Constellation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the star grouping. For other uses, see Constellation (disambiguation).
The constellation Orion is one of the most recognizable in the night sky.
The constellation Orion as it can be seen by the naked eye. Lines have been added.
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around patterns that represent the shapes that give the name to the constellations. When astronomers say an object is "in" a given constellation, they mean it is within the boundaries of one of these defined areas of sky, as the patterns may have several variants in its representation.
There are also numerous historical constellations not recognized by the IAU or constellations recognized in regional traditions of astronomy or astrology, such as Chinese, Hindu and Australian Aboriginal.

Terminology[edit]

The Late Latin term constellātiō can be translated as "set with stars". The term was first used in astrology, of asterisms that supposedly exerted influence, attested in Ammianus (4th century). In English the term was used from the 14th century, also in astrology, of conjunctions of planets. The modern astronomical sense of "area of the celestial sphere around a specific asterism" dates to the mid 16th century.
Colloquial usage does not distinguish the senses of "asterism" and "area surrounding an asterism". The modern system of constellations used in astronomy focuses primarily on constellations as grid-like segments of the celestial sphere rather than as patterns, while the term for a star-pattern is asterism. For example, the asterism known as the Big Dipper corresponds to the seven brightest stars of the larger IAU constellation of Ursa Major.
The term circumpolar constellation is used for any constellation that, from a particular latitude on Earth, never sets below the horizon. From the north pole, all constellations north of the celestial equator are circumpolar constellations. In the northern latitudes, the informal term equatorial constellation has sometimes been used for constellations that lie to the south of the circumpolar constellations.[1] Depending on the definition, equatorial constellations can include those that lie entirely between declinations 45° north and 45° south,[2] or those that pass overhead between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. They generally include all constellations that intersect the celestial equator.

History[edit]

Further information: Former constellations and History of the constellations
The current list of 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union since 1922 is based on the 48 listed by Ptolemy in his Almagest in the 2nd century.[3][4] Ptolemy's catalogue is informed by Eudoxus of Cnidus, a Greek astronomer of the 4th century BC who introduced earlier Babylonian astronomy to the Hellenistic culture. Of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, thirty can be shown to have a much longer history, reaching back into at least the Late Bronze Age[citation needed]. This concerns the zodiacal constellations in particular.

Ancient Near East[edit]

See also: Babylonian star catalogues and MUL.APIN
The oldest catalogues of stars and constellations are from Old Babylonian astronomy, beginning in the Middle Bronze Age. The numerous Sumerian names in these catalogues suggest that they build on older, but otherwise unattested, Sumeriantraditions of the Early Bronze Age. The classical Zodiac is a product of a revision of the Old Babylonian system in later Neo-Babylonian astronomy 6th century BC. Knowledge of the Neo-Babylonian zodiac is also reflected in the Hebrew Bible. E. W. Bullinger interpreted the creatures appearing in the books of Ezekiel (and thence in Revelation) as the middle signs of the four quarters of the Zodiac,[5][6] with the Lion as Leo, the Bull is Taurus, the Man representing Aquarius and the Eagle standing in for Scorpio.[7] The biblical Book of Job also makes reference to a number of constellations, including עיש `Ayish"bier", כסיל Kĕciyl "fool" and כימה Kiymah "heap" (Job 9:9, 38:31-32), rendered as "Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades" by the KJV, but `Ayish "the bier" actually corresponding to Ursa Major.[8] The term Mazzaroth מַזָּרוֹת, a hapax legomenon in Job 38:32, may be the Hebrew word for the zodiacal constellations.
The Greeks adopted the Babylonian system in the 4th century BC. A total of twenty Ptolemaic constellations are directly continued from the Ancient Near East. Another ten have the same stars but different names.[9]
Ancient Egyptian star chart and decanal clock on the ceiling from the tomb of Senenmut

Ancient Egyptian star charts and astronomical ceilings[edit]

See also: Egyptian_astronomy
In ancient Egypt, the observation of stars such as Sirius in the day and night sky were used from a very ancient period, in order to predict the Nile Flood.[10] This practical observation of the stars was also associated with a very complex cosmology that involved various gods and sprits, some of whom were associated with stars and heavenly bodies, such as Sothis/Sopdet, who was likely associated with Sirius and Sahwho was associated with Orion.[11][12] This cosmology and practice of astronomy eventually led to the Egyptians producing decanal clocks on coffin lids[13] and star charts featuring their gods and star observations on the ceilings of tombs and temples. Over time these became more complex, featuring various human and anthropomorphic figures representing the planets, stars and various constellations.[13] This tradition was later combined with Greek and Babylonian astronomical systems under the Ptolemies culminating in the Zodiac of Dendera. The first circular zodiac showing all the constellations we are familiar with, along with Egyptian Constellations, Decans andPlanets.[14][15]

