Introduction to Constellations

Backyard Astronomy
The Night Sky
People have watched the night skies for
millions of years. Some just out of curiosity.
Some out of boredom. Some looking for
portents, either good or bad.

However, the one thing that they all saw was

that there was a pattern in the way the stars
revolved around the heavens.
The Night Sky
You need only to look up for a few hours to
begin to see these same patterns yourself. Like
the Sun, stars rise in the east and set later in the
west. Planets follow this same pattern unless
they are in a retrograde period, though these
periods are not especially common.
What You Need for Stargazing
You don’t really need anything, but some
things are handy, like…

Complete darkness-Don’t laugh, it’s not that

easy to find. Rural area are slowly being
urbanized, bringing their lights with them.
Light pollution is a real problem.
What You Need: Darkness
Darkness means keeping up with the phases
of the moon, too. When the moon is waxing
past half full, it’s quite hard to see.
 What You Need: Star Map/ Planesphere
It is handy to have a star map to help get you
oriented.

Star Maps are also called planespheres.

You can find them in hobby stores for a couple of

bucks.
Finding Polaris and Why
Polaris (or the North Star) is where you want
to start. Because Polaris is aligned with the
Earth’s axis of rotation, it remains fixed, with
all the other planets and stars appearing to
move around it. It is the one star that remains
fixed at all times.
Getting Oriented or Where the Heck is
North?
Yea, you have to find north. It’s where Polaris (or
North Star) is. You’ll need a compass or major
highway to orient yourself. Highway 17 is good
because it runs due north and south.
You can make a compass with a needle, magnet and a
cup of water. Just rub the needle across a magnet (see
your refrigerator) or leave it attached overnight. Then
rub the needle across your nose and place it in the cup
very gently. It will float. It will turn north.
Figuring the Angle
Once you’ve decided where north is (right ascension),
face in that direction. Next you have to figure
declination (up and down). Extend your arm and
make a fist. Put the bottom of your fist on the horizon.
The top of your fist is about 80 higher. Place your
other fist on top of your first. You’ve now measured
160 up from the horizon. Polaris is located between
250 and 300 above the horizon. Polaris is faint, so look
carefully!
Another Way to Find Polaris
If all that compass making and angle junk is
just too complicated, there is another way to
find Polaris. Find the Big Dipper (part of a
constellation). Most people recognize this
asterism. The two stars that form the front of
the cup of the dipper define a line pointing to
Polaris.
The Big Dipper
The Stars Circling Polaris
Now That You’re Oriented, It’s Time
to Explore.
You’re pointed in the right direction, but what now. Stars
and constellations move constantly and seasonally. What am
I looking for? What you need is a star map.
A Few Constellations...

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Ursa Minor

Once you’ve located Polaris, you’re ready to

identify your first constellation. Polaris is the
last star located in the handle of the asterism,
the Little Dipper. The name of the
constellation that contains the Little Dipper is
Ursa Minor or Little Bear.
Ursa Minor
 Ursa Minor, also called the Little Dipper, is a
circumpolar constellation. This means it never sets in
the northern sky. The true figure represented by the
stars is the Little Bear.
 There are several mythological stories behind these
famous constellations. In Greek myth, Zeus was
having an affair with the lovely Callisto. When his
wife, Hera, found out she changed Callisto into a bear.
Zeus put the bear in the sky along with the Little Bear,
which is Callisto's son, Arcas.
Ursa Minor
Ursa Major
Ursa Major is probably the most famous constellation, with the
exception of Orion. Also known as the Great Bear, it has a
companion called Ursa Minor, or Little Bear. Everyone living in
the Northern Hemisphere has probably spotted the easily
recognized portion of this huge constellation. The body and tail of
the bear make up what is known as the Big Dipper.

Several different cultures saw a big bear in the sky. The ancient
Greeks had a few different stories to explain how the animal ended
up there. In one story, Hera discovered Zeus was having an affair
with Callisto and turned her into a bear. Zeus put her in the sky
along with her son, Arcas, who became the Little Bear.
Ursa Major
Draco
 Draco the dragon, is only present in the Northern Hemisphere, so
those living in the Southern Hemisphere will never see this long
constellation.
 The easiest way to spot Draco is by finding his head. It consists of
four stars in a trapezoid, burning brightly just north of Hercules.
From there, the tail slithers through the sky, eventually ending
between the Big and Little Dippers. It can be difficult to trace
Draco in the night sky. From the head, follow the body north
towards Cepheus. It suddenly shifts south and west, ending up
between the two dippers. The end of the constellation is held by
Thuban, which was the pole star over 4,000 years ago.
Draco
Orion’s Belt

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Cassiopeia
 Cassiopeia was the beautiful wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and
the mother of Andromeda. She is most famous in connection with
the myth of her daughter, Andromeda. The queen made the mistake
of bragging she was more lovely than the Nereids, or even than
Juno herself. The goddesses were, needless to say, rather insulted,
and went to Neptune, god of the sea, to complain. Neptune
promptly sent a sea monster (possibly Cetus?) to ravage the coast.
The king and queen were ordered to sacrifice their daughter to
appease Neptune's wrath, and would have done so had Perseus not
arrived to kill the monster in the nick of time. As a reward, the hero
was wedded to the lovely Andromeda.

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Cassiopeia

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Cygnus
 Cygnus is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the
swan” in Latin, and it is most frequently associated with the myth
of Zeus and Leda. The Swan constellation is easy to find in the sky
as it features a well-known asterism known as the Northern Cross.
 Cygnus constellation is associated with several myths, most
frequently the one of the Spartan Queen Leda, who gave birth to
two sets of twins, the immortal Pollux and Helen and mortal Castor
and Clytemnestra, after being seduced by the god Zeus, who had
transformed himself into a swan. The immortal children were
fathered by the god and the mortal ones by Leda’s husband, King
Tyndareus. Castor and Pollux are represented by the
zodiac constellation Gemini.

