CONSTELLATION

What are constelletions ?

 The stars forming a group that has a
recognisable shape or a group of stars which
are arranged in pattern resembling some
recognizable figure is called a constellation .
 Constellation can compared to asterism but in
asterism is grouping of stars that does not
make a constellation .
 HOW WERE THE
CONSTELLATIONS WERE FOUND
The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them
to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, or mythology. Different cultures
and countries adopted their own constellations, some of which lasted into the early 20th
century before today's constellations were internationally recognized. The recognition
of constellations has changed significantly over time. Many have changed in size or
shape. Some became popular, only to drop into obscurity. Others were limited to a
single culture or nation.
The 48 traditional Western constellations are Greek. They are given in Aratus' work
Phenomena and Ptolemy's Almagest, though their origin probably predates these
works by several centuries. Constellations in the far southern sky were added from the
15th century until the mid-18th century when European explorers began travelling to
the Southern Hemisphere. Twelve ancient constellations belong to the zodiac
(straddling the ecliptic, which the Sun, Moon, and planets all traverse). The origins of
the zodiac remain historically uncertain; its astrological divisions became prominent c.
400 BC in Babylonian or Chaldean astronomy.
In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally accepted the modern list
of 88 constellations, and in 1928 adopted official constellation boundaries that together
cover the entire celestial sphere
 Types of Constellations :-
 There are about 88 constellation that we know
in the solar system and are visible to us with
naked eyes but some of them have very less
shining stars therefore it is suggested to see
them with the help telescope . Well known
constellations are :-
 Oroin
 Ursa Major (Saptrishi)
 Ursa Minor
 Cassiopeia
 Leo Major
 Great Bear
 Some of major stars are :-
 Pole star
 Sirius
 NOTE:-
 The word constellation comes from the late
latin term constellatio which means set of stars.
Ursa Major
Ursa major
•It is also known as the
great bear,the big dipper
and the saptarishi .
•Ursa Major contains

seven stars making the

pattern of a plough.
•A line drawn through

the pointers of the

plough leads to the pole
star or the polaris .
(Dhruv Tara)
•It is visible during the

summer season.
THE SEVEN STARS IN URSA
MAJOR
Dubhe

Merak

Phecda

Megrez

Alioth

Mizar

Alkaid
Orion
ORION
It is one of the
magnificent
constellation in the
sky .
It has seven bright

stars.
This constellation

is visible durinng
the winter in the
northern
hemisphere .
Four of these appear to be arranged in the
form of a quadrilateral and the other three on
one corner of form a straight line in middle .
The arrangement of the stars in this

constellation resembles to a hunter with a belt

and a sword.
The star Sirius which is the brightest star in

the sky is located close to orion .

To locate Sirius , imagine a straight line

passing through the three middle stars of

orion .
Casssiopeia
•Casssiopeia is
another prominent
constellation in the
northen sky .
•It is visible during

winter in the early

part of the night .
•It looks like a

distorted letter W or
M.
Other Constellations
 DID YOU KNOW ?
 Saptarishi has been associated with seven well known
ancient Indian sages or rishis . According to ancient
mythology , the seven sages who formed the
saptarishi , preserve the eternal knowledge of Vedas and
explain it to people in every new age .
 The polar star and the ursa major are not completely or

not at all visible from the southern hemisphere .

 A constellation does not have only 5-10 stars . It has a

large number of stars . However , we can see only the

bright stars inn the constellation with our naked eyes .
All the stars which make up a constellation are not at the
same distance , they are just in the same line of sight in
the sky.
 FACTS ABOUT
COLSTELLATIONS
Asterism Not Considered True Constellation
An asterism is a pattern of stars that are widely
recognized and contained within an official constellation
but is not counted as a true constellation in itself. The
Big Dipper, for instance, is a famous asterism but the
seven stars in this arrangement of stars represent less
than half of the whole constellation known as Ursa
Major. Another famous asterism is the three stars in a
row which form Orion’s belt.
 Rotation Of Constellations A Matter of Perspective

The direction in which the constellations appear to rotate in the

night sky is truly a matter of perspective, and is determined by
the Earth’s rotation, as well as the direction in which an
observer is facing. Looking north, the constellations appear to
rotate counter clockwise around a fixed point in the night sky
known as the north celestial pole, which is located near the
north star Polaris. This is because the Earth spinning from West
to East means the ground beneath you is rotating to your right,
while above you the stars appear to follow an East to West
direction (right to left) just like the Sun, Moon, and planets. If
you face south, however, the stars would seem to revolve in a
clockwise direction (left to right); while a person facing east
would see the stars coming up in front of them and setting
behind them. Likewise, a west facing observer will see the stars
appearing to rise behind them before setting to their front
 Knowledge Of Constellations Came From Early Cultures
The Greeks knowledge of the constellations stretches way back in
time at least to the 8th century BC when Homer made the earliest
known Greek reference to the constellations Boötes, Orion, and
Ursa Major in his epic poem the Illiad and the Odyssey.
Nevertheless, much of the Greek’s initial knowledge of the
constellations came to them from the Ancient Egyptians, who
likely inherited their understanding from Ancient Babylon and
Sumeria before them. In fact, at least 30 modern constellations can
be shown to date back to at around the Late Bronze Age (1650-
1050 BC), with references to some of the constellations found in
Mesopotamian clay writing tablets and Babylonian star
constellation catalogs dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE.
There are also references to be found in the Hebrew Bible, and
Biblical texts. Orion is perhaps the most distinctive of all the
constellations, and an amazing discovery was made in 1972 at the
Ach valley in Germany after an image of Orion was found carved
into a piece of mammoth ivory more than 32,000 years old.