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The following lists of constellations are available: IAU designated constellations – a list of the current, or "modern", constellations; Former constellations – a list of former constellations; Chinese constellations – traditional Chinese astronomy constellations; List of Nakshatras – sectors along the Moon's ecliptic
All stars but one can be associated with an IAU (International Astronomical Union) constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput (the snake's head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (the snake's tail ...
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. [1] The first constellations were likely defined in prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, and ...
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.
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) [2] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin, dated July 2016, [3] included a table of 125 stars comprising the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN (on 30 June and 20 July 2016) together with names of stars adopted by the IAU Executive Committee ...
The following list gives the corresponding regions of sky. [1] Months in the modern Indian national calendar—despite still carrying names that derive from the nakshatras—do not signify any material correlation. It stands to reason that during the original naming of these months—whenever that happened—they were indeed based on the ...
In modern astronomical writing, all the constellations, including the 12 of the zodiac, have dedicated three-letter abbreviations, which specifically refer to constellations rather than signs. [105] The zodiac symbols are also sometimes used to represent points on the ecliptic, particularly the solstices and equinoxes.
In the star charts, constellations are labelled with capital letters and indicated by dotted lines collecting their stars. The 58 selected stars for navigation are shown in blue and labelled with their common name, star number, and a Greek letter to indicate their Bayer designation.