Astronomy Notes – Unit 3b – Constellations and the
Night Sky
q (1) 88 constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union in 1928.
q (2) Messier objects cataloged in the 18th century by Charles Messier
o designated with a capital M (as in M42)
q (3) New General Catalogue published in 1888 by J. L. E. Dreyer
o designated with a NGC (as in NGC 2024)
q (4) Ursa Major (p. 62)
o also called the ___________ ________ .
o Contains the asterism “The Big Dipper”.
o Pointers: Merak and Dubhe point to Polaris
o Eye test: optical double stars Mizar and Alcor
q (5) Orion (p. 68)
o Betelgeuse
o Rigel
q (6) Pleiades (p. 69)
o also called the ___________ ______________ .
q (7) Cassiopeia (p. 66)
q (8) Ursa Minor (p. 62)
o Polaris
q (9) The Big Dipper and the Pole Star (also called the North Star or Polaris).
o Pointer stars: Merak and Dubhe.
q (10) The Pole Star
o also called the ___________ ________ or ________________.
q (11) The Celestial Sphere.
q (12) The Zodiac
q (13) Using a planisphere.