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Cygnus

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Signs of the Zodiac
Common Constellations
Aquarius: The Water Bearer
In Greek mythology Aquarius was Ganymede, "cup-bearer to the
gods". Alpha Aquarii ("Sadalmelik") and beta Aquarii
("Sadalsuud") are twin supergiants with nearly identical names.
The names mean, respectively, "The Lucky One of the King" and
"The Luckiest of the Lucky". Gamma Aquarii shares in the good
fortune: "Sadachbia": "The Lucky Star of Hidden Things"
Incidentally, if the "Age of Aquarius" was celebrated in the 1960s,
the real event is still some 600 years off: at that time Aquarius will
contain the vernal equinox, marking the return of the Sun into the
northern celestial hemisphere.
Aquarius: The Water Bearer
Aries: the Ram
Aries, "The Ram", is an ancient constellation which was of
considerable importance since the sun passed through it at the
vernal equinox.
 This point has now moved into Pisces, but the vernal equinox is still
known as the First Point of Aries. In another six hundred years the
point will have moved into Aquarius.
The Ram in question may have been the one whose golden fleece
was the object of Jason's quest.
There is some reason to believe that the Greeks just took over a
much older horned animal at this time of the year; the horn being a
symbol for fecundity, renewal, and so on. As the Sun came into this
constellation, at the vernal equinox, the year itself was being
renewed.
Aries: the Ram
Cancer The Crab
The name comes from the Latin; cancer means
crab. The crab in question is the one sent by
Hydra to attack Heracles. It was only a bit part,
but one which secured its immortality.
Cancer
Capricornus the Sea-Goat
The Sea Goat or Goat-Fish, as a creature with the head
and body of a goat and the tail of a fish, may well have
originated from Assyro-Babylonian depictions of their
god of wisdom Oannes, who was half-man, half-fish.

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Capricornus
Gemini The Twins
Gemini, the Twins, are really only half-brothers. They
share the same mother (Leda) but have different
fathers. Castor's father was a king of Sparta,
Tyndareus - who would be chased from his throne but
later rescued by Heracles (who nevertheless wound up
killing him). The father of Pollux was none other than
Zeus, or Jupiter. Zeus visited Leda on her wedding
night in the guise of a swan. Thus the twins would be
born. (In fact two twins came from this double union,
but let's not complicate the matter even more...)
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Leo: The Lion
The first on the list of Heracles' labors was the task of
killing the Nemean Lion, a giant beast that roamed the
hills and the streets of the Peloponnesian villages,
devouring whomever it met. The animal's skin was
impervious to iron, bronze, and stone. Heracles' arrows
harmlessly bounced off the lion; his sword bent in
two; his wooden club smashed to pieces. So Heracles
wrestled with the beast, finally choking it to death. He
then wrapped the lion's pelt about him; it would
protect him from the next labor: killing the poisonous
Hydra.
Leo
Libra: The Scales
Libra means "The Scales" or "Balance", so named because when
the zodiac was still in its infancy, some four thousand years ago,
the sun passed through this constellation at the autumnal equinox
(21 September). At the two equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) the
hours of daylight and darkness are equal. As a symbol for equality,
the constellation came to represent Justice in several middle
Eastern cultures. However, the Greeks had a different perspective;
at one time Scorpius, which lies just to the east, was much larger,
and the stars that make up Libra were then known as the Claws of
the Scorpion.
Libra
Pisces: The Fish
Pisces is an ancient constellation derived, some say, from the
story of the terrible Greek god Typhon.
(This is not the Chinese word for "big wind", which - in
English - is of course spelled "typhoon". The French,
however, spell this word "typhon", which adds to the
confusion. It is possible that the Chinese borrowed the
word from the Greek. The modern Greek equivalent is
spelled "tau upsilon phi omega nu" and means "cyclone".)
Pisces
Sagittarius
It was the Romans who named the constellation
Sagittarius ("sagitta" is Latin for `arrow'), although
several stars carry Arabic names which identify just
which portion of the constellation they represent.
Sagittarius has a muddled history. In ancient times the
asterism of three bright stars in a curved line was seen
as a bow to some, leading both Greek and Roman
writers to confuse the constellation with Centaurus.
Sagittarius
Scorpius: The Scorpion
As mentioned regarding Orion, Gaia may have sent the
scorpion to kill the mighty hunter, as he had vowed to
rid the earth of all wild animals. Or Apollo might have
told Gaia of Orion's boast, fearful that Orion had
designs on Apollo's sister Artemis. In any case it was
Gaia who sent the scorpion to kill Orion. Later the
animal would chase Orion across the heavens, but it
could never catch him, for the scorpion was so placed
that it would rise in the east only after Orion had
safely disappeared over the western horizon.
Scorpius
Taurus: The Bull
Is Taurus attacking Orion, the Hunter, or are
the Horns of the Bull the real story? The horn
was a symbol of fertility and bountiful riches in
many cultures for thousands of years, and it is
probably the case here, for the constellation
would have announced the Vernal Equinox at
around 4000 BC.
Taurus
Virgo: The Virgin
Virgo is the second largest constellation (after Hydra).
As a member of the Zodiac, Virgo has a number of
ancient myths and tales. The Sun passes through Virgo
in mid-September, and is therefore the constellation
that announces the harvest. Virgo is often represented
as a "maiden" (as its name indicates). In antiquity, she
may have been Isis, the Egyptian protectress of the
living and the dead and the principal mother goddess.
Virgo