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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.
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 ...
[a] Traditional astronomy tends to group stars into constellations or asterisms and give proper names to those, not to individual stars. Many star names are, in origin, descriptive of the part in the constellation they are found in; thus Phecda , a corruption of Arabic فخذ الدب ( fakhdh ad-dubb , 'thigh of the bear').
Hipparchus is known for the discovery of the first recorded nova (new star). [12] Many of the constellations and star names in use today derive from Greek astronomy. Despite the apparent immutability of the heavens, Chinese astronomers were aware that new stars could appear. [13]
Distances of the nearest stars from 20,000 years ago until 80,000 years in the future Visualisation of the orbit of the Sun (yellow dot and white curve) around the Galactic Centre (GC) in the last galactic year. The red dots correspond to the positions of the stars studied by the European Southern Observatory in a monitoring programme. [71]
The following lists of constellations are available: IAU designated constellations – a list of the current, or "modern", constellations; Former constellations – a list of former constellations; Chinese constellations – traditional Chinese astronomy constellations; List of Nakshatras – sectors along the Moon's ecliptic
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. For individual stars, see also the category Stars
The Gould designation for stars visible from the southern hemisphere, introduced by Benjamin Gould (1879), also lists stars by constellation, numbered by increasing right ascension. Hevelius and Bode both numbered stars within constellations similarly. Their number systems have fallen out of use, but their designations even now are occasionally ...