Roadmap to the Constellations

How to make a star wheel

Download your Sky Map and Sleeve by clicking on each picture below.
Print out both PDFs.
Cut out both sheets.
- For the Sky Map, trim the gray corners so that only the inner circle is left.
- For the Sleeve, keep the white rectangle at the bottom, cut out the white oval in the middle, and cut out the whole outline.
Fold back the white rectangle at the bottom of your sleeve.
Staple this flap using the small white lines as a guide. This should create a nice pocket for your Sky Map.
Slip the Sky Map into the Sleeve so that it shows through the oval. You now have your own roadmap to the constellations!

Activity credit: Sky & Telescope

click the picture above to download

click the picture above to download

Photo credit: Sky & Telescope Kelly Beatty

Go outside on a clear night and set your Star Wheel to the current time and date.
- To do this, spin the inner Sky Map until the date on the outer rim matched the time indicated on the sleeve. Use the white hours if you are currently in standard time and the yellow if you are currently in daylight savings time.
Hold your Star Wheel out in front of you. Position your Star Wheel so that the yellow label of the cardinal direction you are facing (north, south, east, or west) is on the bottom. See the above picture for an example facing west.
Now the stars in the oval will represent the stars in front of you!

The brighter the star, the larger its dot will be on your Star Wheel. So if you're looking at a very bright star in the sky, it should be one of the larger dots on your Star Wheel.
Try looking for patterns in your star wheel that match up with patterns you see in the sky. For example, if you see 3 very bright stars in a row, it's probably Orion's belt!

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