Learn More About Constellations + Their History
Practically since the dawn of time, humans have tilted their heads to the night sky and tried to unravel the mysteries that lay just beyond our home planet. Galileo attempted to make sense of the world around us by naming the stars, organizing them into constellations, and tracking their movements. If you have a curiosity similar to that of Galileo, keep reading to learn more about constellations, what they are, and how they came to be.
What Are Constellations + Their History
A constellation is simply a group of stars that form a recognizable pattern. While these stars are not connected, and some may be very far away and others are close together, their distance from the Earth can allow us to “connect the dots” so to speak, and reveal a picture or pattern. But the history of a constellation can vary based on when it was discovered and what it was used for.
What Is a Constellation?
While a constellation is a group of stars that look like the outline of a picture or a pattern, they may also just be clusters that form a recognizable shape. These shapes can include objects, animals, or even people. Many of the shapes that resemble humans are named after ancient mythological characters.
Constellations - With David Clark Swalm
The History of Constellations
Different cultures across the globe, and across time, have been identifying and naming constellations. Sometimes different cultures may even name the constellation different things—and the constellation may have different meanings to each culture as well. In some cases, cultures may use the constellations for ceremonial or religious purposes. Other times, these groups used the patterns in the sky to keep time and know when to plant certain crops and when to harvest.
How Are Constellations Named?
Most of the names of constellations that we think of today can be attributed to ancient Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures. These ancient cultures identified constellations as objects, animals, heroes, gods, and goddesses in their stories.
How Many Constellations Are There?
Today, astronomers generally recognize 88 official constellations. Fifty ancient constellations can easily be seen in the night sky without the use of a telescope making them the oldest recorded constellations as well as the brightest. There are 38 modern constellations that were identified by astronomers in the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s. Improvements in technology helped astronomers identify dimmer stars and connect them to the ancient constellations.
What are the most recognized constellations?
When we think of constellations, we generally think of the ones associated with Zodiac signs, however, those are not always the easiest to spot. Orion is one of the most easily recognized constellations in the night sky. Orion is named after a hunter from Greek mythology and the constellation contains a line of three easily seen stars known as Orion’s Belt.
What Are the 12 Main Constellations?
The 12 most famous constellations are those associated with the Zodiac. These constellations include Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius.
What is the Zodiac?
The 12 constellations that make up the zodiac are special, in a way. They lie on the elliptic path of the sun, in other words, they are on the celestial sphere that is directly on the path that the sun takes through the sky during a year.
Zodiac Constellations Map
What Is the Best Time of Year to View the Constellations?
The best time to view the constellations in the night sky depends on your location on the globe, but there are some factors that you can keep in mind no matter where you are. One is the presence of moonlight. The brightness of the moon is going to wash out the light from the stars in the sky, therefore a full moon would be a bad time to stargaze. The best time to view constellations are the days before, during, and just after a New Moon.
Summary
Stars have captivated imaginations for centuries. Even though a constellation is just a visual grouping of stars, they’re not actually connected. They all have interesting and sometimes even ancient histories that have helped humans from long ago, as well as today, navigate, survive, and make sense of the world around them.
Check back often to learn more about constellations.
