Meteors And Comets; The Constellations - Uncle Milton Industries Star Theater 2 Instruction Manual

5. Reinsert light wand into Star Sphere. Rotate light wand clockwise until it clicks into place.
This is important for accurate date and time adjustments.
6. Place Star Sphere and light wand back into base.

Meteors and Comets

Use the Meteor Maker to simulate a fascinating phenomenon of the night sky, a meteor shower.
Insert the meteor image slide in the slot at the front of the Meteor Maker. (Store the other one in
the slot at the rear.) Point the Meteor Maker at the ceiling or a wall, push the button, and wave it
to make the image streak across the room. Store the Meteor Maker in its stand when not in use.
A comet is basically a big rock, made of ice and dust, that orbits the sun in a wide, elliptical path.
Most comets take many years to complete a full orbit. One of the most famous, comet Halley,
visits the inner solar system once every 76 years. Comets are smaller than planets. Some are
relatively small in size and some are many miles across.
A meteoroid is a tiny particle, usually about the size of a grain of sand, that was left behind by a
comet. When it comes close to Earth and enters the atmosphere, it burns up brightly and is
called a meteor. Usually, meteors come in large bunches. During a meteor shower thousands of
meteors can be seen streaking across the sky for several nights. A meteorite is a meteor that fell
to the ground without burning up. (See Annual Meteor Showers table on page 14.)

The Constellations

Constellations are imaginary pictures created by connecting stars together with imaginary lines.
These "star pictures" were usually named after ancient Mesopotamian and Greek gods, heroes,
and animals. Today's astronomers consider each constellation as an agreed-upon region of the
sky containing a group of stars. There are 88 o cial constellations.
Each constellation can contain dozens, if not hundreds, of visible stars. The following star maps
show the brighter stars — the ones you see when looking for star groupings in the night sky.
The "connect-the-dot" lines will help you as you learn these constellations. You will also see the
mythological drawings of some of the constellations.
The constellations are divided into five different groupings—the stars in the northern sky and
the stars of each season. It's important to remember that the seasonal groupings are a general
guide. For example, winter constellations are not just visible during the winter months of
December, January and February. (Experiment with your planetarium to discover why!) The
season refers to the time of year the constellation or group of constellations become easily
visible in the night sky after the sun sets.
The seasonal groupings also help us understand the cycle of the sky. Because of the Earth's annual
orbit around the sun, the stars in the night sky change over the course of a year. But due to the
fixed nature of the constellations, spring stars always follow the winter stars into the sky, summer
stars follow the spring stars, etc. Learning the brighter constellations from each season will open
the door to understanding the entire night sky.
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