"celestial sphere across the sky. Forming the profile of a Bull's face is a ""V"" or ""K""-shaped asterism of stars. This outline is created by prominent members of the Hyades, the nearest distinct open star cluster after the Ursa Major Moving Group. In this profile, Aldebaran forms the bull's bloodshot eye, which has been described as ""glaring menacingly at the hunter Orion"", a constellation that lies just to the southwest. The Hyades span about 5° of the sky, so that they can only be viewed in their entirety with binoculars or the unaided eye. It includes a naked eye double"
"Sagittarius (constellation) Sagittarius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is (Unicode U+2650 ♐), a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling back a bow. It lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus and Microscopium to the east. The center of the Milky Way lies in the westernmost part of Sagittarius (see Sagittarius A). As seen from the northern hemisphere, the constellation's"
"Aquila (constellation) Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it represents the bird that carried Zeus/Jupiter's thunderbolts in Greco-Roman mythology. Its brightest star, Altair, is one vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. The constellation is best seen in the northern summer, as it is located along the Milky Way. Because of this location, many clusters and nebulae are found within its borders, but they are dim and galaxies are few. Aquila was one of the 48 constellations described by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy. It had been earlier mentioned by Eudoxus in the"
"Noctua (constellation) Noctua (Latin: ""owl"") was a constellation near the tail of Hydra in the southern celestial hemisphere, but is no longer recognized. It was introduced by Alexander Jamieson in his 1822 work, ""A Celestial Atlas"", and appeared in a derived collection of illustrated cards, ""Urania's Mirror"". Now designated Asterism ""a"", the owl was composed of the stars 4 Librae and 54–57 Hydrae, which range from 4th to 6th magnitude. The French astronomer Pierre Charles Le Monnier had introduced a bird on Hydra's tail as the constellation Solitaire, named for the extinct flightless bird, the Rodrigues solitaire, but the image"
"Lupus (constellation) Lupus is a constellation located in the deep Southern Sky. Its name is Latin for wolf. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation Centaurus. In ancient times, the constellation was considered an asterism within Centaurus, and was considered to have been an arbitrary animal, killed, or about to be killed, on behalf of, or for, Centaurus. An alternative visualization, attested by Eratosthenes, saw this constellation as a wineskin held by Centaurus."
"Sword are terms from Finnish mythology. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico call the three belt stars ""Hapj"" (a name denoting a hunter) which consists of three stars: ""Hap"" (mule deer), ""Haamoja"" (pronghorn), and ""Mojet"" (bighorn sheep). ""Hap"" is in the middle and has been shot by the hunter; its blood has dripped onto Tiburón Island. Orion's Belt Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Looking for Orion's Belt in the night sky"
"picked the star in Corvus, and which is the mascot of Superman's high school, the Smallville Crows. Corvus (constellation) Corvus is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means ""raven"" in Latin. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it depicts a raven, a bird associated with stories about the god Apollo, perched on the back of Hydra the water snake. The four brightest stars, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Beta Corvi, form a distinctive quadrilateral in the night sky. With an apparent magnitude of 2.59, Gamma Corvi—also known as Gienah—is the brightest star"
"Winter Triangle and the Circle. Orion's seven brightest stars form a distinctive hourglass-shaped asterism, or pattern, in the night sky. Four stars—Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix and Saiph—form a large roughly rectangular shape, in the centre of which lie the three stars of Orion's Belt—Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Descending from the 'belt' is a smaller line of three stars, Orion's Sword (the middle of which is in fact not a star but the Orion Nebula), also known as the hunter's sword. Many of the stars are luminous hot blue supergiants, with the stars of the belt and sword forming the Orion OB1"
"Cosmic Hunt The Cosmic Hunt is an old and widely distributed family of cognate myths. They are stories about a large animal that is pursued by hunters, is wounded, and is transformed into a constellation. Variants of the Cosmic Hunt are common in cultures of Northern Eurasia and the Americas, and include the story of Callisto in classical sources. The prey animal is either a bear or an ungulate, and the constellation it is transformed into is typically the four stars of the bowl in the Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major. In some variants blood or grease may fall"
"Association. Standing out by its red hue, Betelgeuse may nevertheless be a runaway member of the same group. Of the lesser stars, Meissa (or Lambda Orionis) forms Orion's head, whilst Hatsya (or Iota Orionis) forms the tip of Orion's sword. Iota Orionis is also called ""Nair al-Saif"", Arabic for ""the brightest in the sword"". Orion's Belt or The Belt of Orion is an asterism within the constellation. It consists of the three bright stars Zeta (Alnitak), Epsilon (Alnilam), and Delta (Mintaka). Alnitak is around 800 light years away from earth and is 100,000 times more luminous than the Sun; much"
"Corvus (constellation) Corvus is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means ""raven"" in Latin. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it depicts a raven, a bird associated with stories about the god Apollo, perched on the back of Hydra the water snake. The four brightest stars, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Beta Corvi, form a distinctive quadrilateral in the night sky. With an apparent magnitude of 2.59, Gamma Corvi—also known as Gienah—is the brightest star in the constellation. It is an aging blue giant around four times as massive as the Sun."
