CONSTELLATIONS

WHAT ARE
CONSTELLATIONS?
A group of
stars
that form
a pattern
in the
sky.
COOL FACTS ABOUT
CONSTELLATIONS
• There are 88 constellations

• The constellations you see depend on

your location, date, and time.

• Most have legends, myths, or stories

behind them.
HOW DO YOU FIND
THEM?
Planisphere or Star Wheel
WHY DO THE STARS APPEAR TO
MOVE IN THE NIGHT SKY?
EARTH’S ROTATION!

Stars in the northern hemisphere appear to

rotate around Polaris (the north star)
• Polaris aligns with the axis of rotation for
the Earth: The North Pole
THE STARS SEEM TO SPIN
AROUND THE NORTH STAR
(POLARIS)
North Star
POLARIS: THE NORTH STAR
• As the Earth rotates
on its axis its
“celestial” north
pole remains directly
in line with Polaris.
• This forms the
circles seen in the
previous photograph
YOU SEE DIFFERENT
CONSTELLATIONS FROM EACH
HEMISPHERE.

Southern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
NOW, FOR A TOUR OF THE
SEVEN MAJOR
CONSTELLATIONS…

Cassiopeia Orion
Cygnus Ursa major
Scorpius Ursa minor
Draco
CASSIOPEIA – “ THE
QUEEN”
CASSIOPEIA – “THE
QUEEN”
• Brightest Star – Schedar
• Best season to view – all year
• The Myth:
Cassiopeia was the queen of Ethiopia. She was
so proud of her beauty and bragged about it. She
offended the sea god Poseidon. He sent a sea
monster to attack her kingdom and teach her
some humility.
According to the legend, the sea god Poseidon
placed the figure of Cassiopeia among the stars
to remind people of her vanity.
CYGNUS – “THE
SWAN”
CYGNUS – “THE SWAN”
• Brightest Star – Deneb
• Best season to view – all year

The Myth:

One day three hunters were hiking through the

forest when they came upon a clear lake. The lake
was home to many birds including a beautiful snow
goose. One hunter shot his bow and the snow goose
fell into the lake. As the sky darkened, the spirit of
the snow goose formed a constellation
in the sky.
SCORPIUS – “THE
SCORPION”
 SCORPIUS – “THE
SCORPION”
• Brightest Star – Antares
• Best season to view – summer

The Myth:
To the ancient Greeks, the constellation Scorpius
was the image of a scorpion. The constellation was
related to the death of the giant hunter Orion. There
are several different stories about Orion's death.
According to one story, Orion wanted to kill all the
earth's wild animals, but the Earth goddess Gaia got
angry because she made the animals.
The goddess sent a scorpion to attack Orion. The
scorpion stung Orion to death with its tail. As a
reward, Gaia changed the insect into a constellation.
ORION – “THE HUNTER”
 ORION – “THE HUNTER”
• Brightest Star – Rigel and Betelgeuse
• Best season to view – the winter

The Myth:
Orion was a very good hunter, but also boastful.
Gaia, the goddess of Earth, became fed up with
Orion’s boast so she sent a deadly scorpion to kill the
hunter. The scorpion ended Orion’s bragging. Both
Orion and Scorpius were placed in the sky but to
avoid any further battles, they are never in the sky
at the same time. Orion is seen in the winter and
Scorpius is seen in the summer.
URSA MAJOR – “BIG
BEAR”
URSA MAJOR – “BIG
BEAR”
• Brightest Star – Dubhe and Merak
• Best season to view – all year

The Myth:
Zeus, king of the gods, fell in love with Callisto.
Together they had a son, Arcas. Zeus changed
Callisto into a bear to protect her from his jealous
wife, Hera. When Arcas grew up, he almost shot
his mother by mistake. Zeus protected Callisto by
changing Arcas into another bear (Ursa Minor-
Little Dipper) and placing both bears in the sky.
 URSA MINOR – “LITTLE
BEAR”
• Ursa Minor, aka, Little Bear, contains the Little
Dipper and the North Star, Polaris
 URSA MINOR – “LITTLE
BEAR”
• Brightest Star – Polaris
• Best season to view – all year

