The Constellation Game

Scorpius, the Scorpion Copyright Richard Dibon-Smith. Courtesy of The Constellations web page.

People have looked at the sky since the beginning of civilization. When they looked up, they saw thousands of stars, all over the sky. The stars are distributed randomly, at different positions in the sky and at different distances from Earth. But when people look at the stars, they see shapes. People organize the stars into patterns called constellations.

You are probably familiar with some of the most famous constellations: Orion the Hunter, Scorpius the Scorpion, or Crux the Southern Cross. But there are other constellations, too. And, if you look at the sky enough, maybe you can come up with your own!

Click Next to learn more about the constellations.