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Constellation Names
Constellation Names
Constellation names, like the names of stars, come from a variety of sources and each
has a different story and meaning behind it. The names of ancient constellations mostly
come from Greek and Roman mythology, while most of the constellations created more
recently were named after scientific instruments and exotic animals. The 88 constellation
names and their meanings are listed below.
Constellation names that come from Greek mythology, including the names of
the zodiac constellations, are the ones that are best known. These constellations were
first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE.
Ptolemy did not name these constellations, but simply documented them in
his Almagest. The constellations were well known to observers long before his time.
They include:
Most of the modern constellations that were not catalogued by Ptolemy were created
between the 16th and 19th centuries. Many of them were unknown to the Greeks
because they lie in the far southern sky and are invisible from mid-northern latitudes.
Twelve constellations were created by Dutch explorers who sailed to Indonesia in 1595.
They were named after the animals the explorers encountered on their journeys. These
constellations were first depicted on a celestial globe designed by the Dutch-Flemish
astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1597/1598. They include:
The last major group of constellations was created by the French astronomer Nicolas-
Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named most of his constellations after
scientific instruments. He made his observations from the Cape of Good Hope in South
Africa and his constellations are largely invisible to most northern observers. They
include:
Andromeda was sacrificed to Cetus to appease the gods and stop the monster from
ravaging her land. Cetus was sent by the god Poseidon after Cassiopeia had boasted
that she was more beautiful than the nymphs.
Antlia is one of the constellations created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de
Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille originally named the constellation Antlia
Pneumatica, or Machine Pneumatique in French, in honour of French physicist Denis
Papin’s invention, the air pump. The name was later shortened to Antlia.
Apus represents the bird of paradise. The constellation’s name means “no feet” in Greek,
referring to a western misconception of the bird of paradise not having feet. The
constellation was created and named by the Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus
Plancius in the late 16th century.
In some versions of the myth, Zeus sent an eagle, represented by the constellation
Aquila, to fetch Ganymede and bring him to Olympus.
Aquila constellation is associated with the eagle that held Zeus’ thunderbolts in Greek
mythology, as well as with the eagle that abducted Ganymede and brought him to
Olympus.
Ara represents the altar on which the gods formed an alliance before going to war with
the Titans in Greek mythology. The gods were led by Zeus and the Titans by Atlas. It is
said that Zeus placed the altar in the sky in honour of the gods’ victory. In various
depictions of the constellation, the Milky Way represents the smoke rising from the
altar.
Aries is identified as the mythical winged ram with golden fleece that was sent by the
nymph Nephele to save her son Phrixus after his father, King Athamas of Boeotia, had
been given a false prophecy that he had to sacrifice his son to ward off famine. In the
myth, Phrixus and his sister Helle climbed on the ram and were carried toward Colchis
on the shore of the Black Sea. Helle lost her grip and fell into the Dardanelles on the
way.
The Greeks named the channel separating Europe and Asia the Hellerospont in her
memory. The Golden Fleece was later the object of the Argonauts’ quest to Colchis.
Auriga, the Charioteer, was said to have been placed in the sky by Zeus himself in
honour of the charioteer and inventor Erichthonius of Athens. Erichthonius was the son
of the god Hephaestus and he was raised by Athena, who taught him many skills. He
was the first person to harness four horses to a chariot and is credited as the inventor of
the the quadriga, the four-horse chariot. His chariot was said to have been made in the
image of the Sun god’s chariot.
Boötes is one of the ancient Greek constellations. The constellation’s name means “the
oxen-driver” and Boötes is usually identified as the ploughman who drove the oxen
represented by Ursa Major. The constellation is also sometimes associated with
Arctophylax, or the Bear Keeper, also referring to Ursa Major, the Big Bear.
