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Constellations

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Constellations
Teacher Notes
This project introduces students to constellations, shapes people have seen in the stars.

 


Constellations Sorted by Month
This is a list of all 88 constellations split up into the months when they are best seen in the sky. The months listed assume that you are looking at the sky at 9:00 PM.

Constellations
This is a picture of what ancient people thought the constellation Leo looked like
Click on image for full size (630k)
Image: (c)1995 Visual Language, All Rights Reserved ...

Constellations are named patterns of stars. All societies created them. The classical -- "ancient" -- constellations that populate our sky began in the lands of the middle east thousands of years ago, their origins largely lost to time.

Constellations
This page contains books and web sites that give more information on constellations. We plan to make this page a resource for teachers with questions about this project.

Constellations - Ursa Major
Ursa Major, the Big Bear, is one of the most familiar constellations. For those of us at northern latitudes, it can be seen all year as the constellation is circumpolar.

Constellations
This article is about constellations of stars. See also: satellite constellation, Constellation Records.

Constellations
Patterns in the sky
The constellations Boötes, Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices, from a set of constellation playing cards. Repro ID D9281-4 ...

Constellations Sky Charts
Northern Calotte:
sky view,
reverted sky view,
sky view with inlined constellation ...

List of Constellations
Below is the list of all 88 oficial constallations. Constellations which contained deep sky objects I have managed to image are hyperlinked to access corresponding interactive maps and short descriptions.

Table of Constellations
You can as well view them ordered by constellation families. Abbrev. Name Eng.

The following list contains the 88 official constellations as designated by the International Astronomical Union. Select any constellation to see its image.

So constellations break the sky up into more manageable bits and some of the different ones that you can find are as follows: ...

Constellations can be a useful way to help identify positions of stars in the sky. Constellations have imaginary boundaries formed by "connecting the dots" and all the stars within those boundaries are labeled with the name of that constellation.

CONSTELLATIONS
A constellation is a group of stars that, when seen from Earth, form a pattern. The stars in the sky are divided into 88 constellations.

Constellations.
Pages in category "Constellations"
The following 9 pages are in this category, out of 9 total.

Constellations
To find details about stars, choose a constellation below:
Antlia ...

The constellations described in this section are a selection of those that, for one reason or another, are no longer recognized by astronomers, although they will be found on old maps.

The constellations have changed over time. In our modern world, many of the constellations have been redefined so now every star in the sky is in exactly one constellation.

List of constellations by area
Hydra is the largest constellation.
Here is a list of the 88 modern constellations by their area in the sky, measured in square degrees.

Signs & Constellations of the Zodiac
Abstract
An explanation of the Zodiac now and 2,000 years ago.

Naming of Constellations and Asterisms
Greek and Roman Mythology
Scorpius, the Scorpion
Orion, the Hunter
Star Catalogs and Charts ...

The borders of the constellations were drawn up and finalized by the International Astronomical Union in 1930.

The small and faint constellations of Vulpecula (top) and Sagitta (below) are centered in the above photography ( ). Also visible at the lower left is the . Parts of are above and below.

Go to the
Main Menu of
The Constellations Web Page All files associated with The Constellations Web Page are
© by Richard Dibon-Smith and meant for personal use only.

Constellations
Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Bootes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | ...

Constellations including myths and legends
Some of the best campfire stories are the myths and legends behind some of the well-known (and not-so-well-known) constellations.

Constellations and Stars
For questions on names and appearances of constellations, names of individual stars, unusual stars seen on the sky etc., please see our Night Sky page.
How Stars Shine ...

Constellations are normally the product of human perception rather than astronomical realities.

Constellations of the Northern Sky The Great Atlas of the Stars The Book of Constellations
Related Articles ...

Constellations which appear around the celestial poles, which never seem to rise or set.
Closed Orbit
Closed Universe ...