Hindu or Indian Constellation[edit]

Main article: Nakshatra
Nakshatra (Devanagari: nákṣatra) is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to the most prominent asterisms in the respective sectors.
The starting point for the nakshatras is the point on the ecliptic directly opposite to the star Spica called Chitrā in Sanskrit(other slightly different definitions exist). It is called Meshādi or the "start of Aries".[citation needed] The ecliptic is divided into each of the nakshatras eastwards starting from this point. The number of nakshatras reflects the number of days in asidereal month (modern value: 27.32 days), the width of a nakshatra traversed by the moon in about one day. Each nakshatra is further subdivided into four quarters (or padas). These play a role in popular Hindu astrology, where each padais associated with a syllable, conventionally chosen as the first syllable of the given name of a child born when the moon was in the corresponding pada.
The nakshatras of traditional bhartiya astronomy are based on a list of 28 asterisms found in the Atharvaveda (AVŚ 19.7) and also in the Shatapatha Brahmana.[citation needed] The first astronomical text that lists them is the Vedanga Jyotisha.
In classical Hindu mythology (Mahabharata, Harivamsa), the creation of the nakshatras is attributed to Daksha. They are personified as daughters of the deity and as mythological wives of Chandra, the moon god, or alternatively the daughters ofKashyapa, the brother of Daksha.[16]
Each of the nakshatras is governed as 'lord' by one of the nine graha in the following sequence: Ketu (South Lunar Node),Shukra (Venus), Ravi or Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Rahu (North Lunar Node), Guru or Brihaspati(Jupiter), Shani (Saturn) and Budha (Mercury). This cycle repeats itself three times to cover all 27 nakshatras. The lord of each nakshatra determines the planetary period known as the dasha, which is considered of major importance in forecasting the life path of the individual in Hindu astrology.
In Vedic Sanskrit, the term nákṣatra may refer to any heavenly body, or to "the stars" collectively. The classical sense of "lunar mansion" is first found in the Atharvaveda, and becomes the primary meaning of the term in Classical Sanskrit.

Greece-Roman[edit]

There is only limited information on indigenous Greek constellations. Some evidence is found in Hesiod.[clarification needed]Greek astronomy essentially adopted the older Babylonian system in the Hellenistic era, first introduced to Greece byEudoxus of Cnidus in the 4th century BC. The original work of Eudoxus is lost, but it survives as a versification by Aratus, dating to the 3rd century BC. The most complete existing works dealing with the mythical origins of the constellations are by the Hellenistic writer termed pseudo-Eratosthenes and an early Roman writer styled pseudo-Hyginus.
The basis of western astronomy as taught during Late Antiquity and until the Early Modern period is the Almagest byPtolemy, written in the 2nd century.

Classical Chinese constellations[edit]

Main article: Chinese constellation
Further information: Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era
In classical Chinese astronomy, the northern sky is divided geometrically, into five "enclosures" and twenty-eight mansionsalong the ecliptic, grouped into Four Symbols of seven asterisms each. The 28 lunar mansions are one of the most important and also the most ancient structures in the Chinese sky, attested from the 5th century BC. Parallels to the earliest Babylonian (Sumerian) star catalogues suggest that the ancient Chinese system did not arise independently from that of theAncient Near west and East.[17] Classical Chinese astronomy is recorded in the Han period and appears in the form of three schools, which are attributed to astronomers of the Zhanguo period. The constellations of the three schools were conflated into a single system by Chen Zhuo, an astronomer of the 3rd century (Three Kingdoms period). Chen Zhuo's work has been lost, but information on his system of constellations survives in Tang period records, notably by Qutan Xida. The oldest extant Chinese star chart dates to the Tang period and was preserved as part of the Dunhuang Manuscripts. Native Chinese astronomy flourished during the Song Dynasty, and during the Yuan Dynasty became increasingly influenced bymedieval Islamic astronomy.[18]

Early Modern era[edit]

The constellations around the South Pole were not observable from north of the equator, by Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese or Arabs.
The modern constellations in this region were defined during the age of exploration, notably by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman at the end of sixteenth century. They were depicted by Johann Bayer in hisstar atlas Uranometria of 1603.[19] Several more were created by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in his star catalogue, published in 1756.[20]
Some modern proposals for new constellations were not successful; an example is Quadrans, eponymous of the Quadrantidmeteors, now divided between Boötes and Draco. The classical constellation of Argo Navis was broken up into several different constellations, for the convenience of stellar cartographers.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Guangqi introduced 23 asterisms of the southern sky based on the knowledge of western star charts.[21] These asterisms have since been incorporated into the traditional Chinese star maps.

