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Major and Minor Constellations Overview

A constellation is a group of stars that form a pattern when seen from Earth. There are 88 officially recognized constellations that the sky is divided into. The brightest is Crux (the Southern Cross) and the largest is Hydra (the Water Snake), which extends over 3.158% of the sky. Constellations also contain smaller star patterns called asterisms. The 12 zodiac constellations lie along the ecliptic. The document then lists the constellations of the southern and northern hemispheres.

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Jory Aromas Agapay
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179 views2 pages

Major and Minor Constellations Overview

A constellation is a group of stars that form a pattern when seen from Earth. There are 88 officially recognized constellations that the sky is divided into. The brightest is Crux (the Southern Cross) and the largest is Hydra (the Water Snake), which extends over 3.158% of the sky. Constellations also contain smaller star patterns called asterisms. The 12 zodiac constellations lie along the ecliptic. The document then lists the constellations of the southern and northern hemispheres.

Uploaded by

Jory Aromas Agapay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CONSTELLATIONS

A constellation is a group of stars that, when seen from Earth, form a pattern. The stars
in the sky are divided into 88 constellations.

The brightest constellation is Crux (the Southern Cross). The constellation with the
greatest number of visible stars in it is Centaurus (the Centaur - with 101 stars). The
largest constellation is Hydra (The Water Snake) which extends over 3.158% of the
sky.

There are also asterisms, smaller apparent star patterns within a constellation, like
the Big Dipper (in Ursa Major), the Little Dipper (in Ursa Minor), Keystone
(inHercules), and the Pleiades (in Taurus).

The 12 Constellations of the Zodiac


The zodiac is a band of 12 constellations along the ecliptic.

Aquarius, the water bearer


Aries, the ram
Cancer, the crab
Capricorn, the goat
Gemini, the twins
Leo, the lion
Libra, the scales
Pisces, the fish
Sagittarius, the archer
Scorpius, the scorpion
Taurus, the bull
Virgo, the virgin

THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE (SOME ARE SEASONALLY VISIBLE IN THE NORTHERN
HEMISPHERE):

Apus, the bird of paradise


Ara, the altar
Carina, the ship's keel
Centauras, the centaur
Chamaeleon, the chameleon
Circinus, the compass
Crux, the southern cross
Dorado, the swordfish
Eridanus, the river
Grus, the crane
Hydrus, the water snake
Indus, the Indian
Lepus, the rabbit
Mensa, the table
Musca, the fly
Norma, the surveyor's level
Octans, the octant
Pavo, the peacock
Phoenix, the phoenix
Pictor, the easel
Reticulum, the net
Triangulum Australe, the southern triangle
Tucana, the toucan
Vela, the ship's sails
Volans, the flying fish

THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE (SOME ARE SEASONALLY VISIBLE IN THE SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE):

Andromeda, the princess


Antlia, the pump
Aquila, the eagle
Auriga, the chariot driver
Bootes, the herdsman
Caelum, the chisel
Camelopardalis, the giraffe
Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs
Canis Major, the big dog
Canis Minor, the little dog
Cassiopeia, the queen
Cepheus, the king
Cetus, the whale
Columba, the dove
Coma Berenices, Berenice's hair
Corona Australis, the southern crown
Corona Borealis, the northern crown
Corvus, the crow
Crater, the cup
Cygnus, the swan
Delphinus, the dolphin
Draco, the dragon
Equuleus, the little horse
Fornax, the furnace
Hercules, the hero
Horologium, the clock
Hydra, the water snake
Lacerta, the lizard
Leo Minor, the little lion
Lupus, the wolf
Lynx, the lynx
Lyra, the harp
Microscopium, the microscope
Monoceros, the unicorn
Ophiuchus, the sepent holder
Orion, the hunter
Pegasus, the flying horse
Perseus, the Medusa killer
Pisces Austrinus, the southern fish
Puppis, the ship's stern
Pyxis, the ship's compass
Sagitta, the arrow
Sculptor, the sculptor
Scutum, the shield
Serpens, the snake
Sextans, the sextant
Telescopium, the telescope
Triangulum, the triangle
Ursa Major, the big bear
Ursa Minor, the little bear
Vulpecula, the little fox

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