List of constellations
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From the dawn of time, humans observed the sky and grouped stars into patterns or constellations. Each culture had its own constellations, usually based on mythology. Most of these are nonsense when you look at them without the lines, but some are very obvious.
The ancient Greeks originated many constellations that are still in use today, many of which were recorded by Ptolemy. However they left many gaps in the sky where there were was a lack of bright stars; also, they could not observe stars that were in the far southern hemisphere of the sky. European explorers mapped the stars of the southern skies, and various astronomers proposed new constellations to fill the gaps. Some new constellations caught on, while others did not.
In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially adopted the modern list of 88 official constellations. After this, Eugène Delporte drew up precise boundaries for each constellation, so that every point in the sky belonged to exactly one constellation.
Properly speaking, a constellation is an area of the sky or the celestial sphere. The term is more widely used to denote a particular star pattern that is contained within that area.
| The 88 modern Constellations |
|---|
| Andromeda • Antlia • Apus • Aquarius • Aquila • Ara • Aries • Auriga • Boötes • Caelum • Camelopardalis • Cancer • Canes Venatici • Canis Major • Canis Minor • Capricornus • Carina • Cassiopeia • Centaurus • Cepheus • Cetus • Chamaeleon • Circinus • Columba • Coma Berenices • Corona Australis • Corona Borealis • Corvus • Crater • Crux • Cygnus • Delphinus • Dorado • Draco • Equuleus • Eridanus • Fornax • Gemini • Grus • Hercules • Horologium • Hydra • Hydrus • Indus • Lacerta • Leo • Leo Minor • Lepus • Libra • Lupus • Lynx • Lyra • Mensa • Microscopium • Monoceros • Musca • Norma • Octans • Ophiuchus • Orion • Pavo • Pegasus • Perseus • Phoenix • Pictor • Pisces • Piscis Austrinus • Puppis • Pyxis • Reticulum • Sagitta • Sagittarius • Scorpius • Sculptor • Scutum • Serpens • Sextans • Taurus • Telescopium • Triangulum • Triangulum Australe • Tucana • Ursa Major • Ursa Minor • Vela • Virgo • Volans • Vulpecula |
Contents |
[edit] Constellation Families
| Group | Total | Constellations |
|---|---|---|
| Ursa Major | 10 | Ursa Major Ursa Minor Draco Canes Venatici Bootes Coma Berenices Corona Borealis Camelopardalis Lynx Leo Minor |
| Zodiac | 12 | Leo Virgo Libra Scorpius Sagittarius Capricornus Aquarius Pisces Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer |
| Perseus | 09 | Cassiopeia Cepheus Andromeda Perseus Pegasus Cetus Auriga Lacerta Triangulum |
| Hercules | 19 | Hercules Sagitta Aquila Lyra Cygnus Vulpecula Hydra Sextans Crater Corvus Ophiuchus Serpens Scutum Centaurus Lupus Corona Australis Ara Triangulum Australe Crux |
| Orion | 05 | Orion Canis Major Canis Minor Monoceros Lepus |
| Heavenly Waters | 09 | Delphinus Equuleus Eridanus Piscis Austrinus Carina Puppis Vela Pyxis Columba |
| Johann Bayer | 11 | Hydrus Dorado Volans Apus Pavo Grus Phoenix Tucana Indus Chamaeleon Musca |
| LaCaille | 13 | Norma Circinus Telescopium Microscopium Sculptor Fornax Caelum Horologium Octans Mensa Reticulum Pictor Antlia |
| Quad | Total | Constellations |
|---|---|---|
| NQ1 | 08 | Pisces Andromeda Cassiopeia Triangulum Aries Perseus Taurus Orion |
| NQ2 | 10 | Auriga Monoceros Gemini Canis Minor Lynx Cancer Camelopardalis Leo Minor Leo Ursa Major |
| NQ3 | 08 | Coma Berenices Canes Venatici Boötes Ursa Minor Draco Corona Borealis Serpens Hercules |
| NQ4 | 10 | Lyra Sagitta Aquila Vulpecula Cygnus Delphinus Equuleus Cepheus Lacerta Pegasus |
| SQ1 | 14 | Sculptor Phoenix Cetus Hydrus Fornax Horologium Eridanus Reticulum Caelum Dorado Mensa Lepus Pictor Columba |
| SQ2 | 11 | Canis Major Puppis Volans Carina Pyxis Vela Sextans Antlia Chamaeleon Crater Hydra |
| SQ3 | 14 | Corvus Crux Musca Centaurus Virgo Circinus Libra Lupus Norma Triangulum Australe Apus Scorpius Ara Ophiuchus |
| SQ4 | 13 | Corona Australis Scutum Sagittarius Telescopium Pavo Microscopium Capricornus Indus Piscis Austrinus Aquarius Grus Octans Tucana |
[edit] Modern constellations
| constellation | abbreviation | genitive | origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda | And | Andromedae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Antlia | Ant | Antliae | 1763, Lacaille |
| Apus | Aps | Apodis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Aquarius | Aqr | Aquarii | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Aquila | Aql | Aquilae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Ara | Ara | Arae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Aries | Ari | Arietis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Auriga | Aur | Aurigae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Boötes | Boo | Boötis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Caelum | Cae | Caeli | 1763, Lacaille |
| Camelopardalis | Cam | Camelopardalis | 1624, Bartsch [2] |
| Cancer | Cnc | Cancri | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Canes Venatici | CVn | Canum Venaticorum | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Canis Major | CMa | Canis Majoris | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Canis Minor | CMi | Canis Minoris | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Capricornus | Cap | Capricorni | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Carina | Car | Carinae | 1763, Lacaille, split from Argo Navis |
| Cassiopeia | Cas | Cassiopeiae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Centaurus | Cen | Centauri | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Cepheus | Cep | Cephei | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Cetus | Cet | Ceti | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Chamaeleon | Cha | Chamaeleontis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Circinus | Cir | Circini | 1763, Lacaille |
