Constellations and its types

                     CONSTELLATIONS

Constellations are groups of stars. The constellations you can see at night depend on your location on Earth and the time of year. Constellations were named after objects, animals, and people long ago. Astronomers today still use constellations to name stars and meteor showers.

A constellation is a group of stars that looks like a particular shape in the sky and has been given a name. These stars are far away from Earth. They are not connected to each other at all. Some stars in a constellation might be close while others are very far away. But, if you were to draw lines in the sky between the stars like a dot-to-dot puzzle – and use lots of imagination – the picture would look like an object, animal, or person.

Over time, cultures around the world have had different names and numbers of constellations depending on what people thought they saw. Today, there are 88 officially recognized constellations.

The constellations you can see at night depend on the time of year. Earth orbits around the Sun once each year. Our view into space through the night sky changes as we orbit. So, the night sky looks slightly different each night because Earth is in a different spot in its orbit. The stars appear each night to move slightly west of where they were the night before.

Your location on Earth also determines what stars and constellations you see, and how high they appear to rise in the sky. The Northern Hemisphere is always pointing in a different direction than the Southern Hemisphere. This means that stargazers in Australia, for example, get a slightly different view of the sky and can see a few different constellations than those in the United States.

For example, say you’re in the Northern Hemisphere looking into the night sky on September 21. You’ll probably be able to see the constellation Pisces. But you won’t see Virgo because that constellation is on the other side of the Sun. During that time of year, Virgo’s stars would only be visible during the daytime – but you’d never see them because of the brightness of our Sun.

Today there are 88 officially recognised constellations . Those are -

Latin Name English Name or Description

Andromeda Princess of Ethiopia

Antlia Air pump

Apus Bird of Paradise

Aquarius Water bearer

Aquila Eagle

Ara Altar

Aries Ram

Auriga Charioteer

Bootes Herdsman

Caelum Graving tool

Camelopardalis Giraffe

Cancer Crab

Canes Venatici Hunting dogs

Canis Major Big dog

Canis Minor Little dog

Capricornus Sea goat

Carina Keel of Argonauts' ship

Cassiopeia Queen of Ethiopia

Centaurus Centaur

Cepheus King of Ethiopia

Cetus Sea monster (whale)

Chamaeleon Chameleon

Circinus Compasses

Columba Dove

Coma Berenices Berenice's hair

Corona Australis Southern crown

Corona Borealis Northern crown

Corvus Crow

Crater Cup

Crux Cross (southern)

Cygnus Swan

Delphinus Porpoise

Dorado Swordfish

Draco Dragon

Equuleus Little horse

Eridanus River

Fornax Furnace

Gemini Twins

Grus Crane

Hercules Hercules, son of Zeus

Horologium Clock

Hydra Sea serpent

Hydrus Water snake

Indus Indian

Lacerta Lizard

Leo Lion

Leo Minor Little lion

Lepus Hare

Libra Balance

Lupus Wolf

Lynx Lynx

Lyra Lyre or harp

Mensa Table mountain

Microscopium Microscope

Monoceros Unicorn

Musca Fly

Norma Carpenter's Level

Octans Octant

Ophiuchus Holder of serpent

Orion Orion, the hunter

Pavo Peacock

Pegasus Pegasus, the winged horse

Perseus Perseus, hero who saved Andromeda

Phoenix Phoenix

Pictor Easel

Pisces Fishes

Piscis Austrinus Southern fish

Puppis Stern of the Argonauts' ship

Pyxis Compass on the Argonauts' ship

Reticulum Net

Sagitta Arrow

Sagittarius Archer

Scorpius Scorpion

Sculptor Sculptor's tools

Scutum Shield

Serpens Serpent

Sextans Sextant

Taurus Bull

Telescopium Telescope

Triangulum Triangle

Triangulum Australe Southern triangle

Tucana Toucan

Ursa Major Big bear

Ursa Minor Little bear

Vela Sail of the Argonauts' ship

Virgo Virgin

Volans Flying fish

Vulpecula Fox

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