Constellations

By Harsh, Veer, Arnav, and Piyush

 Definition
A certain grouping of stars that were
imagined and to form configurations of
objects or creatures in the sky

An example of a constellation would be the

Orion constellation which represents the
god of hunting
 Purpose

Reason 1
Constellations allow stargazers
and astronauts to recognize
specific stars in the night sky
Allowing people to recognize the
pattern of constellations that
may occur in their area
Reason 2
During Ancient times,
constellations were created as a
calendar so they knew when to
plant crops and harvest them
How were they named?

Many constellations were named by ancient

astronomers who saw the patterns in the
stars.

Typically they were named after:

● Animals
● Gods
● Other objects

The recent new constellations have been

named recently with Latin language.
Total “Official”
Constellations
There are currently a total of 88
constellations found.

There still raises the possibility of

potentially missing constellations
that have yet to be found.
Famous Constellations
Some famous constellations are well know
include:

● Orion
● Ursa Major
● Southern Cross

These constellations are typically the most

popular due to being the most visible in the
sky

The example image shows Orion which is

typically found in the northern hemisphere
during November to February.
 Asterism vs Constellation
People mistakenly confuse an asterism and a
constellation as they both involve stars but there
is a difference.

An asterism is essentially patterns of stars that

are not officially identified as constellations.

Typically asterism may have some sort of

mythological meaning to the star pattern.

A major difference between constellations and

asterism would be the size comparison.

While constellations span large areas of skies,

asterisms are smaller and only contain a handful
of stars.

Some asterisms can be part of constellations, for

example the Big Dipper is a asterism that is part
of a constellation known as Ursa Major.
Zodiac Definition
Zodiacs are a band of constellations that circle
the earth and are used typically for astrology.

The 12 signs of a Zodiac are based on the

position of the sun relative to the
constellations

The twelve signs of the Zodiac are:

● Aries, Taurus
● Gemini, Cancer
● Leo, Virgo
● Libra, Scorpio
● Sagittarius
● Capricorn
● Aquarius
● Pisces
How to find constellations
Using a star chart to differentiate
constellations based on the amount of stars
grouped together

Using apps is a much easier way to spot

which constellations are which.

Depending on the location of where you

are, different constellations appear on
different sides of the world.
Interesting Facts
● The constellation Draco is named after the
Latin word for dragon.

● The constellation Orion is said to be named

after a hunter from Greek mythology.

● The constellation Ursa Major is also known

as the Great Bear.

● The constellation Cygnus is known as the

Northern Cross.