Constellation

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For other uses, see a collection of Stars.

A constellation is any one of the 88 areas into which the sky - or the celestial sphere - is divided. The
term is also often used less formally to denote a group of stars visibly related to each other in a
particular configuration or pattern.
Some well-known constellations contain striking and familiar patterns of bright stars. Examples are
Ursa Major (containing the Big Dipper), Orion (containing a figure of a hunter), Leo (containing bright
stars outlining the form of a lion) and Scorpius (a scorpion). Other constellations do not encompass any
discernible star patterns, and contain only faint stars.

Explanation
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) divides the sky into 88 official constellations with precise
boundaries, so that every direction or place in the sky belongs within one constellation. In the northern
celestial hemisphere, these are mostly based upon the constellations of the ancient Greek tradition,
passed down through the Middle Ages, and contains the signs of the zodiac.
The constellation boundaries were drawn up by Eugne Delporte in 1930, and he drew them along
vertical and horizontal lines of right ascension and declination. However, he did so for the epoch
B1875.0, which means that due to precession of the equinoxes, the borders on a modern star map (eg,
for epoch J2000) are already somewhat skewed and no longer perfectly vertical or horizontal. This
skew will increase over the years and centuries to come.
In three-dimensional space, most of the stars we see have little or no relation to one another, but can
appear to be grouped on the celestial sphere of the night sky. Humans excel at finding patterns and
throughout history have grouped together stars that appear close to one another.
A star pattern may be widely known but may not be recognized by the International Astronomical
Union; such a pattern of stars is called an asterism. An example is the grouping called the Big Dipper
(North America) or the Plough (UK).
The stars in a constellation or asterism rarely have any astrophysical relationship to each other; they
just happen to appear close together in the sky as viewed from Earth and typically lie many light years
apart in space. However, one exception to this is the Ursa Major moving group.

The grouping of stars into constellations is essentially arbitrary, and different cultures have had
different constellations, although a few of the more obvious ones tend to recur frequently, e.g., Orion
and Scorpius.

History of the constellations

Main article: Former constellations
Our current list is based on those listed by the Roman astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in
Alexandria, Egypt.
In more recent times this list has been added to in order to fill gaps between Ptolemy's patterns. The
Greeks considered the sky as including both constellations and dim spaces between. But Renaissance
star catalogs by Johann Bayer and John Flamsteed required every star to be in a constellation, and the
number of visible stars in a constellation to be manageably small.
Twelve of the constellations in the southern celestial hemisphere were not observable by the Greeks,
and were created by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the
sixteenth century and first cataloged by Johann Bayer.
Other proposed constellations didn't make the cut, most notably Quadrans Muralis (now part of Botes)
for which the Quadrantid meteors are named. Also the ancient constellation Argo Navis was so big that
it was broken up into several different constellations, for the convenience of stellar cartographers.

Constellations in variant cultures

Main article: Chinese constellation
Chinese constellations are different from the western constellations, due to the independent
development of ancient Chinese astronomy. Ancient Chinese skywatchers divided their night sky in a
different way, but there are also similarities. The Chinese counterpart of the 12 western zodiac
constellations are the 28 "Xiu" () or "mansions" (a literal translation).

Star names
All modern constellation names are Latin proper names or words, and some stars are named using the
genitive of the constellation in which they are found. The genitive is formed using the usual rules of
Latin grammar, and for those unfamiliar with that language the form of the genitive is sometimes
unpredictable and must be memorized. Some examples include: Aries Arietis; Taurus Tauri;
Gemini Geminorum; Virgo Virginis; Libra Librae; Pisces Piscium; Lepus Leporis.
These names include Bayer designations such as Alpha Centauri, Flamsteed designations such as 61
Cygni, and variable star designations such as RR Lyrae. However, many fainter stars will just be given
a catalog number designation (in each of various star catalogs) that does not incorporate the
constellation name.
For more information about star names, see Star designations and the list of stars by constellation.