"Capricornus Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for ""horned goat"" or ""goat horn"" or ""having horns like a goat's"", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. Its symbol is (Unicode ♑). Capricornus is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was also one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Under its modern boundaries it is bordered by Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus, and Aquarius. The constellation is located in an area of sky called the"
"Pegasus (constellation) Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the 88 constellations recognised today. With an apparent magnitude varying between 2.37 and 2.45, the brightest star in Pegasus is the orange supergiant Epsilon Pegasi, also known as Enif, which marks the horse's muzzle. Alpha (Markab), Beta (Scheat), and Gamma (Algenib), together with Alpha Andromedae (Alpheratz, once also designated Delta Pegasi) form the large asterism known as the ""Square of Pegasus"". Twelve star systems"
"itself, as Robert Graves thought. When the sun is in the sign of Scorpio, the constellation Hercules rises. The Greeks referred to the constellation of Hercules as the Stag (""hind"" is another word for doe), the identification of the constellation with Hercules was made by the Romans. Ceryneian Hind In Greek mythology, the Ceryneian Hind ( ""Elaphos Kerynitis""), also called Cerynitis or the Golden Hind, was an enormous hind, that lived in Keryneia, Greece. It was sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, animals, and unmarried women. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze"
"Centaurus Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. In Greek mythology, Centaurus represents a centaur; a creature that is half human, half horse (another constellation named after a centaur is one from the zodiac: Sagittarius). Notable stars include Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the Solar System, its neighbour in the sky Beta Centauri, and V766 Centauri, one of the largest stars yet discovered. The constellation also contains Omega Centauri,"
"Hercules (constellation) Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is the fifth largest of the modern constellations. Hercules is bordered by Draco to the north; Boötes, Corona Borealis, and Serpens Caput to the east; Ophiuchus to the south; Aquila to the southwest; and Sagitta, Vulpecula, and Lyra to the west. Covering 1225.1 square degrees and 2.970% of the night sky, it ranks 5th among the"
"Celestial Hemisphere means that the whole constellation is visible to observers south of 49°N. Hydra the sea snake runs along the length of its northern border, while Pyxis the compass, Vela the sails, and Centaurus the centaur line it to the west, south and east respectively. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union, is Ant. The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of twelve segments (""illustrated in infobox at top-right""). In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie"
"more splendid when he gazes up at the sky. Cicero and Germanicus, the translators of Aratus's ""Phaenomena"", expressed it as ""ensis"", Latin for ""sword"". Arabic astronomers also saw this asterism as a sword (""saif""), calling it ""Saif al Jabbār"", Sword of the Powerful One or Sword of the Giant. Orion is one of the few constellations to have parallel identities in European and Chinese culture, given the name ""Shen"", the hunter and warrior. Chinese astronomers made the sword a sub-constellation within ""Shen"" called ""Fa."" This asterism is not always associated with swords. In the myths of the Namaqua, Orion's sword"
"was that of a rock thrush which had been classified in the genus ""Turdus"", giving rise to the constellation name Turdus Solitarius, the solitary thrush. It has also been depicted as a mockingbird. The boundaries of the constellation were defined as longitude 0° to 26°30' and from the ecliptic to 15° S. Noctua (constellation) Noctua (Latin: ""owl"") was a constellation near the tail of Hydra in the southern celestial hemisphere, but is no longer recognized. It was introduced by Alexander Jamieson in his 1822 work, ""A Celestial Atlas"", and appeared in a derived collection of illustrated cards, ""Urania's Mirror"". Now"
"walk through the sea and on its surface. Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, fell in love with Orion, but her twin brother, Apollo, was jealous and sent a scorpion to kill him. In her sorrow and remorse for his death, Artemis placed him in the sky as a constellation. Orion, the Great Hunter, is a brilliant constellation which straddles the celestial equator and is outlined by a quadrilateral of four 1st and 2nd magnitude stars—Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, and Saiph. Inside the quadrilateral are three second-magnitude stars forming the Belt of Orion. The three stars of the Belt point south-eastward"
"Sagitta Sagitta is a dim but distinctive constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for ""arrow"", and it should not be confused with the significantly larger constellation Sagittarius, the archer. Although Sagitta is an ancient constellation, it has no star brighter than 3rd magnitude and has the third-smallest area of all constellations (only Equuleus and Crux are smaller). It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Located to the north of the equator, Sagitta can be seen"
"#15 is often identified as a personification of the god Mars with his armor and flowing cape. Although figures #16 and #17 seem less important, they look very much alike and may represent the constellation Gemini. Gemini is the more difficult constellation to pick out, and it might represent the hidden identity of figure #8. Two others, however, are more obvious. Figure #20 is a shield with a large scorpion emblazoned upon it. Tiberius was born in November, and thus might be represented with such an item. Figure #9 shows Augustus’ favorite sign, the Capricorn. Although Augustus might have been"
