Constellations

It is named after Orion, the hunter from Greek mythology.

A constellation is a group of stars. Nearly all cultures have organised stars into groups because, when see with their surrounding stars, they can outline the vague shape of people, animals or other objects.

First of all - constellations are simply patterns of stars. As Earth travels around the sun once every year (it's orbit), we see all the different stars, in all the different directions in space, as we turn away from the sun every night. So - the constellations we see at NIGHT in the SUMMER are the same ones that are in the DAYTIME sky during the WINTER - we just can't see them because our atmosphere scatters the sun's light during the day.

The constellation Cassiopeia can be seen in the northern hemisphere during fall and winter months. It is located near the North Star and is easily recognizable by its distinctive "W" or "M" shape, depending on its orientation in the night sky.

The 12 constellations of the zodiac are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each of these constellations is associated with a specific period of the year and has its own unique characteristics in astrology.

Google "Peacock Constellation" and it comes right up Jetlag8169 Yakima, WA

Some of the stars in the constellation Perseus include Algol, Mirfak, and Atik.

There would be different opinions on that, but most people would agree that the most magnificent of the constellations is Orion. It is very large and has many bright stars and the Orion nebula. It is visible in the winter months. See the photo in the link below.

The best time to see the Pegasus constellation would be during the fall months, particularly October and November. This is when Pegasus is highest in the sky and most visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

The constellation known as the Scales is Libra. It is depicted as a set of weighing scales, representing balance and justice in astrology. Libra is the seventh zodiac sign and is associated with people born between September 23 and October 22.

Aldebaran is a Red Giant located in the constellation of Taurus. It has traditionally been called the Bulls Eye because of it's location near the head of Taurus. It is one of the brightest stars in the night time sky.

It's a variable star and it's magnitude varies from 0.85 to 13.5.

It is a K class star meaning that is has passed main sequence and is rapidly becoming a massive Red Giant. It is currently 44 times larger than our own sun. [See link for pictorial representation]

Aldebaran is approximately 65 light years from Earth.

If you can wait, NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft, will reach and pass by Aldebaran in about two million years (If it is still there!!).

See link for more information.

A constellation is a group of stars that form a recognizable pattern in the sky, while a star is a celestial object that generates its own light and heat through nuclear fusion. Stars are individual bodies that can be part of a constellation or exist on their own.

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.

Note that the Earth's distance from the sun is about 0.00000038 of the distance

from the sun to the next nearest star.

1. Scorpius is one of the oldest recognized constellations, dating back to ancient times.
2. It contains the bright red star, Antares, which is one of the largest known stars in the Milky Way.
3. The constellation is named after the Latin word for scorpion.
4. Scorpius is located in the southern celestial hemisphere and is visible from both hemispheres at different times of the year.
5. It is home to several deep-sky objects, including the Butterfly Cluster and the Cat's Paw Nebula.
6. Scorpius is best seen in the summer months from the Northern Hemisphere.
7. The constellation has several mythological associations, including being the scorpion that stung Orion in Greek mythology.
8. Scorpius is part of the zodiac and is associated with the astrological sign of Scorpio.
9. In Australian Aboriginal astronomy, Scorpius is known as the "Great Fish Hook" in the sky.
10. The constellation is rich in stars, with many bright and easily recognizable features that make it a popular target for stargazing.

The Chaldeans first gave the name Cancer to this group of stars which they claimed represented a crab. They felt that a crab, which walks backwards, typifies the sun's motion when it is in this area of the zodiac. During this time. We refer to the 23.5 N latitude as the Tropic of Cancer as it marks the northernmost point at which the sun is directly overhead at noon. The Greeks refer to Cancer as being the crab sent by Hera to attack Hercules while he was battling the nine-headed monster Hydra. The little crab bit Hercules' toes and was crushed in the end. In honor of its bravery, Hera placed it in the sky. M44, the Beehive cluster in the center of Cancer has an interesting history in weather forecasting. Pliny the Elder wrote that "if Praesepe is not visible in a clear sky, it foretells the coming of a violent storm." This simply meant that a turbulent atmosphere makes seeing dim objects more difficult, and such an atmosphere often precedes a storm.

The planet Mercury is located int he constellation Taurus, which is also known as the Bull. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.

Constellations are formed from the fixed stars. Saturn is a planet, not a fixed star - the word planet means wanderer. However, the planets travel through the constellations of the zodiac. Saturn is currently in the constellation Leo the Lion and will be for another year or so, until it moves into Virgo, the Harvest Maiden and will remain there for many years, since 1) Saturn moves so slowly and 2) Virgo is such a large constellation.

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It should be remembered that the constellations are merely concocted images useful as "sky-marks" resulting from the chance relative positions of stars as seen from Earth. When we say a planet in our Solar System is "in" or "passing through" any particular constellation, it is simply moving across the line of sight. Physically, it is no-where near the constellation's own stars.

The primary star in a constellation is called the "Alpha" star - it's almost always the brightest one in the constellation. "Beta" is the second brightest, and it follows the Greek Alphabet as the stars get dimmer... Polaris is the North Star located in the constellation Ursa Minor - the Little Bear.

The prominent stars in constellations are called "bright stars" or "primary stars." These stars are typically the most visible and easily recognizable in their respective constellations. Some examples include Sirius in Canis Major, Aldebaran in Taurus, and Vega in Lyra.

88 official constellations - but there are also some asterisms up there too. Asterisms are patterns of stars that aren't official constellations like, The Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, The Summer Triangle, etc.

In the beginning farmers invented constellations. They found pictures made of stars to remember when they should do things such as plow the fields, plant the crops, and other things.

They later invented stories about how the stars formed into their particular patterns, and these were particularly associated with Greek and Roman mythology.

The Cancer constellation is best seen in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. It is located between the constellations of Gemini and Leo. Look for the bright star cluster called the Beehive Cluster within the Cancer constellation to identify it in the night sky.

The brightest star in Scorpius in Antares. It's a reddish star who's name means "rival of Ares" - the God of War. We know Ares better by his Latin name.... Mars.

A constellation is a pattern of stars that resemble an object, animal or person and is recognized by the IAU as one of the 88 official constellations.