IAU constellations[edit]

Equirectangular plot of declination vs right ascension of the modern constellations with a dotted line denoting the ecliptic. Constellations are colour-coded by family and year established. (detailed view)
Main article: 88 modern constellations
In 1922, Henry Norris Russell aided the IAU (International Astronomical Union) in dividing the celestial sphere into 88 official constellations.[22]Where possible, these modern constellations usually share the names of their Graeco-Roman predecessors, such as Orion, Leo or Scorpius. The aim of this system is area-mapping, i.e. the division of the celestial sphere into contiguous fields.[23] Out of the 88 modern constellations, 36 lie predominantly in the northern sky, and the other 52 predominantly in the southern.
In 1930, the boundaries between the 88 constellations were devised byEugène Delporte along vertical and horizontal lines of right ascensionand declination.[24] However, the data he used originated back toepoch B1875.0, which was when Benjamin A. Gould first made the proposal to designate boundaries for the celestial sphere, a suggestion upon which Delporte would base his work. The consequence of this early date is that due to theprecession of the equinoxes, the borders on a modern star map, such as epoch J2000, are already somewhat skewed and no longer perfectly vertical or horizontal.[25] This effect will increase over the years and centuries to come.

Asterisms[edit]

Much of the dark space between stars, as seen in the sky of the image above, is due to the human eye's low light sensitivity. Other images (like the Hubble Deep Field – not pictured) detect far more stars.
Main article: Asterism (astronomy)
The stars of the main asterism within a constellation are usually given Greek letters in their order of brightness, the so-called Bayer designation introduced by Johann Bayer in 1603. A total of 1,564 stars are so identified, out of approximately 10,000 stars visible to the naked eye.[26]
The brightest stars, usually the stars that make up the constellation's eponymous asterism, also retain proper names, often from Arabic. For example, the "Little Dipper" asterism of the constellation Ursa Minor has ten stars with Bayer designation, α UMi to π UMi. Of these ten stars, seven have a proper name, viz. Polaris (α UMi), Kochab (β UMi),Pherkad (γ UMi), Yildun (δ UMi), Urodelus (ε UMi), Ahfa al Farkadain (ζ UMi) and Anwar al Farkadain (η UMi).
The stars within an asterism rarely have any substantial astrophysical relationship to each other, and their apparent proximity when viewed from Earth disguises the fact that they are far apart, some being much farther from Earth than others. However, there are some exceptions: many of the stars in the constellation of Ursa Major (including most of the Big Dipper) are genuinely close to one another, travel through the galaxy with similarvelocities, and are likely to have formed together as part of a cluster that is slowly dispersing. These stars form the Ursa Major moving group.
Orion in 3D
Ursa major in 3D
3D anaglyph of Orion. Distances of stars in the Orion constellation vary greatly.3d glasses red cyan.svg 3D red cyanglasses are recommended to view this image correctly.In contrast, the stars comprising the Big Dipper are actually close to each other. The other stars of Ursa major have different distances.3d glasses red cyan.svg 3D red cyan glasses are recommended to view this image correctly.

Dark cloud constellations[edit]

The "Emu in the sky," a constellation defined by dark clouds rather than the stars. An IAU interpretation would recognise Crux (the Southern Cross) above the emu's head and Scorpius on the left. The head of the emu is the Coalsack.
Further information: Great Rift (astronomy)
The Great Rift, a series of dark patches in the Milky Way, is more visible and striking in the southern hemisphere than in the northern. It vividly stands out when conditions are otherwise so dark that the Milky Way's central region casts shadows on the ground. Some cultures have discerned shapes in these patches and have given names to these "dark cloud constellations." Members of the Inca civilization identified various dark areas or dark nebulae in the Milky Way as animals, and associated their appearance with the seasonal rains.[27] Australian Aboriginal astronomy also describes dark cloud constellations, the most famous being the "emu in the sky" whose head is formed by the Coalsack.