In another myth, Boötes represents Arcas, the son of Zeus and Callisto. In the myth,
Callisto’s father King Lycaon decides to test Zeus to see if the god is really who he says
he is and serves him his son Arcas for dinner. Seeing what Lycaon has done, Zeus does
away with the king’s sons and turns Lycaon into a wolf, then collects the parts of his own
son and makes him whole again. In the meantime, Arcas’ mother Callisto is turned into a
bear, either by Zeus to disguise her and protect her from Hera’s revenge, or by the
jealous Hera herself. When Arcas grows up, he comes face to face with his mother in the
woods and does not recognize her. He starts to chase the bear and Zeus intervenes to
prevent a tragedy, turning the mother and son into the constellations Ursa Major
(Callisto) and Boötes (Arcas).
Boötes constellation is also sometimes associated with another mythical figure: Icarius,
the wine maker. Icarius was taught how to make wine by the god Dionysus and, when
he offered some to a group of shepherds, they had a little too much of it and thought
Icarius had poisoned them. The misunderstanding cost Icarius his life. Zeus placed the
wine maker in the sky as the constellation Boötes.
Caelum – The Chisel
Genitive: Caeli
Cancer represents Karkinos, a crab sent by Hera to distract Heracles when he was
fighting the Lemean Hydra as part of his Twelve Labours. In the myth, Heracles kicked
the crab so hard that it flew all the way into the sky, where it became a constellation. In
a different version of the myth, Heracles crushed the crab underfoot and Hera placed it
into the sky.
The constellation Canes Venatici was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes
Hevelius in the 17th century. It represents two hunting dogs led by Boötes, the
Herdsman, following the Great Bear (Ursa Major).
Canis Minor represents the smaller dog following Orion. The constellation is also
sometimes associated with Maera, the dog that belonged to Icarius, the unlucky wine-
maker who met his end at the hands of a group of shepherds who believed that he had
poisoned them. Icarius is represented by the constellation Boötes. The dog was said to
have jumped off a cliff out of grief.
Carina was one of the three constellations that formed Argo Navis, a large constellation
that represented the ship Argo, on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to Colchis to
get the Golden Fleece. Argo Navis was divided into smaller constellations – Carina (the
Keel), Puppis (the Stern) and Vela (the Sails) by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 18th
century.
Centaurus constellation represents the half-man, half-horse hybrid creature from Greek
mythology. It is usually associated with Chiron, the wise centaur who mentored Heracles,
Theseus, Achilles, Jason, and other famous Greek heroes.
Cetus constellation represents the sea monster sent by Poseidon to ravage King
Cepheus’ land after his wife Cassiopeia had boasted that she was more beautiful than
the Nereids.
Columba constellation represents the dove. It was introduced by the Dutch astronomer
Petrus Plancius in the 16th century. Plancius originally named the constellation Columba
Noachi, Noah’s Dove, in reference to the dove that signalled to Noah that the Great
Flood was receding.
Coma Berenices constellation was named after Queen Berenice II of Egypt (c. 266 – 221
BCE). Berenice swore to Aphrodite that she would cut off her long blonde hair if the
goddess brought her husband, Ptolemy III Euergetes, back home safely from a
dangerous mission against the Seleucids. When Ptolemy returned, the queen fulfilled
her promise and placed her hair in Aphrodite’s temple. The hair disappeared the next
day, which made the king angry. To calm him down, Conon, the court astronomer, told
him that the goddess was so pleased with Berenice’s hair that she placed it into the sky.
Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, represents the crown worn by the Cretan princess
Ariadne at her wedding. After helping Theseus defeat the Minotaur and find his way out
of the labyrinth, Ariadne sailed off with the hero, but was abandoned by him on the
island of Naxos. Dionysus saw her weeping and fell in love. The two were later married.
At the wedding, Ariadne wore a crown made by the god Hephaestus, and threw it into
the sky after the ceremony. It is said that the jewels turned into stars which now form
the constellation Corona Borealis.
Corvus is another Greek constellation. It represents the crow (or raven), the sacred bird
of the god Apollo. In the myth, Apollo tells the raven to watch over his lover Coronis.
