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Astronomy Year / Week 06 / Wednesday
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Week 06 · Star Pictures

Wednesday

Cassiopeia, the W
// Constellations, the Little Dipper and Cassiopeia
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Cassiopeia, the W

Raven looks past Polaris. "What do you notice? Five stars make a zigzag!"

"It looks like a W," Rocket says. "Or an M upside down!"

Nova draws a line across the sky. "Hint: it sits across from the Big Dipper."

Find the W

Cassiopeia is a star group shaped like a W or an M.

It has five bright stars.

It sits on the other side of Polaris from the Big Dipper.

HOP TO CASSIOPEIA
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last
CASSIOPEIA CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What shape is Cassiopeia?
Where is Cassiopeia from the Big Dipper?
How many bright stars make the W?
Draw Polaris in the middle. Put the Big Dipper on one side. Put the W across.
Star hopping
Using one star to find the next is called star hopping.
Sky watchers do it all the time.
STAR HOP PRACTICE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What is star hopping?
What do you hop to right after the pointer stars?
Cassiopeia could also look like which letter?
Cassiopeia factTrue or false?
Cassiopeia has five bright stars.?
Cassiopeia is inside the Big Dipper's cup.?
Polaris is between the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia.?
Cassiopeia is shaped like a circle.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEKnowing the shape and place helps you spot it fast.
Try it
Make a W with five small stickers on dark paper.
Put one more sticker in the middle of the page for Polaris.
Make a dipper on the other side.
Safety first
Stickers stay out of mouths.
Keep stickers away from babies.

You can hop from star to star! Tomorrow we see a sky seesaw.

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