See also[edit]

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References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ Steele, Joel Dorman (1884). The story of the stars: New desscriptive astronomy. Science series. American Book Company. p. 220
  2. Jump up^ Harbord, John Bradley; Goodwin, H. B. (1897). Glossary of navigation: a vade mecum for practical navigators (3rd ed.). Griffin. p. 142
  3. Jump up^ International Astronomical Union. "The Constellations".
  4. Jump up^ Ian Ridpath. "Constellation names, abbreviations and sizes".
  5. Jump up^ E.W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars
  6. Jump up^ D. James Kennedy, The Real Meaning of the Zodiac.
  7. Jump up^ Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Vol. 1 (New York: Dover Publications, 1899, p. 213-215.) argued for Scorpio having previously been calledEagle.
  8. Jump up^ Gesenius, Hebrew Lexicon
  9. Jump up^ The Origin of the Greek Constellations, by Bradley E. Schaefer. Scientific American, November 2006.
  10. Jump up^ Carolyn A. Krebs. Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, p. 272)
  11. Jump up^ Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The complete gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 167–168, 211. ISBN 0-500-05120-8.
  12. Jump up^ D.M. Murdock. Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection (Stellar House Publishing, 2008, p. 201.)
  13. ^ Jump up to:a b Marshall Clagett Ancient Egyptian Science: Calendars, clocks and astronomy (American Philosophical Society, 1995, p. 111.)
  14. Jump up^ John H. Rogers, "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions", Journal of the British Astronomical Association 108 (1998) 9–28
  15. Jump up^ Zodiac of Dendera, epitome. (Exhibition, Leic. square). J. Haddon, 1825.
  16. Jump up^ Mythology of the Hindus, by Charles Coleman p.131
  17. Jump up^ Xiaochun Sun, Jacob Kistemaker, The Chinese sky during the Han, vol. 38 of Sinica Leidensia, BRILL, 1997,ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3, p. 18, note 9.
  18. Jump up^ Xiaochun Sun, Jacob Kistemaker, The Chinese sky during the Han, vol. 38 of Sinica Leidensia, BRILL, 1997,ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3, chapter 2, 15-36.
  19. Jump up^ Ian Ridpath. "Bayer's southern star chart".
  20. Jump up^ Ian Ridpath. "Lacaille's southern planisphere".
  21. Jump up^ Sun, Xiaochun (1997). Helaine Selin, ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 910. ISBN 0-7923-4066-3.
  22. Jump up^ "The original names and abbreviations for constellations from 1922.". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  23. Jump up^ "The IAU on constellations". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  24. Jump up^ "Constellation boundaries.". Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  25. Jump up^ A.C. Davenhall & S.K. Leggett, "A Catalogue of Constellation Boundary Data", (Centre de Donneés astronomiques de Strasbourg, February 1990).
  26. Jump up^ The Bright Star Catalogue lists 9,110 objects of the night sky which are visible to the naked eye (apparent magnitudeof 6.5 or brighter). 9,096 of these are stars, all of them well within our galaxy.
  27. Jump up^ The Incan View of the Night Sky

Further reading[edit]

Mythology, lore, history, and archaeoastronomy[edit]

Atlases and celestial maps[edit]

