IAU designated constellations by area
Okay kiddo, so you know how when we look up at the stars, we see lots of different shapes and patterns in the sky? Those shapes are called "constellations". Astronomers have divided up the sky into different sections, kind of like slices of pizza. Each slice has a different group of constellations in it.
Now, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a group of really smart people who study space and stars. They decided to give each of these sections a special name and number, so it's easier for everyone to talk about them. For example, one of these sections is called "Ursa Major", which means "the Big Bear" in Latin.
But sometimes, two or more constellations might overlap in different sections. So the IAU had to figure out a way to make sure each constellation belonged to one section and one section only. They did this by measuring the area, or space, that each constellation takes up in the sky.
Imagine you have a bunch of different toys on the floor, and you want to organize them into different piles. You might put all the toy cars in one pile, and all the stuffed animals in another pile. But what if one toy is a car AND a stuffed animal? Then you have to decide which pile it belongs in. So you might measure how big the car part is, compared to the stuffed animal part, to figure out which pile it belongs in.
That's kind of what the IAU did with the constellations. They measured how much space each one takes up in the sky, and then decided which section it belonged to based on that. This way, each constellation has its own special place in the sky, and we can talk about them more easily.
Does that make sense, kiddo?
Now, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a group of really smart people who study space and stars. They decided to give each of these sections a special name and number, so it's easier for everyone to talk about them. For example, one of these sections is called "Ursa Major", which means "the Big Bear" in Latin.
But sometimes, two or more constellations might overlap in different sections. So the IAU had to figure out a way to make sure each constellation belonged to one section and one section only. They did this by measuring the area, or space, that each constellation takes up in the sky.
Imagine you have a bunch of different toys on the floor, and you want to organize them into different piles. You might put all the toy cars in one pile, and all the stuffed animals in another pile. But what if one toy is a car AND a stuffed animal? Then you have to decide which pile it belongs in. So you might measure how big the car part is, compared to the stuffed animal part, to figure out which pile it belongs in.
That's kind of what the IAU did with the constellations. They measured how much space each one takes up in the sky, and then decided which section it belonged to based on that. This way, each constellation has its own special place in the sky, and we can talk about them more easily.
Does that make sense, kiddo?