Learn about the stars, constellations, and planets in your night sky.  We will focus on what is visible in the season the program is given, and then give a preview of the coming seasons. This program is given with a planetarium program projected from a computer, and so is not dependent on the weather. We can couple this with an outdoor observing session as well.

Understanding seasonal change in the sky is a key to learning the constellations. The ancients used the sky and their stories to track the seasons. We use many examples from ancient star lore to illustrate the concepts.

Following are Massachusetts Science Curriculum topics that are addressed in this program:

preK-2
Earth and Space Science
Periodic Phenomena
5. Identify some events around us that have repeating patterns, including the seasons of the year, day and night.

3-5
Earth and Space Science
Earth in the Solar System
13 Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. The earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.

14 Earth orbits the sun in a year’s time and rotates on its axis in approximately 24 hours. The rotation of the earth, day/night, and apparent movements of the sun, moon, and stars are connected.

15 Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month.

HS
Earth and Space Science
Energy in the Earth System
1.5 The revolution of Earth around the Sun and the inclination of Earth on its axis cause Earth’s seasonal variations.

Illustrations courtesy of the program Stellarium

Contact me with this form or call 413-267-4757
Additional details are at the bottom of the main programs page

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