"Iota Orionis Iota Orionis (ι Orionis, abbreviated Iota Ori, ι Ori) is a multiple star system in the equatorial constellation of Orion the hunter. It is the eighth-brightest member of Orion with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.77 and also the brightest member of the asterism known as Orion's Sword. It is a member of the NGC 1980 open cluster. From parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of roughly from the Sun. The system has three components designated Iota Orionis A, B and C. Iota Orionis A is itself a massive spectroscopic binary, with components Iota Orionis Aa"
"Scorpius Scorpius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for scorpion, and its symbol is (Unicode ♏). Scorpius is one of the 48 constellations identified by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. It is an ancient constellation that pre-dated the Greeks. It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. Scorpius contains many bright stars, including Antares (α Sco), ""rival of Mars,"" so named because of its distinct reddish hue; β Sco (Graffias"
"Leo (constellation) Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac, lying between Cancer the crab to the west and Virgo the maiden to the east. Its name is Latin for lion, and to the ancient Greeks represented the Nemean Lion killed by the mythical Greek hero Heracles meaning 'Glory of Hera' (known to the ancient Romans as Hercules) as one of his twelve labors. Its symbol is (Unicode ♌). One of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, Leo remains one of the 88 modern constellations today, and one of the most easily recognizable due to its"
"""Odyssey"", Odysseus sees him hunting in the underworld with a bronze club, a great slayer of animals; he is also mentioned as a constellation, as the lover of the Goddess Dawn, as slain by Artemis, and as the most handsome of the earthborn. In the ""Works and Days"" of Hesiod, Orion is also a constellation, one whose rising and setting with the sun is used to reckon the year. The legend of Orion was first told in full in a lost work by Hesiod, probably the ""Astronomia"" (simple references to ‘""Hesiod""’, below will refer to the lost text from ""Astronomia"","
"Chamaeleon Chamaeleon () is a small constellation in the southern sky. It is named after the chameleon, a kind of lizard. It was first defined in the 16th century. Chamaeleon was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. It first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. Johann Bayer was the first uranographer to put Chamaeleon in a celestial atlas. It was one of many constellations created by European explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries"
"(because of the precession of the equinoxes) over the centuries from when the Greeks, Babylonians and the Dacians through Zamolxis originally developed the Zodiac. Ophiuchus Ophiuchus () is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name is from the Greek ""Ophioukhos""; ""serpent-bearer"", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It was formerly referred to as Serpentarius and ""Anguitenens"". Ophiuchus figures between Aquila, Serpens and Hercules, northwest"
"Cygnus (constellation) Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. The swan is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, and it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross (in contrast to the Southern Cross). Cygnus was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Cygnus contains Deneb, one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one corner of the Summer Triangle, as well"
"them."" Their emblem was a lynx battling with Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld, invoking the lynx's reputation for seeing through falsehood and discovering the truth. Lynx is the name of a constellation in the northern sky, defined by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. The name is said to have been chosen because the stars which make up the constellation are so faint that only those with the eyesight of the lynx can perceive them. Laurens van der Post describes the connection between the stars and the lynx in the Bushman culture of Africa: ""In the imagination of the vanished Bushmen"
"Scutum (constellation) Scutum is a small constellation introduced in the seventeenth century. Its name is Latin for shield. Scutum was named in 1684 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (Jan Heweliusz), who originally named it Scutum Sobiescianum (Shield of Sobieski) to commemorate the victory of the Christian forces led by Polish King John III Sobieski (Jan III Sobieski) in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Later, the name was shortened to Scutum. Five bright stars of Scutum (α Sct, β Sct, δ Sct, ε Sct and η Sct) were previously known as 1, 6, 2, 3, and 9 Aquilae respectively. Coincidentally,"
"Taurus (constellation) Taurus (Latin for ""the Bull"") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A number of features exist that are of interest to"
"Yuán"") and the Heavenly Market enclosure (天市垣, ""Tiān Shì Yuán""). Hercules (constellation) Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is the fifth largest of the modern constellations. Hercules is bordered by Draco to the north; Boötes, Corona Borealis, and Serpens Caput to the east; Ophiuchus to the south; Aquila to the southwest; and Sagitta, Vulpecula, and Lyra to the west. Covering 1225.1 square degrees and"