Astronomy 104 Constellation Guides

Fall 2007

Due: Friday, Sept. 21

The purpose of this assignment is for you to become familiar with the interesting objects in one of the constellations we can see this semester and to learn about the resources which have this information. In particular, there is a detailed guide book called Burnham's Celestial Handbook. Burnham's Celestial Handbook contains just about anything you could want to know about the objects you can see. All astronomers, professional and amateur, are familiar with Burnham's Celestial Handbook. It's a classic.

In this assignment you will prepare a "tour guide" for a particular constellation. At the end of this narrative is a link to follow to find you assigned constellation. Write a 2 - 4 page  (excluding figures and images; maximum 1" margins, double line spacing, standard 12 point font) creative and interesting overview of what can be see in your constellation. Do not use a brochure form. Imagine that you are helping at Public Open House at McKim observatory and that you are in charge of showing your constellation. Or imagine that over fall break you take your family outside to show them the sky and explain what is significant about the things they see. Keep the tone of your paper conversational.

Your guide should address many aspects of what can be seen in the constellation. Your paper should talk about the stars and any nebula or other objects located in the constellation. You might also want to include the history or mythology associated with you constellation. You should include objects that can be seen with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. Prepare your guide based on what you find interesting. It might be that you are intrigued about the history and mythology associated with the constellation. You might find that there are some especially interesting stars in your constellation. Pick out things you find interesting. However, keep in mind that a really good tour of a constellation will have a balance between all parts. (A warning....don't go overboard on the mythology).

You should use at least four resources, and should reference them in your paper. All specific pieces of information must be reference within the text. Any images an figure you include must be referenced.One resource must be Burnham's Celestial Handbook. You must also use one of the constellation web sites from the links page (reviewed in bonus assignment 1). You must use at least two sources other than web sites. A list of possible resources follows. You may find others in the library. High scoring papers will demonstrate information from a variety of sources integrated into a coherent story of your constellation. Papers that read like a collection of fragments taken from various guidebooks pasted together will receive low scores.

Resources:

Available on the reference shelf in Prevo:

• Burnham's Celestial Handbook
• The Photographic Atlas of the Stars

Available on reserve in Prevo:

• Touring the Universe Through Binoculars
• Turn Left at Orion
• Constellations
• Exploring the Night Sky With Binoculars
• Star Names Their Lore and Meaning

This is a graded assignment, worth 30% of the "assignments" part of your final grade.

Click HERE to find your constellation! Failure to do your assigned constellation will result in a grade penalty!