Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing Swinburne Astronomy Online COSMOS - The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy › C C Search A constellation is a grouping of stars that is used to help identify a region of the sky. The individual stars within a constellation generally have no Go physical relationship, as they are at a varying distances from our observation point on the Earth. Different cultures developed their own groupings of stars, as they each had their own stories to tell in the night sky. For example, the constellation of Ursa Major has variously been identified as: Index An Ox and his handler (by the Egyptians, as recorded in paintings found in the tomb of Seti I); AB C DE The tail of a Great Bear (by the Greeks and Native Americans); and FGH I J A celestial bureaucrat carried on a cloud (by the Chinese). K L M NO PQ R S T In 1933, the International Astronomical Union specified a definitive set of 88 constellations, based on the groupings introduced by: UVWX Y Z Ptolemy: 48 constellations described in his great work, The Almagest, in the 2nd century AD. These constellations originally came from a variety of All sources including the myths and legends of Mesopotamia, Babylon, Egypt and Greece. Ptolemy’s constellations were primarily in the northern hemisphere, as parts of the southern sky were never visible from Greece. One of the largest of these constellations, Argo Navis, was split into 4 smaller constellations Carina (the Keel), Puppis (the Stern), Vela (the Sails) and Pyxis (the Ship’s Compass) by Lacaille in the 1750s. 12 constellations were added around 1600 by Johann Bayer in his star atlas, Uranometria, including Dorado (the Swordfish), Musca (the Fly) and Volans (the Flying Fish). These new constellations were not invented by Bayer, but adapted from other sources; Jakob Bartsch added a further 3 in 1624: Camelopardalis (the Giraffe), Columba (the Dove, also attributed to Bayer) and Monoceros (the Unicorn); Johannes Hevelius devised 7 new constellations late in the 17th century, including Lacerta (the Lizard), Leo Minor (the Small Lion) and Scutum (the Shield); Finally, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille devised 14 southern hemisphern constellations in c.1750, including Fornax (the Furnace), Horologium (the Clock) and Teloscopium (the Telescope). The modern constellations contain a mixture of mythological characters (e.g. Perseus, Andromeda, Orion), animals (e.g. Taurus, Scorpius, Canis Major), scientific apparatus (e.g. Microscopium, Sextans and Caelum the chisel) and everyday objects (e.g. Crater the cup and Scutum the shield). Twelve of the most well-known constellations are the zodiacal constellations that lie along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun through the sky. The 88 Constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union Constellation Description Type Source 1 Andromeda And Daughter of Queen Cassiopeia Myth/Legend Almagest 2 Antlia Ant Robert Boyle’s Air Pump Scientific Lacaille 3 Apus Aps Bird of Paradise Animal Bayer 4 Aquarius Aqr The Water Carrier Zodiac Almagest 5 Aquila Aql The Eagle Myth/Legend Almagest 6 Ara Ara The Altar Myth/Legend Almagest 7 Aries Ari The Ram Zodiac Almagest 8 Auriga Aur The Charioteer Myth/Legend Almagest 9 Bootes Boo The Herdsman Myth/Legend Almagest 10 Caelum Cae The Chisel Scientific Lacaille 11 Camelopardalis Cam The Giraffe Animal Bartsch 12 Cancer Cnc The Crab Zodiac Almagest 13 Canes Venatici CVn The Hunting Dogs Animal Hevelius 14 Canis Major CMa The Greater Dog (companion of Orion) Myth/Legend Almagest 15 Canis Minor CMi The Lesser Dog (companion of Orion) Myth/Legend Almagest 16 Capricornius Cap The Sea Goat Zodiac Almagest 17 Carina Car The Keel (part of Argo Navis) Myth/Legend Lacaille 18 Cassiopeia Cas The Queen of Ethiopia Myth/Legend Almagest 19 Centaurus Cen The Centaur Myth/Legend Almagest 20 Cepheus Cep King Cepheus of Ethiopia Myth/Legend Almagest 21 Cetus Cet The Whale (or sea monster) Myth/Legend Almagest 22 Chamaeleon Cha The Chamaeleon Animal Bayer 23 Circinus Cir The Compasses Scientific Lacaille 24 Columba Col The Dove Animal Bartsch/Bayer 25 Coma Berenices Com Queen Berenice of Egypt’s hair Myth/Legend 26 Corona Australis CrA The Southern Crown Myth/Legend Almagest 27 Corona Borealis CrB The Northern Crown Myth/Legend Almagest 28 Corvus Crv The Crow Myth/Legend Almagest 29 Crater Crt The Cup (the goblet of Apollo) Myth/Legend Almagest 30 Crux Cru The Southern Cross Misc 31 Cygnus Cyg The Swan Myth/Legend Almagest 32 Delphinius Del The Dolphin Myth/Legend Almagest 33 Dorado Dor The Goldfish/The Swordfish Animal Bayer 34 Draco Dra The Dragon Myth/Legend Almagest 35 Equuleus Equ The Little Horse Myth/Legend Almagest 36 Eridanus Eri The River Myth/Legend Almagest 37 Fornax For The Furnace Scientific Lacaille 38 Gemini Gem The Twins Zodiac Almagest 39 Grus Gru The Crane Animal Bayer 40 Hercules Her Hercules Myth/Legend Almagest 41 Horologium Hor The Pendulum Clock Scientific Lacaille 42 Hydra Hya The Water Snake Myth/Legend Almagest 43 Hydrus Hyi The Lesser Water Snake Animal Bayer 44 Indus Ind The Native American Indian Misc Bayer 45 Lacerta Lac The Lizard Animal Hevelius 46 Leo Leo The Lion Zodiac Almagest 47 Leo Minor LMi The Lesser Lion Animal Hevelius 48 Lepus Lep The Hare Myth/Legend Almagest 49 Libra Lib The Scales Zodiac Almagest 50 Lupus Lup The Wolf Myth/Legend Almagest 51 Lynx Lyn The Lynx Animal Hevelius 52 Lyra Lyr The Lyre (given by Apollo to Orpheus) Myth/Legend Almagest 53 Mensa Men The Table Mountain (Cape of Good Hope) Misc Lacaille 54 Microscopium Mic The Microscope Scientific Lacaille 55 Monoceros Mon The Unicorn Myth/Legend Bartsch 56 Musca Mus The Fly Animal Bayer 57 Norma Nor The Level Scientific Lacaille 58 Octans Oct The Octant Scientific Lacaille 59 Ophiuchus Oph The Serpent Holder Myth/Legend Almagest 60 Orion Ori The Hunter Myth/Legend Almagest 61 Pavo Pav The Peacock Animal Bayer 62 Pegasus Peg Pegasus, the winged horse Myth/Legend Almagest 63 Perseus Per Perseus (rescued Andromeda from Cetus) Myth/Legend Almagest 64 Phoenix Phe The Phoenix Myth/Legend Bayer 65 Pictor Pic The Painter’s Easel Scientific Lacaille 66 Pisces Psc The Fishes Zodiac Almagest 67 Piscus Austrinus PsA The Southern Fish Myth/Legend Almagest 68 Puppis Pup The Stern (of Argo Navis) Myth/Legend Lacaille 69 Pyxis Pyx The Ships’s Compass (or Argo Navis) Myth/Legend Lacaille 70 Reticulum Ret The Net Scientific Lacaille 71 Sagitta Sge The Arrow Myth/Legend Almagest 72 Sagittarius Sgr The Archer Zodiac Almagest 73 Scorpius Sco The Scorpion Zodiac Almagest 74 Sculptor Scl The Sculptor’s Workshop Scientific Lacaille 75 Scutum Sct The Shield (of King John Sobieski III) Misc Hevelius 76 Serpens Ser The Serpent (carried by Ophiuchus) Myth/Legend Almagest 77 Sextans Sex The Sextant Scientific Hevelius 78 Taurus Tau The Bull Zodiac Almagest 79 Telescopium Tel The Telescope Scientific Lacaille 80 Triangulum Tri The Triangle Misc Almagest 81 Triangulum Australe TrA The Southern Triangle Misc Bayer 82 Tucuna Tuc The Toucan Animal Bayer 83 Ursa Major UMa The Great Bear Myth/Legend Almagest 84 Ursa Minor UMi The Lesser Bear Myth/Legend Almagest 85 Vela Vel The Sails (of Argo Navis) Myth/Legend Lacaille 86 Virgo Vir The Virgin Zodiac Almagest 87 Volans Vol The Flying Fish Animal Bayer 88 Vulpecula Vul The Fox Animal Hevelius Study Astronomy Online at Swinburne University All material is © Swinburne University of Technology except where indicated.
