Constellations

Content

• Examples of constellations

A constellation It is a group of stars that, when drawing a line that joins them in an imaginary way, forms a figure in the sky. In this way figures of people, objects or animals are formed. This type of figures in the sky was useful for navigation in ancient times, since, through these constellations, ships could guide themselves and know where they were.

As we have said above the union between the points that form a certain constellation has been (and is) arbitrary. In other words, they do not respond to a specific astronomical question but rather to a human criterion and not to the stars that make up those constellations.

However, these constellations have been written down and have become part of the astronomical communication of ancient civilizations. Although the stars that make up the same constellation seem to be at a short distance, the truth is that they can be found millions of kilometers from each other.

First discoveries

The ancient peoples who have observed the sky and who began to make the first annotations on the constellations, were the civilizations of Middle East and those of Mediterranean. However, and as already mentioned, since they were arbitrary in nature, many of them could correspond to constellations of a given civilization while another civilization might not recognize it as such.

Constellation observations

Constellations can be observed directly by looking at the night sky. However, for a better observation it is necessary to make an observation from the night sky in the field, since in the city, as a result of the lights and environmental pollution, the luminosity of the night sky dims, avoiding seeing all the available stars in the sky.

It is also useful to obtain, previously, a map of the night sky, to locate the constellations in it. It is customary to divide the constellations into two large groups. Both are divided by their location in the sky in relation to the equator:

• Northern constellations. They are located north of the Equator line.
• Southern constellations. They are located south of the equatorial line

The navegation

These creations have been very useful, particularly for night navigation in ancient times where the lack of technology greatly limited the orientation of sailors (with the exception of the use of a compass).

In this way the navigators could (by observing the stars and these constellations) know where they should go based on knowing the destination point and the route they had to follow in order not to deviate.

Examples of constellations

• Chinese constellations. Examples of these are:

• Hindu constellations. Examples of these are:

1. Ketu (lunar south node)
2. Shukra (Venus)
3. Ravi or Suria (Sun)
4. Chandra (Moon)
5. Mangala (Mars)
6. Rahu (lunar north node)
7. Guru or Bríjaspati (Jupiter)
8. Shani (Saturn)
9. Budha (Mercury)

• Pre-Columbian constellations. Examples of these are:

1. Citlaltianquiztli (The Market)
2. Citlalxonecuilli ("Crooked foot")
3. Citlalcólotl or Colotlixáyac (El Alacrán)
4. Citlallachtli (The court of the ball game “tlachtli”)
5. Citlalmamalhuaztli (Los Palos Saca-fuego)
6. Citlalocélotl (The Jaguar)
7. Citlalozomatli (The Monkey)
8. Citlalcóatl (The Serpent)

• Zodiacal constellations. Examples of these are:

1. Aries
2. Taurus
3. Gemini
4. Cancer
5. Leo
6. Virgo
7. Libra
8. Scorpio
9. Sagittarius
10. Capricorn
11. Aquarium
12. Pisces

• Ptolemy constellations. Examples of these are:

1. Aquarius constellation
2. Andromeda constellation
3. Aquila constellation
4. Ara constellation
5. Constellation Aries
6. Constellation Auriga
7. Bootes constellation
8. Cancer constellation
9. Canis Maior constellation
10. Constellation Canis Minor
11. Capricorn constellation
12. Cassiopeia constellation
13. Constellation Cepheus
14. Centaurus constellation
15. Constellation Cetus
16. Constellation Corona Australis
17. Constellation Corona Borealis
18. Corvus constellation
19. Crater constellation
20. Crux constellation
21. Cygnus constellation
22. Delphinus constellation
23. Draco constellation
24. Equuleus constellation
25. Eridanus constellation
26. Constellation gemini
27. Hercules constellation
28. Constellation hydra
29. Leo constellation
30. Lepus constellation
31. Libra constellation
32. Lupus constellation
33. Lyra constellation
34. Ophiuchus constellation
35. Orion constellation
36. Constellation Ursa Major
37. Constellation Ursa Minor
38. Pegasus constellation
39. Perseus constellation
40. Constellation pisces
41. Constellation Piscis Austrinus
42. Sagittarius constellation
43. Sagitta constellation
44. Scorpius constellation
45. Serpens constellation
46. Taurus constellation
47. Triangulum constellation
48. Virgo constellation

• Modern constellations. Examples of these are:

1. Apus, the bird of Paradise
2. Camelopardalis, the giraffe
3. Chamaeleon, the chameleon
4. Crux, the cross
5. Dorado, the fish
6. Grus, the crane. He was known as Phoenicopterus, which means "flamenco". This name was given in England during the seventeenth century
7. Hydrus, the male hydra
8. Indus, the American Indian
9. Jordanus, the Jordan River
10. Monoceros, the unicorn
11. Musca, the fly
12. Peacock
13. Phoenix, the phoenix
14. Tigris, the Tigris River
15. Triangulum Australe, the southern triangle
16. Tucana, the toucan
17. Volans, the flying fish