Star Constellations

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 …

Unlike other constellations, Vulpecula was not named from a character or creature from mythology that some early astronomer thought the grouping of stars resembled. When Johannes Hevelius named the constellation in 1687, he chose the …

Camelopardalis is one of several constellations created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the 17th century for the sole purpose of filling gaps in the sky left blank by Greek astronomers. The word “Camelopardalis” …

While the Greek astronomers Ptolemy and Aratus considered the region now occupied by Leo Minor to be empty, or at least, not organized into a recognizable pattern, the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius thought otherwise. Therefore, …

Triangulum was known to the ancient Babylonians as long ago as 1000 BC, and by 150 AD. the Greco-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy cataloged it as one of the 48 known constellations at that time. While to …

Corvus is the 70th largest of the 88 constellations, and consists of 4 main stars which form a quadrangle in the night sky, the brightest of which is a blue-white giant of 2.59 magnitude called …

Serpens is a faint constellation that is unusual in the sense that it is divided into two parts, with both parts of “the Serpent” depending on each other, as well as a third constellation, Ophiuchus, …

Hydrus is a modern constellation created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius, who based his view of the constellation on measurements taken by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, who were both prominent Dutch …

Lynx is a faint northern constellation occupying the seemingly empty stretch of sky between Ursa Major and Auriga. It was created by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the late 17th century, unlike many familiar constellations …

While Ptolemy described the stars of modern-day Canes Venatici as “informes”, or the “unformed” [stars] of Ursa Major, the constellation proper was only introduced to the world in the late 1600’s by the Polish astronomer …