After a while, Coronis loses interest in the god and falls in love with a human man. When
the bird reports this to Apollo, the god becomes so angry that he curses it, scorching
the raven’s feathers and turning them black. (The bird had originally had white feathers.)
Coronis’ son, the healer Asclepius, is represented by Ophiuchus constellation.
In a different tale, Apollo sends the raven to fetch him some water in a cup, represented
by Crater constellation, and the bird gets distracted by a fig tree and stops to feast.
Later, the raven blames its tardiness on a water snake (represented by Hydra
constellation), but the god is so angry that he casts all three – the raven, the water
snake, and the cup (Crater) – into the sky. Apollo also casts a curse on the bird, turning
its feathers black, and making the raven eternally thirsty. This, according to the tale, is
why ravens and crows have such raspy voices.
Crux constellation is associated with many myths and stories across different cultures.
Greeks could see the constellation before it dropped below the horizon for most of the
northern hemisphere, and some saw significance in the celestial cross disappearing from
the sky and linked it to the crucifixion of Christ. By the year 400 AD, the cross could not
be seen from most of Europe, and Europeans did not rediscover the constellation until
the late 15th century.
Cygnus constellation is most commonly associated with the myth of Leda, the Spartan
queen who gave birth to two sets of twins – the mortal Clytemnestra and Castor and the
immortal Pollux and Helen – after being seduced by Zeus, who came to her in the form
of a swan. The mortal children were fathered by Leda’s husband Tyndareus and the
immortal ones by Zeus. Castor and Pollux are associated with Gemini constellation.
Dorado is one of the constellations created by Dutch explorers in the 16th century. It
represents the dolphinfish.
Draco – The Dragon
Genitive: Draconis
Draco constellation represents the dragon Ladon, the mythical creature with a hundred
heads that guarded the gardens of the Hesperides in Greek mythology. Heracles
defeated the dragon with his poisoned arrows as part of his Twelve Labours. In Roman
legend, Draco is associated with one of the Giant Titans who warred with Zeus and other
Olympian gods for a decade. The Titan met his end at the hands of Minerva in battle
and was thrown into the sky, where it froze around the North Pole.
Equuleus constellation is usually associated with Hippe, the daughter of the centaur
Chiron. Hippe was seduced by Aeolus and became pregnant with his child, but was too
ashamed to tell her father about the pregnancy. She hid from Chiron in the mountains
and, when he came looking for her, she prayed to the gods that he didn’t find her. The
gods granted her wish and turned her into a mare, represented by Equuleus
constellation. Hippe is said to still be hiding from Chiron, with only her head showing
behind Pegasus constellation.
Eridanus is the ancient Greek name for the river Po in Italy. In mythology, Eridanus is
usually associated with the story of Phaëton, the son of the Sun god Helios who begged
his father to let him drive his chariot across the sky. Helios agreed to this and Phaëton
mounted the chariot. However, since he was an inexperienced driver, he soon lost
control of the horses and the chariot plunged close to Earth, setting lands on fire and
turning Libya into a desert. Zeus had to prevent further tragedy and he struck the young
man down with a thunderbolt. Phaëton fell into the river Eridanus and his father did not
drive his chariot for days after his son’s passing, leaving the world in darkness.
Gemini constellation was named after the mythical twins Castor and Polydeuces. Two of
the constellation’s brightest stars carry the twins’ names.
Grus constellation was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late
16th century. It is one of the constellations named after exotic animals, created by Dutch
navigators during their expedition to the East Indies. The constellation represents the
crane.
Hercules
Genitive: Herculis
Hercules constellation was named after Heracles, the legendary hero from Greek
mythology. It is one of the oldest constellations in the sky, dating back to Sumerian
times.
Horologium is another one of Lacaille’s constellations. Its original name was Horologium
Oscillitorium, or “the pendulum clock.” Lacaille named the constellation after the
pendulum clock to honour its inventor, Christiaan Huygens.
