Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CCXXVI · Topic 37: The stars
226. Cassiopeia's Chair, Cepheus and the Dragon
Goal: Your child can find Cassiopeia's W, Cepheus and the Dragon, and sees that they circle the Pole-star with the Dippers.
You'll need
- A clear evening
- A red-covered flashlight
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought, a method that adds the constellations to the blackboard one at a time, eight observations, and topics for stories about Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda and the Dragon. A chart of the winter stars follows.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Any clear evening; autumn and winter evenings put Cassiopeia high. Look early and again later in the same evening. Stargaze with an adult, in a dark spot away from roads, such as a back yard or a field you have permission to use. Dress warmly, bring a blanket, and cover a flashlight with red cellophane or a red balloon so your eyes stay used to the dark.
The leading thought
To learn to know and to map the constellations which are so near the Pole-star that they never rise or set in our latitude, but seem to swing around the North Star once in twenty-four hours.
Cassiopeia's Chair
Start at the Big Dipper, go to the Pole-star, and keep going about the same distance beyond. You will meet a bright W (or M).
How many stars form Cassiopeia's Chair? Make a drawing showing them and their relation to the Pole-star.
Is the Queen's Chair on the same side of the Pole-star as the Big Dipper?
Cepheus
How many stars mark the constellation of Cepheus?
Make a sketch of these stars and show the two which are pointers toward the North Star.
Cepheus looks like a child's drawing of a house, standing next to Cassiopeia.
The Dragon
Describe where the Dragon lies, and where are his tail and his head in relation to the two Dippers.
It is long and faint. Its tail lies between the two Dippers and its head is a small group of four stars.
Why do they turn?
Why do all the polar constellations seem to move around the Pole-star every twenty-four hours, and why do they seem to go in a direction opposite the movement of the hands of a clock?
The old stories
The book suggests writing about Queen Cassiopeia, King Cepheus and their daughter Andromeda. These are stories the ancient Greeks told. Read one from a book of myths and let your child tell it back.
Nature notebook
Draw the Pole-star in the middle of the page with the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia and Cepheus around it, as you saw them tonight. Write the time.
Answers to the book's problems
Five bright stars make the W. Cassiopeia is on the opposite side of the Pole-star from the Big Dipper. Cepheus has five main stars. All these "polar" constellations seem to circle the Pole-star because the Earth turns under them, once a day, from west to east; seen facing north, they go around counterclockwise.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.