story
 
 

 Spacer
Spacer Observation Challenge
 
Spacer   M45 The Seven Sisters
 
Look for the Pleiades (M45) rising above Taurus the bull in the east. Some say they can spot seven stars with the naked eye. Can you? Try using binos or a telescope to resolve even more. Next, find the Hyades—also in Taurus—to compare these two clusters. To find the Hyades, look just west of Aldebaran (the bright red star marking the ’eye’ of the bull).

Notice how Orion’s belt stars act as pointer stars. Follow the line upward and they point to Taurus. Follow them down and they point to Sirius, the brightest in the nighttime sky.

 Spacer
 
SpacerDivider
Spacer   Sky Watch Home · How to See the Stars · Sky Events Schedule · Sky Stories · Links · Discussion Spacer