Star Constellations

Columba (the Dove) is situated in the southern part of the celestial hemisphere, and was created by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1592, although a derivation of the constellation may have been known about for …

Reticulum is a dim southern sky constellation that was one of 14 introduced in the 18th century by French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. It is named after a “reticle” or the sighting device …

Coma Berenices (“Berenice’s Hair”) is a very faint northern sky constellation that represents the hair of Berenice II of Egypt, the wife of King Ptolemy III who reigned from 246–222 BC. The constellation’s brightest star, …

Delphinus, meaning “the dolphin” in Latin, was one of the 48 constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his 2nd century treatise called Almagest. Unlike many other constellations, Delphinus actually resembles the sea animal …

Lupus, meanings “the wolf” in Latin, is one of the original 48 constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria around 150 AD. It is a southern hemisphere constellation found between Centaurus and Scorpius, …

Octans is the southernmost of all the 88 recognized constellations, and was named in the 18th century by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille after the now obsolete navigational instrument known as an octant. …

Pictor was named by French astronomer Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille after spending the period between 1750 and 1754 cataloguing stars of the southern celestial hemisphere while in South Africa. Originally called ‘Equuleus Pictorius’ or “the …

Grus is one of the twelve constellations that was created by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th Century, and subsequently incorporated by the German celestial cartographer Johann Bayer’s into his sky atlas called …

The constellation Phoenix was created by Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius in the 16th century, based upon the observations of Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman who mapped the southern sky that century. …

Sagitta (“arrow”) is one of the original 48 constellations mentioned by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his 2nd century treatise known as the Almagest. It is the night sky’s third smallest constellation, taking up an area …