SOME TERMS

Asterism: A conspicuous group of stars that appear in a constellation. The Bog Dipper is an asterism in Ursa Major.

Celestial equator: All the point in the sky that would pass directly overhead if a person stood exactly on the Earth's equator.

Circumpolar stars: Stars which never set at the latitude of the viewer. At the equator there are no circumpolar stars. At the North Pole, all the stars are circumpolar.

Constellation: Any of about 88 configurations of stars that are recognized by astronomers today.

Ecliptic: The apparent path in the sky along which the sun "travels". It passes through all the constellations of the Zodiac (and a few others)!

Equinox: The point where the sun crosses the celestial equator. It does this twice a year - once in the spring - the vernal equinox, and once in the fall (the autumnal equinox. These occur about the 21 of March and the 21 of September. On these days there is equal day and night. Currently the Sun crosses the celestial at the term of the vernal equinox in the constellation of Pisces; at the time of the autumnal equinox, it crosses in the constellation of Virgo. The shifts occur as a result of the Earth have a slight "wobble" and are known as the "precession of the equinoxes". This causes the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator to move forward one constellation west about every 2,000 years.

Pole Star: The star which would appear virtually overhead if one were standing at the pole. The current Pole Star (or North Star) is one is in the Northern hemisphere is Polaris. In the past it was Thuban and will be Vega. There is no conspicuous star over the South Pole.

Solstice: "sun stands still". The most northern or southern point to which the sun travels in the course of the year. They generally occur about June 21 (summer solstice) and Dec. 21 (winter solstice). They are the longest and shortest days of the year.

Zodiac: Twelve constellations (traveling eastward), Aries (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull), Gemini (the Twins), Cancer (the Crab), Leo (The Lion), Virgo (the Virgin), Libra (the Scales), Scorpio (the Scorpion), Sagittarius (the Archer, Capricornus (the Sea Goat), Aquarius (the Water Bearer), and Pisces (the Fish).