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 …
The night sky’s twenty-two brightest 1st magnitude stars are shown above, while the following table provides information on the 88 recognized constellations, together with details on their location, size, and brightest star.
Regardless of what one thinks of astrology as a means to predict the future or to define personality types, it must be stated that modern astronomy has its roots deep in several ancient astrological traditions. …
Lyra (“the Lyre”) is one of the smaller constellations, taking up an area of just 286 sq/deg of the northern sky between latitudes +90 and -40 degrees. It does, however, contains the 5th brightest star …
Cygnus is a familiar northern constellation with its brightest star, Deneb, marking the tail of the swan it depicts. This beautiful blue supergiant also forms part of the Summer Triangle, together with Aquila in Altair, …
Cetus, the “Sea Monster”, is the fourth biggest constellation taking up 3% of the night sky, and is best observed in winter by observers located between latitudes of +70° and -90°. The constellation contains only …
Centaurus is the ninth largest constellation, and takes up an area of 1,060 square degrees of the southern hemisphere night sky, where it can be seen by any observer located between +25° and -90°of latitude. …
Boötes, representing a “herdsman” or “ploughman”, is a distinctly kite-shaped constellation that can be seen in the night sky by observers located between +90° and -50° of latitude. It is the 13th biggest constellation in …
The constellation Cepheus is named after a mythical king from Greek mythology, who was the husband of Cassiopeia, and the father of Andromeda, both of whom are represented by neighbouring constellations. It is the 27th …
Monoceros (“The Unicorn”) is a faint northern sky constellation that lies on the celestial equator, and can be seen by observers located between +75° and -90° of latitude. It is the 35th largest constellation, but …
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