Name______

What’s Your Sign? Constellations, Stars and the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

Constellations, especially signs of the Zodiac, have influenced human culture and folklore since the time of the Babylonians, although most of the constellations we know today are of Greek and Roman names. Most people have looked up their horoscope once or twice to see what the stars say their day is going to be like. So, what is your sign? What is the history of your sign? Can you find the constellation that is your sign in the night sky? What are the stars in your sign’s constellation? If you don’t know, by the end of this activity, you will.

Objectives

  1. Find out where to find your zodiac sign constellation or another constellation.
  2. Diagram your sign’s (or other) constellation
  3. Determine characteristics of the stars in your constellation
  4. Compare characteristics of stars by plotting their characteristics on an H-R diagram
  5. Research the future of our Sun and apply to H-R Diagram

You can pick your constellation that is your zodiac sign, or you can choose one from the list below:

Zodiac Constellations / Other constellations
Aires / Ursa Major
Taurus / Cassiopeia
Gemini / Perseus
Cancer / Cepheus
Leo / Cygnus
Virgo / Pegasus
Libra / Orion
Scorpio / Canis Major
Sagittarius / Bootes
Capricorn / Draco
Aquarius / Hercules
Pisces / Hydra

Part 1:

Diagram or describe where you can find your constellation in the sky. Record your answer on the results page. Include:

1. Time of year when it is visible

2. What direction you should look and at what time

3. How high above the horizon you should look.

Part 2

1. What does your constellation look like?

2. Draw a diagram or include an image in the space on the results pages.

Part 3

Look up what stars are in your constellation. Use this link:

a. Scroll down and click “show” stars by constellation.

b. Choose your constellation.

c. The list of stars will appear, most with strange looking names.

*****If your constellation has more than ten stars, just do the first ten listed*****

You only need to record the information from the columns with the same headings as the table below.

1. Record the Star Name

2. Absolute Magnitude

3. Spectral Classification

4. Distance

Follow these special instructions for Temperature and Type of Starthe following characteristics for all stars in the table below the appropriate heading.

Deciphering the Spectral classification:

Here is an example: The Sun is classified as a G2V.

a. G2 is the temperature class

1. To determine the star temperature go to this link:

Star temperatures by Spectral Class

2. On this site, find the Star luminosity, Roman numeral V, III, or I.

3. Then look at the spectral type O, B, A, F, G, K, or M and number.

4. If your star is a II, default to the chart for III stars.

b. V is the luminosity class

1. To determine star luminosity class, go to this link:

Star Classification System.

2. Scroll down to the Yerkes luminosity classes table.

3. The Type of Star will be the same as the luminosity classification.

4. Record that on the table.

Part 4-

1. For each star, pick one of the pre-cut stars that matches the star type for that star.

2. Write the following on it:

a. star name

b. temperature

c. absolute magnitude

3. Place the star in the appropriate location on the wall graph.

4. Once all the stars are up, we will photograph the wall, observe patterns, and answer the analysis and conclusion questions below.

Results Page

Part 1:

Diagram or describe where you can find your constellation in the sky. Include time of year when it is visible, what direction you should look and at what time, and how high above the horizon you should look.

Part 2

What does your constellation look like? Draw a diagram or include an image in the space below.

Star Name / Absolute Magnitude / Spectral Classification / Temperature / Color / Type of star (main sequence, giant, etc.) / Distance

Paste a picture of the completed graph below. Identify the following on the graph: 1) Main Sequence Stars, 2) Blue Giants, 3) Red Giants, 4) White dwarves, 5) Red Dwarves, 6) the Sun.

Do a bit of research: What will happen to our sun in the future? Draw an arrow from where you located the Sun, to all future stages of its life cycle. Try this link for a start: