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Transcript
Astronomy D INOSAUR S KY wandering around during the day and maybe checking out the stars at night. What constellations would the dinosaurs have seen back then? They would be different ones from those we see now! More than 65 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the land. Back then, the Earth looked a lot different. There were no parks, or schools, or buildings, or even people! The dinosaurs went about their business, maybe eating plants or eating other dinosaurs, maybe Here’s why. All the stars you see in the night sky are in our galaxy. If you observe from a really dark location, far away from city lights, you might be able to see a bright band of light that crosses the night sky; people call this the Milky Way. It’s actually the thickest part of our galaxy; when you look along it, you are seeing the combined light of hundreds of thousands of very distant stars. Noreen Grice, Travelers Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium However, the stars you see as individuals are usually stars much closer to us. You might see a few hundred stars from a bright neighborhood but several thousand stars from a dark area. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but even more amazing is that our galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars! So, why do we see different star patterns than the dinosaurs did? D ID YOU K NOW Some people like to compare dinosaurs with dragons. There is no dinosaur constellation, but there is a dragon in the northern sky! Its name is Draco the dragon, and it’s easy to find if you know its neighbors. Locate the Big Dipper in the night sky. Then use the front “pointer” stars to find the North Star. We know that the North Star is at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Now look at the stars that are between the Big and Little Dippers. You will notice a long pattern of stars that “snakes” around and ends with a small tilted rectangle. That rectangle is the head of Draco the dragon; his body curves between the Big & Little Dippers. By finding the Dippers first, you have an easy reference to help you find the dragon! Our Sun is one of the stars in our galaxy, and our galaxy is slowly turning like milk swirled into a hot beverage. This causes the stars in the galaxy to change position, and that motion of the stars changes our view of them. It’s like waiting in line at an amusement park; as the line moves, the people move. Sometimes the line is arranged like a zig-zagging ribbon where people turn a corner and then pass you as they walk in the line. We may see people from different directions, and that’s also how it works with stars: a familiar star pattern like The Big Dipper looks very different as our position in the galaxy changes over time. All the constellations we learn about and can find in the sky tonight would have looked different around the time the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. F UN T HINGS TO DO You can make a 3D model to get a better look at how a familiar star pattern can look very different when viewed from a different angle. All you need are a pencil, seven pom poms, glue, seven toothpicks, and a piece of Styrofoam a little smaller than the long side of the shoe box. Use the pencil to mark the seven stars of the Big Dipper onto the Styrofoam piece. Glue one pom pom to the end of each toothpick. Allow the glue an hour to dry, and then stick the other ends into the stars you just marked on the Styrofoam piece. When you look straight down, the pom poms look like the familiar stars of the Big Dipper. But look at the model from different angles. Notice how the shape of the Big Dipper changes as your perspective changes. Imagine that you are a resident of a planet that is light years away from our Sun. From your perspective, the Big Dipper looks completely different. What name would you now give to this star pattern? through this week’s VISIT THE FIND IT IN THE NEWS! Look Hartford Courant to find: CHILDREN’S MUSEUM • A story related to dinosaurs IN WEST HARTFORD! • The weather report so you will know when the night sky is clear • Visit the Wildlife Sanctuary to see a variety of animals close-up • Visit the new Dinosaurs in Your Backyard exhibit! at The Children’s Museum! Common Core State Standard RI (Reading Standards for informational text): grades 3-5 (1,2,3,5,7) and RF (Reading Standards for Foundational Skills): grades 2-5 (4) CT Science Standards: 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 5.3