Constellations

Star patterns change constantly - very, very slowly - over periods of tens of thousands of years. This is due to all of the stars in our galaxy, The Milky Way, spinning around the galactic center, as it moves through the universe. However, the life span of human beings is so short, relative to the period of time for noticeable changes to occur in the universe, that they never become noticeable. 50,000 years from now, all of the constellations will look differently from the way they look tonight.

Slaves called the Big Dipper the "Drinking Gourd" because its shape resembled a gourd or ladle that could be used for drinking water. Slaves used the Drinking Gourd as a navigational tool to help them escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

Canis Majoris is not a star but a constellation. It contains many stars, but the most famous one is Sirius, also known as the "Dog Star." Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and is easily visible from Earth.

In Greek mythology, the constellation Leo represents the Nemean Lion that terrorized the region of Nemea. It had fur invulnerable to weapons, and was eventually defeated by Heracles as the first of his Twelve Labors. The gods then immortalized the lion by placing it in the stars as the constellation Leo.

There are 88 officially recognized constellations, and about 33 of them are visible in the southern hemisphere. Some famous southern hemisphere constellations include Crux (the Southern Cross), Centaurus, and Carina.

Achernar (Alpha Eridani), sometimes spelled Achenar, is the brightest star in the constellation Eridanus. It is a type B3 star which means it has a temperature range of 10,000--30,000 K and will appear blue white.

3.3 million light years is also termed as the distance of 1 megaparsec.

The constellation Perseus can best be seen during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The constellation appears to be the body of a man possibly holding a weapon or the head of Medusa.

Sagittarius B is a complex region of the Milky Way galaxy located in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is a part of the larger Sagittarius molecular cloud, which is one of the most active star-forming regions in our galaxy.

Saiph is a supergiant star, which is the biggest and brightest class of stars. However, it has used the hydrogen in its core and is losing mass; it will eventually collapse in on itself and become a supernova.

Ursa Major or big dipper (Great Bear) and Ursa Minor or little dipper (Little Bear)

Puppis is a constellation in the southern sky that represents the stern of the mythical ship Argo Navis. It is typically depicted as a sailing ship, honoring the ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology.

The southern sky constellation that shares its name with a group of highly intelligent people is Mensa. It is named after Table Mountain in South Africa, where it was observed by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century.

The North Celestial pole can be found in the constellation Ursa Minor, commonly known as the Little Dipper. The star Polaris, also called the North Star, lies very close to the North Celestial pole and is a helpful navigational reference point for finding true north.

The first component of the TZ Orionis system to be discovered was TZ Orionis A, which is a spectroscopic binary system. The second component, TZ Orionis B, was later identified as a visual binary companion to TZ Orionis A.

Coordinates are 17h 00m 00s, +65° 00′ 00″

See related link for Wikisky.

There is no center of Draco, the dragon circles around the pole with Polaris the little dipper in the middle.

The constellation known as the hunter is Orion. Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky and is named after a mythological Greek hunter.

The fuzzy star in Orion's sword is the Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42. It is a diffuse nebula located in the Milky Way, and it is one of the brightest nebulae visible to the naked eye. The Orion Nebula is a stellar nursery where new stars are forming.

The closest star in the Big Dipper to Earth is Alkaid, which is approximately 100 light-years away.

Ursa Major

One hypothesis is the concept of warp drive, which involves bending spacetime to enable faster-than-light travel. Another idea is using wormholes to create shortcuts through spacetime. Both methods are currently purely theoretical and would require a deep understanding of physics that we do not yet possess.

No, Cetus does not border the Andromeda constellation. Cetus is located near the constellations of Pisces, Aquarius, and Taurus, while Andromeda is adjacent to the constellations of Cassiopeia, Perseus, and Pegasus.

The Southern Cross constellation is featured on the New Zealand flag. It consists of four large bright stars and one smaller star.

There are 88 constellations nowadays. And by definition, a constellation isn't only the stars you're used to see in connected lines - it is a region of the sky with perpendicular boundaries including stars, nebulae, objects, etc. For a list of constellations look at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellation_list.html

There are more than 40 visible constellations during Winter.