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The Almagest (/ ˈ æ l m ə dʒ ɛ s t / AL-mə-jest) is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy (c. AD 100 – c. 170) in Koine Greek. [1]
The Book of Fixed Stars, a 10th-century synthesis of the comprehensive star catalogue in Ptolemy’s Almagest with local Arabic astronomical traditions on the constellations (notably the constellation system of the Anwā’). This page shows Orion (al-jabbar, "the giant"). The star Rigel in his foot derives its name from the Arabic rijl, "foot."
It was an attempt to create a synthesis of the comprehensive star catalogue in Ptolemy's Almagest (books VII and VIII) with the indigenous Arabic astronomical traditions on the constellations (notably the Arabic constellation system of the Anwā'). [3]
The seventh and eighth books of the Almagest would constitute a star catalogue of the names, positions, and magnitudes of over a thousand stars that Ptolemy placed into the traditional classification of 48 constellations. The most important of these were the twelve constellations that defined the zodiac. [15]
The traditional 48 constellations, consisting of the zodiac and 36 more (now 38, following the division of Argo Navis into three constellations) are listed by Ptolemy, a Greco-Roman astronomer from Alexandria, Egypt, in his Almagest. The formation of constellations was the subject of extensive mythology, most notably in the Metamorphoses of the ...
In the Western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from Ptolemy's list in the Almagest (which in turn has roots that go back to Mesopotamian astronomy), and most of the far southern constellations were introduced by sailors and astronomers who traveled to the south in the 16th to 18th centuries. Separate traditions arose in ...
The ecliptic intersects with 13 constellations of Ptolemy's Almagest, [64] as well as of the more precisely delineated IAU designated constellations. In addition to the twelve constellations after which the twelve zodiac signs are named, the ecliptic intersects Ophiuchus , [ 65 ] the bottom part of which interjects between Scorpius and Sagittarius.
Hydra is the largest constellation, covering more than 1 ⁄ 32 of the night sky and 19 times the area of Crux, the smallest constellation.. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) designates 88 constellations of stars.