Celestial map, signs of the Zodiac and lunar mansions.
General & Nonspecialized – Entire Celestial Heavens:
  • Becvar, Antonin. Atlas Coeli. Published as Atlas of the Heavens, Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; with coordinate grid transparency overlay.
  • Norton, Arthur Philip. (1910) Norton's Star Atlas, 20th Edition 2003 as Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook, edited by Ridpath, Ian, Pi Press, ISBN 978-0-13-145164-3, hardcover.
  • National Geographic Society. (1957, 1970, 2001, 2007) The Heavens (1970), Cartographic Division of the National Geographic Society (NGS), Washington, D.C., U.S.A., two sided large map chart depicting the constellations of the heavens; as special supplement to the August 1970 issue of National Geographic. Forerunner map as A Map of The Heavens, as special supplement to the December 1957 issue. Current version 2001 (Tirion), with 2007 reprint.
  • Sinnott, Roger W. and Perryman, Michael A.C. (1997) Millennium Star Atlas, Epoch 2000.0, Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and European Space Agency (ESA), ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Subtitle: "An All-Sky Atlas Comprising One Million Stars to Visual Magnitude Eleven from the Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues and Ten Thousand Nonstellar Objects". 3 volumes, hardcover, in hardcover slipcase, set ISBN 0-933346-84-0. Vol. 1, 0–8 Hours (Right Ascension), ISBN 0-933346-81-6 hardcover; Vol. 2, 8–16 Hours, ISBN 0-933346-82-4 hardcover; Vol. 3, 16–24 Hours, ISBN 0-933346-83-2 hardcover. Softcover version available. Supplemental separate purchasable coordinate grid transparent overlays.
  • Tirion, Wil; et al. (1987) Uranometria 2000.0, Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A., 3 volumes, hardcover. Vol. 1 (1987): "The Northern Hemisphere to −6°", by Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and George Lovi, ISBN 0-943396-14-Xhardcover, printed boards (blue). Vol. 2 (1988): "The Southern Hemisphere to +6°", by Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport and George Lovi, ISBN 0-943396-15-8 hardcover, printed boards (red). Vol. 3 (1993) as a separate added work: The Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0, by Murray Cragin, James Lucyk, and Barry Rappaport, ISBN 0-943396-38-7hardcover, printed boards (gray). 2nd Edition 2001 (black or dark background) as collective set of 3 volumes – Vol. 1:Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas, by Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and Will Remaklus, ISBN 978-0-943396-71-2hardcover, printed boards (blue edging); Vol. 2: Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas, by Wil Tirion, Barry Rappaport, and Will Remaklus, ISBN 978-0-943396-72-9 hardcover, printed boards (green edging); Vol. 3: Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Field Guide by Murray Cragin and Emil Bonanno, ISBN 978-0-943396-73-6, hardcover, printed boards (teal green).
  • Tirion, Wil and Sinnott, Roger W. (1998) Sky Atlas 2000.0, various editions. 2nd Deluxe Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England (UK).
Northern Celestial Hemisphere & North Circumpolar Region:
  • Becvar, Antonin. (1962) Atlas Borealis 1950.0, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Praha, Czechoslovakia, 1st Edition, elephant folio hardcover, with small transparency overlay coordinate grid square and separate paper magnitude legend ruler. 2nd Edition 1972 and 1978 reprint, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., ISBN 0-933346-01-8 oversize folio softcover spiral bound, with transparency overlay coordinate grid ruler.
Equatorial, Ecliptic, & Zodiacal Celestial Sky:
  • Becvar, Antonin. (1958) Atlas Eclipticalis 1950.0, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Praha, Czechoslovakia, 1st Edition, elephant folio hardcover, with small transparency overlay coordinate grid square and separate paper magnitude legend ruler. 2nd Edition 1974, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., oversize folio softcover spiral bound, with transparency overlay coordinate grid ruler.
Southern Celestial Hemisphere & South Circumpolar Region:
  • Becvar, Antonin. Atlas Australis 1950.0, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Praha, Czechoslovakia, 1st Edition, elephant folio hardcover, with small transparency overlay coordinate grid square and separate paper magnitude legend ruler. 2nd Edition, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved), Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., oversize folio softcover spiral bound, with transparency overlay coordinate grid ruler.

Catalogs[edit]

  • Becvar, Antonin. (1959) Atlas Coeli II Katalog 1950.0, Praha, 1960 Prague. Published 1964 as Atlas of the Heavens - II Catalogue 1950.0, Sky Publishing Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
  • Hirshfeld, Alan and Sinnott, Roger W. (1982) Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Cambridge University Press and Sky Publishing Corporation, 1st Edition, 2 volumes. LCCN 81017975 both vols., and LCCN 83240310 vol. 1. "Volume 1: Stars to Magnitude 8.0", ISBN 0-521-24710-1 (Cambridge) and 0-933346-35-2 (Sky) hardcover, ISBN 0-933346-34-4 (Sky) softcover. Vol. 2 (1985) - "Volume 2: Double Stars, Variable Stars, and Nonstellar Objects", ISBN 0-521-25818-9(Cambridge) hardcover, ISBN 0-521-27721-3 (Cambridge) softcover. 2nd Edition (1991) with additional third author Frangois Ochsenbein, 2 volumes, LCCN 91026764. Vol. 1: ISBN 0-521-41743-0 (Cambridge) hardcover (black binding);ISBN 0-521-42736-3 (Cambridge) softcover (red lettering with Hans Vehrenberg astrophoto). Vol. 2 (1999): ISBN 0-521-27721-3 (Cambridge) softcover and 0-933346-38-7 (Sky) softcover - reprint of 1985 edition (blue lettering with Hans Vehrenberg astrophoto).
  • Yale University Observatory. (1908, et al.) Catalogue of Bright Stars, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. Referred to commonly as "Bright Star Catalogue". Various editions with various authors historically, the longest term revising author as (Ellen) Dorrit Hoffleit. 1st Edition 1908. 2nd Edition 1940 by Frank Schlesinger and Louise F. Jenkins. 3rd Edition (1964), 4th Edition, 5th Edition (1991), and 6th Edition (pending posthumous) by Hoffleit.

External links[edit]

Look up constellation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toConstellations.