What do constellations tell us

Of the stars in Cygnus, the swan, the faintest star is the closest and the brightest star is the farthest! How are constellations named? Most of the constellation names we know came from the ancient Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures. They identified clusters of stars as gods, goddesses, animals, and objects of their stories. It is important to understand that these were not the only cultures populating the night sky with characters important to their lives.

Cultures all over the world and throughout time — Native American, Asian, and African — have made pictures with those same stars. In some cases the constellations may have had ceremonial or religious significance. In other cases, the star groupings helped to mark the passage of time between planting and harvesting.

There are 38 modern constellations. In the International Astronomical Union officially listed 88 modern and ancient constellations one of the ancient constellations was divided into 3 parts and drew a boundary around each. The boundary edges meet, dividing the imaginary sphere — the celestial sphere — surrounding Earth into 88 pieces.

Astronomers consider any star within a constellation boundary to be part of that constellation, even if it is not part of the actual picture. Are all stars part of a constellation? No, there are billions of stars, and only a fraction of them make up the shapes of our constellations — these are the stars that are easily seen with the unaided eye. Ancient observers connected these stars into the star pictures.

All stars, however, fall within the boundaries of one of the 88 constellation regions. As astronomers studied the night sky with modern telescopes, they were able to discern stars in the dark spaces around the constellations — stars that were not part of the original star pictures.

You can see some of these stars by observing the sky on a dark night. If you look at the sky with binoculars, you will see even more stars. If you have a telescope, you will see even more! All the stars you see belong to one special group of stars — the stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. How are stars and other objects in the sky named and located? Hundreds of the brightest stars, those visible with the unaided eye, were given names in ancient times.

Many of these stars have multiple names, having been observed by different cultures. When astronomers go to conferences they like to share their research with others. And usually they will want to tell someone which stars or objects they may be looking at. If they just give the coordinates numbers the other person is not likely to have an immediate idea of where the star is located in the sky.

But if you say that the star's name is Alpha Tau then you will know that is the brightest star in the Taurus constellation. The stars are named based on the constellation they are in all stars are in some constellation. The naming goes from brightest to dimmest star and is designated by the Greek alphabet.

For example Beta Ori is the second brightest star in Orion also called Rigel. Marko has worked in many fields of astronomy and physics including planetary astronomy, high energy astrophysics, quantum information theory, and supernova collapse simulations.

Currently he studies the dark nebulae which form stars. What are constellations used for? Intermediate Hi. This page updated on June 27, About the Author Marko Krco Marko has worked in many fields of astronomy and physics including planetary astronomy, high energy astrophysics, quantum information theory, and supernova collapse simulations.

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Editor's Pick. What is the universe expanding into? Intermediate What do I need to do to become an astronomer? Better still, do you know what a constellation is? You have probably heard of the zodiac constellations, but there are 76 more constellations out there, all with different myths, legends and meanings. A constellation is a star group that forms a specific pattern or shape based on the positions of the stars. Constellations are used to map out the night sky and to recognise specific stars in the sky.

The constellation shape is determined by the brightest stars in the constellation and when viewed from Earth, usually resembles an animal or an object and would fittingly be named after its apparent form or named after a mythical creature.

Constellations are useful because they help stargazers and astronomers recognise specific stars in the night sky. Today, constellations are less important than they were in Ancient History. In Ancient times, constellations were used to create and track the calendar so they knew when to plant crops and harvest them. Constellations were also used for navigation and to help sailors travel across oceans.

Once you find Ursa Major, you can easily spot the Northern Star Polaris and by using the height of the Northern Star, you could figure out your latitude. The visibility of a constellation depends on your location on Earth and the time of year you are in. The celestial sky is usually divided into two different hemispheres, the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

As the Earth rotates, different parts of the sky are visible at different times and different locations, for example, the constellation Draco can only be seen in the Northern Hemisphere.

Possibly the most famous constellation in the night sky and the most visible constellation in the sky. Orion got its name after a hunter in Greek Mythology who was thought to be the son of the God Poseidon. Orion was thought to be a giant and very handsome Hunter. Visible from the Southern Hemisphere, Crux is known for being used as a navigation tool, similar to how the Northern Star was used by sailors to determine their latitude.