Hydrus is not associated with any myths. It is one of the constellations introduced by
Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century. It represents the sea snakes that Dutch explorers
would have seen on their journeys to the East Indies.
Lacerta is one of the constellations created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius
in the 17th century. It is not associated with any myths.
Leo constellation is associated with the Nemean lion in Greek mythology, the beast that
was one of Heracles’ Twelve Labours.
Lepus is one of the Greek constellations, first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
It is not associated with any particular stories from Greek mythology, but is often
depicted as a hare chased by the hunter Orion and his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis
Minor.
The name Libra means “the weighing scales” in Latin, and the constellation represents
the scales of justice held by Dike, the Greek goddess of justice, associated with Virgo
constellation.
Lupus is a very old constellation, first catalogued by Ptolemy. It was not associated with
the wolf until the Renaissance times. The Greeks called the constellation Therium, which
means “wild animal,” and the Romans knew it as Bestia, the beast. The stars of Lupus
used to be part of Centaurus constellation, and they represented an animal sacrificed by
the centaur. The centaur was holding the animal toward an altar, represented by Ara
constellation.
Lynx is one of the constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius. It represents the lynx.
Hevelius gave it this name because it is a faint constellation and it takes the eyesight of
a lynx to see it.
Lyra – The Harp
Genitive: Lyrae
Lyra constellation represents the lyre of Orpheus, the Greek poet and musician who met
his end at the hands of the Bacchantes.
The name Mensa means “the table” in Latin. The constellation was created by Nicolas
Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. He originally named it Mons Mensae, which is the
Latin name for Table Mountain in South Africa. Lacaille spent a couple of years there
mapping the southern skies.
The name Monoceros means “the unicorn” in Latin. The constellation was created by the
Dutch astronomer, cartographer, and clergyman Petrus Plancius in 1612. He named it
after the unicorn because the mythical animal appears several times in the Old
Testament.
Musca is one of the constellations introduced by Dutch explorers in the 16th century. It
represents the fly.
Norma – The Level
Genitive: Normae
Octans constellation represents the reflecting octant, the precursor to the modern
sextant. It was created by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752.
Orion constellation represents the mythical hunter Orion, son of the sea god Poseidon
and the Cretan princess Euryale. It is one of the oldest constellations known, also
associated with the Sumerian myth of Gilgamesh.
Pavo constellation was introduced by Petrus Plancius in the 16th century. It represents
the Java green peacock that Dutch navigators probably encountered while exploring the
East Indies.
Pegasus – The Winged Horse
Genitive: Pegasi
Pegasus represents the white winged horse from Greek mythology. The horse was said
to have sprung from the neck of the Gorgon Medusa when Perseus beheaded her.
Perseus
Genitive: Persei
Perseus constellation represents the Greek hero Perseus. It is one of the six
constellations associated with Perseus and was originally catalogued by Ptolemy in the
2nd century.
The constellation Phoenix represents the mythical firebird, sacred across many cultures
and mythologies. Phoenix was one of the southern constellations introduced by Dutch
explorers in the late 16th century.
The name Pictor means “the painter” in Latin. The constellation, created by Lacaille in
the 17th century, was originally named le Chevalet et la Palette, or “the easel and
palette,” and the name was later Latinized to Equuleus Pictoris, or “the painter’s easel,”
and eventually shortened to Pictor.
Pisces is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by Ptolemy along with the
other Greek constellations. It is associated with a story about the goddess Aphrodite
and her son Eros transforming into fish to escape the monster Typhon.
Piscis Austrinus – The Southern Fish
Genitive: Piscis Austrini
Piscis Austrinus is one of the ancient constellations, dating back to Babylonian times. In
Greek mythology, it represents the Great Fish and is usually depicted as swallowing the
water poured by Aquarius.
Puppis represents the stern of the Argo Navis, the ship on which the Argonauts sailed to
get the Golden Fleece. The ship used to be represented by a single larger constellation,
which was split into three smaller ones in the 18th century.
