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Space^13

Groups of bright stars that appear close together

in the sky are called constellations. They form

patterns that never seem to change over

hundreds, even thousands, of years. The sky

is divided up into 88 constellations.

1 CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN CELESTIAL HEMISPHERE
1 Cetus, 2 Eridanus, 3 Orion, 4 Monoceros, 5 Canis Major, 6 Lepus, 7 Columba, 8 Caelum, 9 Horologium,
10 Fornax, 11 Phoenix, 12 Sculptor, 13 Aquarius, 14 Piscis Austrinus, 15 Capricornus, 16 Microscopium,
17 Grus, 18 Indus, 19 Tucana, 20 Pavo, 21 Apus, 22 Hydrus, 23 Reticulum, 24 Mensa, 25 Chameleon,
26 Dorado, 27 Pictor, 28 Volans, 29 Carina, 30 Puppis, 31 Vela, 32 Musca, 33 Crux, 34 Antlia, 35 Hydra,
36 Sextans, 37 Crater, 38 Corvus, 39 Virgo, 40 Libra, 41 Centaurus, 42 Lupus, 43 Norma, 44 Triangulum
Australe, 45 Ara, 46 Sagittarius, 47 Aquila, 48 Corona Australis, 49 Ophiuchus, 50 Scorpius

1 CONSTELLATIONS OF THE NORTHERN CELESTIAL HEMISPHERE
1 Pisces, 2 Pegasus, 3 Delphinus, 4 Aquila, 5 Sagitta, 6 Cygnus, 7 Andromeda, 8 Triangulum, 9 Aries,
10 Cetus, 11 Taurus, 12 Perseus, 13 Cassiopeia, 14 Cepheus, 15 Lyra, 16 Ophiuchus, 17 Serpens Caput,
18 Corona Borealis, 19 Hercules, 20 Draco, 21 Ursa Minor, 22 Polaris (current Pole Star or North Star),
23 Auriga, 24 Orion, 25 Gemini, 26 Monoceros, 27 Canis Minor, 28 Hydra, 29 Cancer, 30 Ursa Major,
31 Leo Minor, 32 Leo, 33 Canes Venatici, 34 Virgo, 35 Boötes

CAN EVERYONE SEE ALL OF THE CONSTELLATIONS?

If you live on the Equator, you will be able to see all

the constellations at some time during the year. If you

live north or south of the Equator, there are some

stars around the opposite pole you will never be

able to see – they will always be below your horizon.

HOW DID CONSTELLATIONS GET THEIR NAMES?

Many of the constellations were named by ancient

astronomers after things they thought the star patterns

looked like – for example, a lion (Leo) or a swan

(Cygnus), or a character who featured in their myths,

such as the hero Hercules.

ARE THE STARS IN CONSTELLATIONS REALLY

GROUPED TOGETHER IN SPACE?

The stars seem to be close together because they are

in the same direction in space from Earth, but each

star may lie 10 or 1,000 light years away from us.

FIND OUT MORE. Astronomy 11 • Space 10 • Stars 24–

LIGHT YEARS APART 3

The links on star maps joining the

stars help us to identify each

constellation. However, the stars

in most constellations have no

links in space and are often

hundreds of light years apart.

THE CELESTIAL SPHERE 3

Ancient astronomers believed

that the stars in the night sky

were stuck on the inside of a

sphere around the Earth,

which they called the

celestial sphere.

The edge of the map

marks the celestial

equator, the division

between the northern and

southern hemispheres

The Milky Way is

a faint belt of stars

that circles the whole sky

Constellation Dorado
includes the nearest
galaxy to us – the
Large Magellanic
Cloud

Map of northern skies – the

flattened dome of the northern

celestial hemisphere

Vega will be
the pole star
in about
14,000 CE

Map of southern skies – the

flattened dome of the southern

celestial hemisphere

Stars near the edge

become visible month

by month throughout

the year

Stars appear to
circle around the
centre star, Polaris

Betelgeuse

is 400 times

wider than

the Sun

Northern celestial

hemisphere

Sirius is the
brightest star in
the night sky

Southern celestial

hemisphere

Actual position

of stars in space

Constellation as

seen from Earth

Earth

CONSTELLATIONS

Constellations

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constellation