Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. [1] The first constellations were likely defined in prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, and ...
Aquarius is an equatorial constellation of the zodiac, between Capricornus and Pisces.Its name is Latin for "water-carrier" or "cup-carrier", and its old astronomical symbol is (♒︎), a representation of water.
The constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 26 sides. In the equatorial coordinate system , the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 04 h 43.3 m and 06 h 25.5 m , while the declination coordinates are between 22.87° and −10.97°. [ 1 ]
Cygnus is a northern constellation on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. [1] Cygnus is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, and it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross (in contrast to the Southern Cross).
Cancer is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac and is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere.Its name is Latin for crab and it is commonly represented as one. . Cancer is a medium-size constellation with an area of 506 square degrees and its stars are rather faint, its brightest star Beta Cancri having an apparent magnitude of 3
The concept of a constellation was known to exist during the Babylonian period. Ancient sky watchers imagined that prominent arrangements of stars formed patterns, and they associated these with particular aspects of nature or their myths. Twelve of these formations lay along the band of the ecliptic and these became the basis of astrology. [43]
All stars but one can be associated with an IAU (International Astronomical Union) constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput (the snake's head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (the snake's tail ...
Constellations are groupings of stars as they are viewed, along a line-of-sight at a constant azimuth and elevation in the sky. This category identifies the 88 constellations currently recognised (areas of the sky) by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), plus some further subcategories.