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Constellations
Constellations have fascinated astronomers for centuries. They are arbitrary formations of stars perceived as a figure or design, especially one of 88 recognized groups named after characters from classical mythology and various common animals and objects. Questions about the various constellations of stars are what this category is all about.
3,677 Questions
Why do we see different constellations at different times of the year and in different positions?
The stars do not appear to change position with respect to each other very quickly from our perspective. All the stars are in motion, so they DO change position with respect to us, but so slowly we cannot really tell by the unaided eye.
However, as earth drifts around the sun, different groups of stars swing into position. This is because we see one set of stars during the night at the beginning of winter, and a different set of stars at the beginning of night during the summer. The summer stars were all hid behind the sun during the winter, and vice versa. In the northern hemisphere, we always see the pole star (the north star). The further north you go, the higher the pole star becomes in the sky. At the north pole itself, you pretty much see only the same stars half the year (the other half of the year is day). The same is true for the south pole.
Only at the equator, between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn do half the stars the stars change from one season to the next.
What type of star is the constellation Cassiopeia?
Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky. It was named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. As punishment for her vanity she was forced to endlessly circle the North Star.
What is the alpha star of cancer constellation?
Beta Cancri is the brightest star in the constellation Cancer. Its common name is Altarf.
Who discovered the Southern Cross?
It was claimed and this is masterful guesswork as there is no northern equivalent that Dante of inferno fame presupposed the existence of this constellation in poetry written in l3l8. he spoke of four star constellation but carefully avoided the word cross , he then claimed it had never been seen in the north except by what he calle the Prima Gente or first people, this has VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS- could even refer to aliens or some secretive society. really Gente is better translated as (Society) or (People) Con Ed motto Lux Gentium- Light to the People! established l879. Dig We Must applies to the maintenance arm only, but better than weather damaged utility masts, crashing down. oh we are off course, but indeed Dante knew his stuff. He theorized there were nine planets (knowing Earth was no.3 from the Sun) and as we know the very bottom of Hell is Ice- not a bad description of Pluto who was the Gopd of the Underworld in Greek mythology. Level Nine was-Ice. so is Pluto. Smart Guy that Italian/
Zeus❌❌
What are the stars in the Pegasus constellation called?
The named stars that make up the constellation Pegasus are Markab, Scheat, Algenib, Enif, Homam, Matar, Baham, and Sadalbari
What is the name of the galaxy Orion carried in his collar in Men in Black?
It was simply called 'The Galaxy'.
What summer cnstellation is half man and half scorpion?
There is no such constellation or creature in Greek mythology. The "Scorpion Man" is an Akkadian myth.
The only Scorpion in the sky is that of Scorpius (Scorpio), which is just a plain scorpion. In myth, it was sent either by Artemis or Apollo to kill Orion after he boasted that he could kill any creature on earth.
In versions where Artemis sends it, the two kill each other but the battle was so lively that it caught Zeus' attention and he placed both in the sky.
In the version where Apollo sends it, the Scorpion is actually created by Gaia at Apollo's request and subsequently killed by the skilled Hunter (who was later accidentally killed by Artemis) and placed in the heavens by Apollo.
What two stars are pointed to by the three stars in the handle of the big dipper?
I don't know about pointing at two stars, but the last two stars in the big dipper's handle point to Arcturus, one of the brightest stars in the sky. Arcturus is in the constellation of Bootes, the Herdsman.
How far is the hydra constellation from Earth?
Any constellation is a group of stars that appear to form some kind of pattern,
but have no connection with each other. They all happen to be in roughly the
same direction from us, but they're all at different distances. So there's no
such thing as a constellation's distance from us.
Which constellations are visible from southern Brazil?
Constellations that are visible from southern Brazil include the following:
1. Carina (Keel of the ship "Argo");
2. Canis Major (Greater Dog);
3. Canis Minor (Lesser Dog);
4. Crux (Southern Cross);
5. Hydra (Water Serpent);
6. Octans (Octant);
7. Scorpius (Scorpion);
8. Triangulum Australe (Southern Triangle); and
9. Virgo (Virgin).
Specifically, these constellations are configured on the Brazilian flag. In fact, they are positioned on the flag to reflect the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889. That date is forever important to Brazilians, because it is the date upon which Brazil became a republic.
How many constellation divided the sky?
88 - or 89, depending how you count, since one constellation is actually split up into two non-contiguous areas.
They are always out, you just can't see them because the sun is too bright.
But you can see them around 12:00am (midnight) To round about 2:00am
Why did they name it the little dipper?
I suspect that once the more obvious asterism of the Big Dipper was named, the nearby and similar group was simply called the Little Dipper.
World cultures did not always agree, (heck, they almost never agreed) on which stars were in which asterisms, or what they represented. The which we call the Big Dipper has variously been The Plow, The Sickle, The Cart, the Great Bear (hence the constellation of Ursa Major, which is the Big Dipper plus some other stars) and, in the years following Charlemagne, Charles' Wain (wagon).
Note the distinction between asterisms, which are groups of stars seeming (often to those with strong imaginations) to form animal or other shapes, and constellations, which are tracts of sky, very like countries on a geopolitical map.
Some asterisms are the hearts of constellations, as the Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major, but some are larger. The "Summer Triangle" of Vega, Deneb and Altair takes in parts of three constellations.
Why do astronomers use modern constellation regions?
Constellation are a useful quick way of dividing the sky up into its different regions, so astronomers have continued to use the traditional constellations.
Unfortunately, constellation boundaries are made more complicated to define because of precession, which means that some boundaries that used to follow lines of constant right-ascension or declination no longer do so. This means that star atlases have to be redrawn every 50-100 years.
Why can you see different constellations every month?
That is because we go round the Sun. That means that every day the stars we see at midnight shift to the right by about 4 minutes of time. The stars that were due south last night at midnight will be due south at 23.56 tonight and by midnight they will be a little further west. Through the course of a year the stars that happen to be due south at midnight rotate right round the full circle.
What was the first constellation named?
The human construct of using star formations and equating them with living and inanimate objects goes back to the origins of our species. It is impossible to determine who drew the first ideas and names of the stars and their positions. What is known is that major constellations such as the Big and Little Dippers have names across different world civilizations indicating ancient cultural commonalities in astronomical observations.
What is the brigthest star in the constellation Virgo?
"Spica (α Vir / α Virginis / Alpha Virginis) is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, and the 15th brightest star in the nighttime sky. It is 260 light years distant fromEarth. A blue giant, it is a variable of the Beta Cephei type."
What constellation is in the sky in November?
The answer to this question depends on two factors:
(i) whereabouts are you on Earth"
(ii) what time of night?
What you see in the UK will be different from what you see in my country of New Zealand. Also what you see at 9pm will be different from what you see at 5:00am.