88 Constellations
About the Sky Charts
Brightest Stars
Comets
Dwarf Planets and Small Solar-System Bodies
Closest Stars
Eclipses
Full Moons
Glossary of Astronomical Terms
In Memoriam: The Royal Greenwich Observatory (1675-1998) ...

or constellations, and each received a name suggested by mythological or other figures.

The constellations are totally imaginary things that poets, farmers and astronomers have made up over the past 6,000 years (and probably even more!). The real purpose for the constellations is to help us tell which stars are which, nothing more.

The constellations of early-winter " Perseus, Auriga, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus " have many more colorful clouds to offer skywatchers.
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The 88 Constellations
There are 88 constellations. Many of these are known to most people. You can search the constellations using the searchfield above, or .

Various constellations are oriented best for viewing at different times of the year. Orion is best seen in late Winter and Spring. Scorpius, which is opposite Orion in the sky, is best seen from late Summer through Fall.

Zodiacal Constellations - The band of constellations along the ecliptic. The Sun appears to move through the 12 zodiacal constellations during a year ...

FAMILY OF CONSTELLATIONS
There are many families of constellations, constellations that are either close to one another or have some other relationship.

Among the constellations the Milky Way passes through are Carina, Crux (the Southern Cross), Sagittarius (where it is brightest), Scorpius, Aquila, Cygnus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Auriga, and Gemini.

Learn The Constellations Through This Fun Game
Click below To Learn How To Find Jupiter's Moons With A Pair Of Biniculars.

Two bright constellations occupy opposite sides of the pole star--the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. As the celestial sphere rotates (or appears to rotate), these constellations also march in circles around the pole .

In Chinese constellations, they are mao, the Hairy Head of the white tiger of the West, while the name of the Hindu God Kartikeya means him of the Pleiades.
South Africa - Khuseti: the stars of rain, or rain bearers. (Khoikhoi tribe) ...

Tour of the Constellations
Book Reviews
Why Do The Planets Line Up With Each Other?

zodiac The twelve constellations through which the Sun moves as it follows its path on the ecliptic. [More Info: Photo Album]
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617.496.7941 Fax: 617.495.7356 ...

One of the easiest constellations to recognize in the winter sky is Orion the Hunter. The three stars which comprise his belt are the only three bright stars which are so close to each other, in so straight a line. If you go outside at about 8 p.m.

1.06.05 - What Are Constellations?
How are the stars like a game of connect the dots?
+ View
12.16.04 - Kids Color Deep Impact ...

History of Chinese constellations
The divisions of the sky began with the Northern Dipper and the 28 mansions.

Zodiac- the twelve constellations straddling the ecliptic through which the sun, Moon, and planets appear to move during the year ...

The band of constellations through which the Sun travels each year. The Zodiac is actually a band across the sky, 8 degrees either side of the ecliptic.

For convenience, the common meteor showers are named for the constellations of stars in which their radiants appear. 3.

The names reflect the main constellations in which the structure is seen on the sky (although constellations are based on nearby stars in our galaxy, they conveniently represent general directions when looking far beyond those stars).

zodiac (From Stargazers to Starships Glossary - GSFC) Twelve constellations dividing the ecliptic into approximately equal parts. Each month the Sun is in a different constellation of the zodiac.

Constellation Perseus is one of the larger constellations of the northern hemisphere. According to the Ancient Greeks, Perseus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë.

This consists of learning the constellations and stars listed on the constellation quiz study sheet (available at the constellation lab). From this list the TA will randomly pick six stars and six constellations which you must point out.

Your first step in creating an observing list will be to determine what constellations will be in the sky during the length of your observing session - a planisphere or planetarium software can make this task simple.

Variable star names are descended from an old naming system for bright stars within constellations.

There are many families of , constellations that are either close to one another or have some other relationship.

Right away you run into a problem with the zodiac constellations---some are large (like Scorpio or Virgo) and others are small (like Aries and Cancer).

(a) Apparent linear path through the 12 constellations of the zodiac that the Sun seems to take during one Earth year, also representing therefore the "edge" of the plane of Earth's orbit.

See also: Constellation, Star, Magnitude, Astronomy, Year