Philips Atlas of the Universe

Whole Sky Maps

T

he origin of the constellation patterns is not known with

any certainty. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians drew

up fanciful sky maps (two of the Egyptian constellations,

for example, were the Cat and the Hippopotamus), and so

probably did the Cretans. The pattern followed today is

based on that of the ancient Greeks and all of the 48 con-

stellations given by Ptolemy in his book the Almagest,

written about AD150, are still in use.

Ptolemy’s list contains most of the important constel-

lations visible from the latitude of Alexandria. Among

them are the two Bears, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra and

Aquila, as well as the 12 Zodiacal groups. There are also

some small, obscure constellations, such as Equuleus (the

Foal) and Sagitta (the Arrow), which are surprisingly

faint and, one would have thought, too ill-defined to be

included in the original 48.

It has been said that the sky is a mythological picture

book, and certainly most of the famous old stories are

commemorated there. All the characters of the Perseus

tale are to be seen – including the sea monster, although

nowadays it is better known as Cetus, a harmless whale!

Orion, the Hunter, sinks below the horizon as his killer,

the Scorpion, rises; Hercules lies in the north, together

with his victim the Nemaean lion (Leo). The largest of the

constellations, Argo Navis – the ship which carried Jason

and his companions in quest of the Golden Fleece – has

▼Turn the map for your

hemisphere so that the

current month is at the

bottom. The map will then

show the constellations

on view at approximately

11 pm GMT (facing south

in the northern hemisphere

and north in the southern

hemisphere). Rotate the map

clockwise 15° for each hour

before 11 pm; anticlockwise

for each hour after 11 pm.

Magnitudes: -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Variable star Open Cluster

Globular Cluster Nebula Galaxy

h^12

0 h

23 h

22

h

21

h

20

h

19

h

18

h

17

h

16

h

15

h

h 14

h^11 h^13

10

h

h^9

8

h

7

h

(^6) h
(^5) h
(^4) h
(^3) h
(^2) h
1 h
CANIS MINOR
GEMINI
MONOCEROS
HYDRA
CANCER
LEO MINOR
LEO
SEXTANS
OPHIUCHUS
SERPENS CAPUT
HERCULES
CORONA BOREALIS
BOÖTES
COMABERENICES
CANESVENATICI
VIRGO
LIBRA
URSA MINOR
URSA MAJOR
LYNX
CAMELOPARDALIS
CASSIOPEIA
CEPHEUS
DRACO
SERPENSCAUDA
SCUTUM
LYRA
AQUILA
VULPECULASAGITTA
CYGNUS
LACERTA
AQUARIUS
PEGASUS
EQUULEUS
DELPHINUS
CETUS
PISCES
TRIANGULUMANDROMEDA
ARIES
PERSEUS
TAURUS
ERIDANUS
ORION
AURIGA
OCT
OBER
N
O
V
EM
BE
R
D E C E M B E R
J A N U A R Y
F
E
B
R
U
A
R
Y
AM
CR
H
IRPA
L
M
A
Y
J
U
N
E
J
U
L
Y
A
U
G
U
S
T
SEP
TEM
BE
R
ECLIPTIC
EQUATOR
Beehive
M35
M42
M13
M15
M5
Castor
Pollux
Regulus
Procyon
Betelgeuse
Capella
Spica
Arcturus
ClusterDouble
M31
Polaris
Pleiades
Hyades
Vega
Altair
Mira
Rigel
Deneb
Algol
Aldebaran
+90O
+80O
+70O
+60O
+50O
+40O
+30O
+20O
+10O
–10O
0 O
ECLIPTIC
EQUATOR
Magnitudes: -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
Variable star Open Cluster
Globular Cluster Nebula Galaxy

ATLAS OF THE UNIVERSE

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