For as long as humans have inhabited the Earth, they have gazed skyward in awe at the wonders on view. Early astronomers cannot have imagined some of the distances involved.

Constellations

The most imaginative 'connected the dots' and saw shapes which they attributed to animals or gods, usually involving fabulous mythical tales. These shapes are called constellations, originally the Greek astronomer Ptolemy (c90 - 168 AD) listed 48, known as 'ancients'. Now there are 88 'modern' constellations accepted internationally. Some of these are only viewable from the northern hemisphere, others only from the southern hemisphere, while some, like Orion, are shared between the two.

Constellations in the Edited Guide

Some time ago a constellation project was started by the H2G2 Astronomy Society, with the intention of having an edited Entry on each. These are the completed ones:

• Antlia 'the Air Pump'

• Apus 'the Bird of Paradise'

• Aquarius 'the Water Carrier'

• Aquila 'the Eagle'

• Ara 'the Altar'

• Aries 'the Ram'

• Caelum

• Camelopardalis 'the Giraffe'

• Canis Major 'the Great Dog'

• Centaurus 'the Centaur'

• Chamæleon 'the Chameleon'

• Circinus 'the Geometer's Compass'

• Coma Berenices 'Berenice's Hair'

• Corona Australis

• Corvus

• Dorado 'the Dorado'

• Equuleus 'the Foal'

• Eridanus 'the River'

• Fornax 'the Furnace'

• Grus 'the Crane'

• Horologium 'the Pendulum Clock'

• Hydra 'the Sea Serpent'

• Hydrus 'the Water Snake'

• Indus 'the Native American Indian'

• Leo Minor 'the Lesser Lion'

• Lepus 'the Hare'

• Mensa 'the Table Mountain'

• Microscopium 'the Microscope'

• Musca 'the Fly'

• Norma 'the Set Square'

• Ophiuchus 'the Serpent Bearer'

• Pictor 'the Painter's Easel'

• Piscis Austrinus 'the Southern Fish'

• Puppis 'the Stern'

• Pyxis 'the Mariner's Compass'

• Reticulum 'the Astronomer's Reticle'

• Sagittarius 'the Archer'

• Sculptor 'the Sculptor'

• Scutum 'the Shield'

• Telescopium 'the Telescope'

• Triangulum 'the Triangle'

• Triangulum Australe

• Vela 'the Sail'

• Volans 'the Flying Fish'

• Vulpecula 'the Fox'

Artwork

The Charioteer Auriga	The Little Bear Ursa Minor	The Herdsman Boötes
The Dolphin Delphinus	The Hero Perseus	The King Cepheus
The Lyre Lyra	The Lion Leo	The Dragon Draco
The Chained Maiden Andromeda	The Boastful Queen Cassiopeia	The Swan Cygnus
The Twins Gemini	The Hunter Orion	The Winged Horse Pegasus
The Bull Taurus	The Great Bear Ursa Major	The Strongman Hercules
The Fish Pisces	The Crab Cancer	The Scorpion Scorpius
The Northern Crown Corona Borealis	The Southern Cross Crux	The Wolf Lupus
The Peacock Pavo	The Mythological Firebird Phoenix	The Hunting Dogs Canes Venatici
The Sea Goat Capricornus	The Scales Libra	The Virgin Virgo
The Dove Columba	The Whale Cetus	The Small Dog Canis Minor
The Serpent Serpens	The Arrow Sagitta	The Lizard Lacerta
The Octant Octans	The Toucan Tucana	The Sextant Sextans
The Cup Crater	The Wildcat Lynx	The Keel Carina
Berenice's Hair Coma Berenices	The Unicorn Monoceros 'the Unicorn'