| Columba | Col | Columbae | 1679, Royer, split from Canis Major |
| Coma Berenices | Com | Comae Berenices | 1603, Uranometria, split from Leo |
| Corona Australis [3] | CrA | Coronae Australis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Corona Borealis | CrB | Coronae Borealis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Corvus | Crv | Corvi | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Crater | Crt | Crateris | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Crux | Cru | Crucis | 1603, Uranometria, split from Centaurus |
| Cygnus | Cyg | Cygni | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Delphinus | Del | Delphini | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Dorado | Dor | Doradus | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Draco | Dra | Draconis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Equuleus | Equ | Equulei | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Eridanus | Eri | Eridani | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Fornax | For | Fornacis | 1763, Lacaille |
| Gemini | Gem | Geminorum | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Grus | Gru | Gruis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Hercules | Her | Herculis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Horologium | Hor | Horologii | 1763, Lacaille |
| Hydra | Hya | Hydrae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Hydrus | Hyi | Hydri | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Indus | Ind | Indi | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Lacerta | Lac | Lacertae | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Leo | Leo | Leonis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Leo Minor | LMi | Leonis Minoris | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Lepus | Lep | Leporis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Libra | Lib | Librae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Lupus | Lup | Lupi | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Lynx | Lyn | Lyncis | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Lyra | Lyr | Lyrae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Mensa | Men | Mensae | 1763, Lacaille |
| Microscopium | Mic | Microscopii | 1763, Lacaille |
| Monoceros | Mon | Monocerotis | 1624, Bartsch |
| Musca | Mus | Muscae | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Norma | Nor | Normae | 1763, Lacaille |
| Octans | Oct | Octantis | 1763, Lacaille |
| Ophiuchus | Oph | Ophiuchi | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Orion | Ori | Orionis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Pavo | Pav | Pavonis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Pegasus | Peg | Pegasi | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Perseus | Per | Persei | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Phoenix | Phe | Phoenicis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Pictor | Pic | Pictoris | 1763, Lacaille |
| Pisces | Psc | Piscium | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Piscis Austrinus | PsA | Piscis Austrini | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Puppis | Pup | Puppis | 1763, Lacaille, split from Argo Navis |
| Pyxis | Pyx | Pyxidis | 1763, Lacaille |
| Reticulum | Ret | Reticuli | 1763, Lacaille |
| Sagitta | Sge | Sagittae | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Sagittarius | Sgr | Sagittarii | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Scorpius | Sco | Scorpii | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Sculptor | Scl | Sculptoris | 1763, Lacaille |
| Scutum | Sct | Scuti | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Serpens [4] | Ser | Serpentis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Sextans | Sex | Sextantis | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
| Taurus | Tau | Tauri | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Telescopium | Tel | Telescopii | 1763, Lacaille |
| Triangulum | Tri | Trianguli | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Triangulum Australe | TrA | Trianguli Australis | 1603 Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Tucana | Tuc | Tucanae | 1603 Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Ursa Major | UMa | Ursae Majoris | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Ursa Minor | UMi | Ursae Minoris | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Vela | Vel | Velorum | 1763, Lacaille, split from Argo Navis |
| Virgo | Vir | Virginis | ancient (Ptolemy) |
| Volans | Vol | Volantis | 1603, Uranometria, created by Keyser and de Houtman |
| Vulpecula | Vul | Vulpeculae | 1690, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Hevelius |
- Notes
- ^ 'Quad' designates the quadrant of the sky where N for North is associated to a positive Declination, and S for South for a negative one. Quadrants refer to 6 hours arcs, so that NQ1 refers to North quadrant constellations having midpoints between 00h R.A. and 06h R.A.
- ^ Some sources say that Camelopardalis, Columba, and Monoceros were invented by Petrus Plancius in the early 1600s.
- ^ Corona Australis is sometimes called "Corona Austrina" (genitive: Coronae Austrinae).
- ^ Serpens is divided into Serpens Cauda and Serpens Caput.
[edit] Former constellations
Some constellations are no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union, but may appear in older star charts and other references. Most notable is Argo Navis, which was one of Ptolemy's original 48 constellations.
[edit] Asterisms
Various other unofficial patterns have existed alongside the constellations. These are known as "asterisms." Examples include the Big Dipper and the Northern Cross. Some ancient asterisms, for example Coma Berenices, Serpens, and portions of Argo Navis, are now officially constellations.