• Remember Zeus loved Callisto and changed her into a

bear to protect her from his jealous wife. Arcas liked
to hunt and almost killed his mother, Callisto, Big
Bear. Zeus decided to also change Arcas into a bear
to protect both his son and his lover. He placed both
bears in the sky together.
DRACO – “THE DRAGON”
DRACO – “THE DRAGON”
• Draco the dragon fought Minerva during the
wars between the giants and the gods.
Minerva threw Draco's twisted body into the
heavens before it had time to unwind itself.
“BELIEFS & PRACTICES ABOUT
CONSTELLATIONS
• Stars narrate the story of man’s origin and
existence since the early age of time
through the numerous constellation
depicting heroes and monsters from an
equally vast number of cultures.
• Stars are also known as manifestations of
gods that were worshipped in ancient time
such our very own Tala (star goddess in the
Tagalog pantheon), as well as the Tinggian
diwata of the stars, Gaygayoma.
•Unknown to many, Astronomy was widely
practiced during the pre-colonial times in the
Philippines, wherein most of our ancestor
depended on nature as their indicator for the
right moment to conduct their rituals and
activities.
Naming the Stars in our own Tongue
•Thanks to Dr. Dante L. Ambrosio – who
championed the study of the link between
astronomy and ethno-linguistic groups in the
Philippines(known as Ethnoastronomy). It is
well recorded that some ancient Filipino
studied cloud formations, birds, and the
behavior of certain plants that could foretell
the changing of seasons and, in
• Some cases, predict incoming weather
disturbances. However, Dr. Ambrosio’s work
entitled “Balatik:Etnoastronomiya,
Kalangitan at Kabihasnang Pilipino” added
that our ancestor “read” stars in the sky as
portents that affects their life.
• Among the constellations and asterisms that
were named by our ancestors, 2 were given
wide recognition-Balatik and Moroporo.
• Popularly known as the “Tres Marias(The
Three Marias) in Tagalog, Magbangal in
Bukidnon, and Seretar in Teduray, Balatik is
composed of perfectly aligned and evenly
spaced stars which act as the “belt” of the
constellation of Orion(The Hunter which is
observable in the night sky during the month
of October to May). In Palawan and Ibaloi
however, Balatik is seen as both the
“sword” and “belt” of Orion.
 The Orion Constellation
•Balatik shares a similarity in figure to a
hunting trap of the same name that was used
by tribal hunters in the Philippines. It was
usually used as sign to foretell the beginning
of the Kaingin period, and the time for
planting despite the fact that it depicts a
hunting trap. According to Fay-Cooper Cole
in his study “Wild Tribes of
Davao District, Mindanao” Balatik was
also used by the Bagabo Tribe as a reminder
of the yearly sacrifice.
•In the month of December a constellation
known as Balatik appears in the sky. This has
a double significance; 1st, it is the reminder of
the yearly sacrifice; & 2nd, it notifies all workers
that the tools, which are to be used in making
new clearings, shall
be placed in readiness.”
•The 2nd one, Moroporo, also known by many
as “Supot ni Hudas”, Mapolon(Tagalog), San
Apon (Ibaloi), and Kufukufu (Teduray). In
other parts of the world, it is known as the star
cluster Pleiades (Seven Sisters) located in
the constellation of Taurus the Bull and
appears sometime in the month of January.
• Some see it as “boiling lights”, a “flock of
birds”(in Leyte), and even “a scale within a
group of six scales”. Moroporo is
connected to sea navigation but like
Balatik, it was primarily used to signal the
beginning of the planting season. The
Tagalogs consulted this star cluster to know
the shifting of time and season.
 Stories Written in the Night Sky
•Balatik and Moroporo can be seen in
Cotabato myth of Tiruray, where they
represent the six followers of the hero Lagey
Lingkuwos who guided the people of Tiruray
on when they will conduct their Kaingin &
planting of rice. Moreover, the 6 characters in
the story as constellation were also used by
the people of Tiruray in their calendar.
• In Bukidnon, Moroporo is the hunting
ground of Magbangal & the constellation
Baka (Hyades) is the jaw of the boar he
killed. In Teduray, Moroporo is known as
Kufukufu; a group of files hovering above
Baka(Hyades) which is also depicted as the
jaw of a boar slain by the hunter Seretar(the
constellation Orion/Balatik). Tribes in
Palawan see Moroporo as a
• Camote(Sweet Potato), the :Sangat at bjak”
(Hyades) is the jaw & fangs of the boar who
ate Moroporo, who is also hunted by
Binawagan magsasawad (Orion).
 Hyades Star Cluster
•In Tawi-Tawi, the stars Thong, Masikla and
Mayuyu are actually characters in a story, similar
to the tale of Pandora in Greek myth. According
to story, Masikla is cooking some grass & tells
Mayuyu to take care of it while she goes to look for
food at the sea shore. She also reminds Mayuyu
to never open the pot while she is gone.
Unfortunately, the mischievous & impatient
Mayuyu opened the
 pot. The consequences of this is that man
must always plant before they cook the type of
grass mentioned in the story. If Mayuyu didn’t
open the pot, man would always find the grass
in abundance to cook & eat.
•Another story features the 3 stars and why
they ended up in the sky. One day Thong went
to clear part of the forest(Kaingin). He didn’t
realize that Mayuyu followed him.
• When Thong took a break to play his flute,
leaving his Axe & Bolo unattended to the work,
Mayuyu chased him for being lazy. After this, the
Axe & the Bolo would not work on their own &
needed manpower. An angry Thong blamed
Mayuyu-for if she didn’t meddle with what he is
doing, man would never have to work again.
Due to the incident, Thong-together with
Masikla-went to the sky to become stars.
Mayuyu followed the 2, & the 3 become the
stars that make up the asterism Tanggong.
• The star known as Marana in Bukidnon is
described as human with only one arm &
one foot. She is known as the harbinger of
cloudy weather during the planting season
so that the people would not see her
deformities.
Lesser Known Stars(But of Greater
Purpose)
•The Tagalogs had a constellation called
Talang Batugan (“Lazy”), named for its
characteristics of slow motion, large size & low
brightness & usually known as a guiding star for
shepherds.
•In Bicol, there are stars such as Pogot (used
as sign for fishing & incoming storms)
• Soag (4 stars that resemble a 4 sided
figure, which signals the beginning of night
time)
• Torong (3 stars that shown an approaching
storm)
• Sipat & Tudong are mentioned in a ritual
(known as “kentan”) conducted by an ethnic
groups in the Cordillera to bless rice
seedlings.
• Binabbals, another star named by the
people of Cordillera, is heard in prayers
chanted during their ritual sacrifice of
chicken