Tucana is a small, dim constellation of the southern skies that is one of 12 created by Petrus Plancius in the late 16th-century, based upon the observations of Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick …
Orion is perhaps the most recognizable of all constellations and contains two of the night sky’s brightest stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse. The Orion constellation also straddles the celestial equator, meaning that it can be seen …
Ara (“the altar”) is a small, faint constellation that is the southernmost of the 48 listed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his 2nd century astronomical treatise called Almagest. The origin of this southern hemisphere …
Vela (“the sails”) lies in the southern celestial sphere, and is one of three constellations created from an ancient constellation called Argo Navis, which depicted the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, the others being …
Sculptor is a faint southern sky constellation that was created by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille from his observatory in South Africa during the 18th century. Its brightest star, Alpha Sculptoris, is a blue-white …
Carina (“the Keel”) is a large southern hemisphere constellation that is crossed by the Milky Way, making it a rich source of deep sky objects, such as star clusters and nebulae. It is one of …
Apus is a small, faint southern hemisphere constellation whose brightest star, Alpha Apodis, has a visual magnitude of just 3.825. The constellation was one of 12 created in the 16th-century by Petrus Plancius in order …
Circinus (“the compass”) commemorates the drawing instrument used by navigators, and is one of 14 southern sky constellations created by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. The constellation is circumpolar, with …
Antlia is a faint southern sky constellation that was created by French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille during his 1751–52 expedition to South Africa. The constellation’s brightest star is Alpha Antliae, an orange giant …
Crater (“the cup”) is one of the original constellations first recorded by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his astronomical treatise called Almagest around 150 AD. This southern constellation is rather faint with its brightest star, Labrum, …
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