See also

List of constellations
List of constellations by area
Former constellations
Chinese constellation
Nakshatra
Astronomy | Constellations of the Zodiac | Astrology

Aries ( ) | Taurus ( ) | Gemini ( ) | Cancer ( ) | Leo ( ) | Virgo ( ) | Libra ( ) |

Scorpius/Scorpio ( ) | Ophiuchus | Sagittarius ( ) | Capricornus/Capricorn ( ) | Aquarius (
Pisces ( )

)|

The 48 Constellations listed by Ptolemy

Andromeda Aquarius Aquila Ara Argo Navis Aries Auriga Botes Cancer
Canis Major Canis Minor Capricornus Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus
Corona Australis Corona Borealis Corvus Crater Cygnus Delphinus Draco
Equuleus Eridanus Gemini Hercules Hydra Leo Lepus Libra Lupus Lyra
Ophiuchus Orion Pegasus Perseus Pisces Piscis Austrinus Sagitta Sagittarius
Scorpius Serpens Taurus Triangulum Ursa Major Ursa Minor Virgo

The 12 Constellations created by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between
1595 and 1597 and introduced by Johann Bayer in the 1603 text Uranometria
Apus | Chamaeleon | Dorado | Grus | Hydrus | Indus | Musca | Pavo | Phoenix | Triangulum Australe |
Tucana | Volans
Constellations changed by Johann Bayer in the 1603 text Uranometria
Centaurus | split into | Centaurus | Crux
Leo | split into | Leo | Coma Berenices
Piscis Austrinus | split into | Piscis Austrinus | Grus
Sagittarius | split into | Sagittarius | Corona Australis

Constellations introduced by Jakob Bartsch in his 1624 text Usus Astronomicus Planisphaerii
Stellati

Camelopardalis | Monoceros

Constellations changed by Augustin Royer in 1679

Canis Major | split into | Columba | Canis Major

Constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 1690 text Firmamentum Sobiescianum

Canes Venatici | Lacerta | Leo Minor | Lynx | Scutum | Sextans | Vulpecula
Obsolete Constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 1690 text Firmamentum
Sobiescianum
Cerberus | Mons Maenalus | Triangulum Minor

Constellations changed by Lacaille in 1763

Argo Navis split into Carina | Puppis | Vela
Eridanus split into Eridanus | Fornax
Sagittarius | Corona Australis altered to create Telescopium
Centaurus | Lupus altered to create Circinus

The 14 Constellations introduced by Lacaille in 1763

Antlia | Caelum | Circinus | Fornax | Horologium | Mensa | Microscopium | Norma | Octans | Pictor |
Pyxis | Reticulum | Sculptor | Telescopium

Former Constellations
Antinous | Apis | Argo Navis | Cerberus
Custos Messium | Felis | Frederici Honores | Gallus
Globus Aerostaticus | Jordanus | Lochium Funis
Machina Electrica | Malus | Mons Maenalus | Musca Borealis

Noctua | Officina Typographica | Phoenicopterus

Polophylax | Psalterium Georgii | Quadrans Muralis
Ramus Pomifer | Robur Carolinum | Sceptrum Brandenburgicum
Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae | Solarium | Tarandus vel Rangifer
Taurus Poniatovii | Telescopium Herschelii | Testudo
Tigris | Triangulum Minor | Turdus Solitarius | Vespa

The 88 modern Constellations

Andromeda Antlia Apus Aquarius Aquila Ara Aries Auriga Botes Caelum
Camelopardalis Cancer Canes Venatici Canis Major Canis Minor Capricornus
Carina Cassiopeia Centaurus Cepheus Cetus Chamaeleon Circinus Columba
Coma Berenices Corona Australis Corona Borealis Corvus Crater Crux Cygnus
Delphinus Dorado Draco Equuleus Eridanus Fornax Gemini Grus Hercules
Horologium Hydra Hydrus Indus Lacerta Leo Leo Minor Lepus Libra Lupus
Lynx Lyra Mensa Microscopium Monoceros Musca Norma Octans Ophiuchus
Orion Pavo Pegasus Perseus Phoenix Pictor Pisces Piscis Austrinus Puppis
Pyxis Reticulum Sagitta Sagittarius Scorpius Sculptor Scutum Serpens Sextans
Taurus Telescopium Triangulum Triangulum Australe Tucana Ursa Major
Ursa Minor Vela Virgo Volans Vulpecula

External links

Star Tales
The Constellations
Photographic Atlas of the Constellations
Celestia free 3D realtime space-simulation (OpenGL)
Stellarium realtime sky rendering program (OpenGL)
Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center Files on official IAU constellation boundaries (the older
NASA ADC service does not function anymore)
Interactive Sky Charts (Allows navigation through the entire sky with variable star detail,
optional constellation lines)
http://www.astronomical.org/constellations/obs.html
http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/const.html
Constellations Articles
Full constellation diagrams resembling their names
Images of constellations
The Constellations presented by Utah Skies

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