Pyxis constellation represents the mariner’s compass. It was created by Nicolas Louis de
Lacaille, who originally named it Pyxis Nautica.
Reticulum represents the reticle. The constellation was named by Nicolas Louis de
Lacaille, who gave it the name le Réticule Rhomboide to commemorate the reticle in his
telescope, which he used during his trip to South Africa, where he spent some time
mapping the southern skies in the 1750s. The constellation was created in 1621 by Isaac
Habrecht II, who originally named it Rhombus.
Sagitta is one of the Greek constellations. It represents the arrow that Heracles used on
the eagle that gnawed on Prometheus’ liver.
Sagittarius – The Archer
Genitive: Sagittarii
Scorpius is one of the Greek constellations, first catalogued by Ptolemy. It represents the
scorpion that stung the mythical hunter Orion. Orion is still said to be fleeing from the
scorpion, and this is why the two constellations can never be seen in the sky at the same
time: Orion sets just as Scorpius rises.
Sculptor constellation represents the sculptor’s studio. It was created by Lacaille in the
18th century and originally named l’Atelier du Sculpteur.
Scutum was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. He named the
constellation Scutum Sobiescianum, or the Shield of Sobieski, to honour the victory of
the Polish King Jan III Sobieski in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The name was later
shortened to Scutum, the shield.
Taurus is one of the oldest constellations known. It was first catalogued by Ptolemy in
the 2nd century.
In Greek mythology, Taurus represents the god Zeus, who in one tale transformed
himself into a bull in order to seduce and abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of the
Phoenician King Agenor.
In a different myth, the constellation is associated with the nymph Io, who was also
seduced by Zeus. When the two were almost caught by Zeus’ wife Hera, the god
transformed Io into a heifer to protect her.
Telescopium is one of the constellations created by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille that were
named after various instruments. The constellation represents an aerial telescope, a type
of refractor.
Triangulum Australe means “the southern triangle” in Latin. The constellation was
created by the Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius from observations of Dutch
navigators in the late 16th century. Like most southern constellations, it is not associated
with any myths.
Tucana is one of the southern constellations created by Dutch explorers in the late 16th
century. It was named after the toucan, a type of bird found in South America.
Ursa Major, the “great bear” in Latin, is associated with many different myths in many
cultures, and represents a bear in many of the legends it is associated with across the
globe. It is one of the most ancient constellations in the sky. In Greek mythology, it is
most commonly taken to represent Callisto, a nymph Zeus fell in love with, whom his
wife Hera turned into a bear. Sometimes the constellation is also associated with
Adrasteia, a nymph who took care of Zeus when he was very young.
Ursa Minor is another Greek constellation. It is usually associated with either Arcas, the
son of Zeus and the nymph Callisto, or with Ida, one of the nymphs who took care of
Zeus on Crete, where his mother Rhea had hidden him from his father because Cronus,
fearful of an old prophecy that said he would be overthrown by one of his children,
swallowed five of his older children after they were born.
The name Vela means “the sails” in Latin. It is one of the three constellations that used
to form the larger constellation Argo Navis, which represented the ship of the
Argonauts.
Virgo is one of the Greek constellations. It is associated with Dike, the Greek goddess of
justice, holding the scales of justice represented by the neighbouring constellation Libra.
Volans constellation represents the flying fish, a type of fish found in tropical waters that
can jump out of the water and glide through the air. It is one of the southern
constellations introduced by Dutch navigators in the 16th century.
Vulpecula constellation was created and named by the Polish astronomer Johannes
Hevelius in the 17th century. It represents a little fox holding a goose in its jaws.
Hevelius originally named it Vulpecula et Anser, which means “the little fox with the
goose” in Latin. He said that the constellation represented a fox carrying a goose to
Cerberus, the dog that guarded the entrance to the Underworld in Greek mythology.