StarLab Programs: Seasonal Stars of the Mid-Atlantic
The Big Dipper and the North Star rise high above the star projector inside of our Starlab, two of the few celestial objects that appear every season in the mid-Atlantic.
This seasonally specific program highlights the stars, the moon, and other astronomical bodies visible in the mid-Atlantic sky. Learn why different constellations appear in different seasons and which of these star pictures are in the sky tonight.
“Seasonal Stars of the Mid-Atlantic” aligns with the following points of the Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum:
Skills and Processes
Grade 2
- Describe what can be learned about things by just observing those things carefully and adding information by sometimes doing something to the things and noting what happens. Seek information through reading, observation, exploration, and investigations. (A.1ab)
Grades 3, 4, 5
- Explain that a model is a simplified imitation of something and that a model's value lies in suggesting how the thing modeled works. Explain that models can be used to represent objects, events, and processes in the real world, although such representations can never be exact in every detail. (D.3ac)
Grade 6
- Explain, using examples, that models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly to observe directly, or that are too vast to be changed deliberately. (D.3b)
Earth/Space Science
Grades 2
- Observe and describe changes over time in the properties, location, and motion of celestial objects. Identify observable properties of the sun, moon, and stars. Identify the apparent visible changes in the shape of the moon. (D.1ab)
Grade 4
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Observe and describe the stars and the planets as seen graphically in pictures from reliable sources. Identify the sun as the Earth’s closest star. Recognize and describe that the stars are not all the same in apparent brightness. Recognize that the pattern of stars in the sky stays the same although their locations in the sky appear to change with the seasons. (D.1abde)
Grade 5
- Recognize and describe that the rotation of planet Earth produces observable effects (the day and night cycle, the apparent movement of the sun, moon, planets and stars). Recognize and describe that the revolution of the planet Earth produces effects (the observable patterns of stars in the sky stay the same although different stars can be seen in different seasons). (D.2bd)
Grade 6
- Recognize that objects of our solar system are interrelated. Identify and describe the general pattern of movement of all objects in our solar system. (D.1c)