How to do a constellation project with a 4th grader?

Depends on the assignment.

History of Mythology of different cultures for the same formation.

Any Messier or NGC items in it?

Time of the year when it is visible.



Edit:

I suggest that you get the word for word assignment from the teacher. There is nothing more heartbreaking than working your hiney off and get an F because you did not follow the directions.

Astronomy Picture of the Day:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropi鈥?/a>

They have a search feature that you can see if there are any hubble shots you can use.



Some very useful star charts that are free are:

http://www.stellarium.org/

http://www.skymaps.com/

http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/index.phpHow to do a constellation project with a 4th grader?Yep, a few more details would help. Are there specific questions?



EDIT: Thumbs-down? What for?



OK, this bit's just for starters:



The Big Dipper is the saucepan shape visible in northern skies. It isn't actually a constellation. It's part of the constellation called Ursa Major, or the Large Bear. The Big Dipper makes up the bear's tail and much of the body.



The Little Dipper is a smaller and fainter shape which includes Polaris, the so-called North Star. It makes up Ursa Minor, or the Smaller Bear.



Cancer is quite faint, but can be found in a dark sky because it's to the north-east of Orion, which is easy to spot. It was seen as a crab, and is a Zodiac constellation. Not that star signs and astrology have anything to do with astronomy.



"The shape of a boot"? Well, you've got me on that one. There's a constellation called Bootes, which looks party like an elongated kite. In the mythology, it's a herdsman.



That isn't meant to be everything you should write. Just so you know what you're dealing with.



Now, I'm guessing that an 10-year-old writing a hundred words doesn't have to go into too much detail. And you and she will know better than me what will look and sound good. Here are a few suggestions to consider:



- What the constellation represented in Greek mythology;

- Where it is in the sky, for example the Little Dipper is very far north, so is mostly seen by people in the northern hemisphere;

- How bright it is (Cancer is quite faint, overall);

- What objects are contained in the constellation, e.g. star clusters, nebulas, distant galaxies (examples: Cancer has a famous cluster called Praesepe or The Beehive, the Little Dipper has the North Star, the Big Dipper has two well-known galaxies called M81 and M82 which have collided in the past).



All this and other info you can find with a Google search on each constellation, and just taking a few facts from the first couple of hits on each one.



For pictures, there will also be examples on the websites. It may be interesting to do this:



Go to this sky chart by clicking where it says "launch our interactive sky chart", then sign up, and set the chart for your city, and the observing time for 10.00pm.



http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing鈥?/a>



- Try to find the constellations by changing the date on the chart one month at a time.

- When one of your constellations is as close as it can get to the middle of the chart, that means it's as high in the sky as it goes. Print that window.

- Make note of the month and time of night and include that on the project to show when that constellation is at its best viewing position.

- When you print it, by the way, make sure you do t in black-on-white, or you'll use a hell of a lot of black ink!



Anyway, that last suggestion might be over the top, but if you practice using the sky chart over a couple of days, you may find it easier.