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The International Astronomical Union (IAU) designates 88 constellations. [1] In the table below, they are listed by geographical visibility according to latitude as seen from Earth, as well as the best months for viewing the constellations at 21:00 (9 p.m.).
A celestial map by the Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit, 1670. A star chart is a celestial map of the night sky with astronomical objects laid out on a grid system. They are used to identify and locate constellations, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and planets. [1]
The brightest star in the night sky is located in the southern celestial hemisphere and is larger than the Sun. Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major has the brightest apparent magnitude of −1.46; it has a radius twice that of the Sun and is 8.6 light-years away.
The night sky is the nighttime appearance of celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a night sky include moonlight , starlight , and airglow , depending on location and timing.
Hydra is the largest constellation, covering more than 1 ⁄ 32 of the night sky and 19 times the area of Crux, the smallest constellation.. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) designates 88 constellations of stars.
The constellations along the ecliptic are called the zodiac. When explorers mapped the stars of the southern skies, European astronomers proposed new constellations for that region, as well as ones to fill gaps between the traditional constellations. Because of their Roman and European origins, every constellation has a Latin name.
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Opaque celestial globes that are made with the constellations correctly placed, so they appear as mirror images when directly viewed from outside the globe, are often viewed in a mirror, so the constellations have their familiar appearances. Written material on the globe, e.g., constellation names, is printed in reverse, so it can easily be ...