A group of stars united by one name. Constellations and the most remarkable facts about them

Constellations have accompanied people since ancient times: they were used to navigate the road, plan household work, and tell fortunes. Today people are less dependent on celestial bodies, but their study does not stop. continue to appear and amaze astronomy lovers.

Previously, constellations were considered figures that form stars, but today they are areas of the celestial sphere with conditional boundaries and all celestial bodies on their territory. In 1930, the number of constellations was fixed at 88, of which 47 were described before our era, but the names and titles given to star figures in ancient times are still used today.
The southern side of the sky began to be carefully studied with the beginning of the Great geographical discoveries, but the northern one was not ignored either. By the end of the 17th century, atlases of the starry sky were published with descriptions of 22 new constellations. On the sky map southern hemisphere a Triangle, an Indian, a Bird of Paradise appeared, and above the northern side a Giraffe, a Shield, a Sextant and other figures were highlighted. The last figures to be formed were above South Pole earth and their names often contain the names of various devices - Clock, Pump, Telescope, Compass, Compass.
In the list of Claudius Ptolemy, an astronomer of the 2nd century BC, there are 48 names of constellations, 47 of them have survived to this day. The lost cluster was called the Ship or Argo (the ship of the Hellas hero Jason, who obtained the Golden Fleece). In the 18th century, the Ship was divided into 4 smaller figures - Stern, Keel, Sail, Compass. On ancient star maps, the place of the Compass was taken by a mast.
The static nature of stars is deceptive - without special instruments it is impossible to detect their movement relative to each other. Changes in location would become noticeable if a person had the opportunity to see the constellations after at least 26 thousand years.
There are usually 12 zodiac signs - this distinction occurred more than 4.5 thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt. Today, astronomers have calculated that in the period from November 27 to December 17, another zodiac constellation, Ophiuchus, rises on the horizon.
Hydra is considered the largest of the star figures, it occupies 3.16% of the starry sky and stretches in a long strip across a quarter of the sky, located in the northern and southern hemispheres.
The most bright stars northern hemisphere belong to Orion, 209 of them are visible to the naked eye. The most interesting space objects in this part of the sky are the “Orion Belt” and the Orion Nebula.
The most bright constellation southern sky and the smallest among all existing clusters - Southern Cross . Its four stars were used by sailors for orientation for several thousand years; the Romans called them the “Throne of the Emperor,” but the Cross was registered as an independent constellation only in 1589.
The closest constellation to the solar system is the Pleiades, the flight to it is only 410 light years. The Pleiades consists of 3000 stars, among which 9 are especially bright. Scientists find their images on objects in different parts of the world, since many peoples in ancient times fervently revered the Pleiades.
The least bright constellation is Table Mountain. It is located far in the south, in the region of Antarctica, and consists of 24 stars, the brightest of which reach only the fifth magnitude.
The closest star to the Sun, Proxima, is located in the constellation Centaurus, but after 9 thousand years it will be replaced by Barnard's star from the constellation Ophiuchus. The distance from the Sun to Proxima is 4.2 light years, from Barnard's star - 6 light years.
The most ancient map constellations dates back to the 2nd century BC. Created by Hipparchus of Nicaea, it became the basis for the work of astronomers of later times.
Some astronomers tried to divide large constellations in order to get new ones, give them their own names, usually associated with the names of rulers and generals, and become famous. The clergy tried to replace pagan names with the names of saints. But these ideas did not take root, and apart from the Shield, which was previously called the “Shield of Jan Sobieski”, in honor of the Polish military leader, none of the names survived.
WITH ancient Rus' characteristic bucket Ursa Major associated with a horse. In the old days it was called “A Horse at a Jump,” and Ursa Minor was not considered a separate constellation - its stars formed a “rope” with which the horse was “tied” to the Polar Star - a joke.
Star figures adorn the flags of New Zealand and Alaska. The four-star Southern Cross was adopted as part of the flag of Zealand in 1902. Alaska's flags feature the Big Dipper and the North Star.

The night sky amazes with its beauty and countless number of heavenly fireflies. What is especially fascinating is that their arrangement is structured, as if they were specially placed in the right order, forming star systems. Since ancient times, stargazers have tried to count all these myriads of heavenly bodies and give them names. Today, a huge number of stars have been discovered in the sky, but this is only a small part of all existing vast Universe. Let's look at what constellations and luminaries there are.

Stars and their classification

A star is a celestial body that emits enormous amounts of light and heat.

It consists mainly of helium (lat. Helium), as well as (lat. Hydrogenium).

The celestial body is in a state of equilibrium due to the pressure inside the body itself and its own.

Emits warmth and light as a result of thermonuclear reactions, occurring inside the body.

What types are there depending on life cycle and structures:

Main sequence. This is the main life cycle of the star. This is exactly what it is, as well as the vast majority of others.
Brown dwarf. A relatively small, dim object with a low temperature. The first one was opened in 1995.
White dwarf. At the end of its life cycle, the ball begins to shrink until its density balances gravity. Then it goes out and cools down.
Red giant. Huge body highlighting large number light, but not very hot (up to 5000 K).
New. New stars do not light up, just old ones flare up with renewed vigor.
Supernova. This is the same new one with the release of a large amount of light.
Hypernova. This is a supernova, but much larger.
Bright Blue Variables (LBV). The biggest and also the hottest.
Ultra X-ray sources (ULX). They release large amounts of radiation.
Neutron. Characterized by rapid rotation and a strong magnetic field.
Unique. Double, with different sizes.

Types depending from the spectrum:

Blue.
White and blue.
White.
Yellow-white.
Yellow.
Orange.
Red.

Important! Most of the stars in the sky are entire systems. What we see as one may actually be two, three, five or even hundreds of bodies of one system.

Names of stars and constellations

The stars have always fascinated us. They became the object of study, both from the mystical side (astrology, alchemy) and from the scientific side (astronomy). People looked for them, calculated them, counted them, put them into constellations, and also give them names. Constellations are clusters of celestial bodies located in a certain sequence.

In the sky, under certain conditions, up to 6 thousand stars can be seen from different points. They have their own scientific names, but about three hundred of them also have personal names that they received from ancient times. Stars mostly have Arabic names.

The fact is that when astronomy was actively developing everywhere, western world experienced the “dark ages”, so its development lagged significantly behind. Here Mesopotamia was most successful, China less so.

The Arabs not only discovered new but they also renamed the heavenly bodies, who already had Latin or Greek name. They went down in history with Arabic names. The constellations mainly had latin names.

Brightness depends on the light emitted, size and distance from us. The brightest star is the Sun. It is not the largest, not the brightest, but it is closest to us.

The most beautiful luminaries with the greatest brightness. The first among them:

Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris);
Canopus (Alpha Carinae);
Toliman (Alpha Centauri);
Arcturus (Alpha Bootes);
Vega (Alpha Lyrae).

Naming periods

Conventionally, we can distinguish several periods in which people gave names to heavenly bodies.

Pre-Antique period

Since ancient times, people have tried to “understand” the sky and gave the night luminaries names. No more than 20 names from those times have reached us. Scientists from Babylon, Egypt, Israel, Assyria and Mesopotamia worked actively here.

Greek period

The Greeks didn't really delve into astronomy. They gave names to only a small number of luminaries. Mostly, they took names from the names of the constellations or simply attributed existing names. All astronomical knowledge ancient Greece, as well as Babylon were collected Greek scientist Ptolemy Claudius(I-II centuries) in the works “Almagest” and “Tetrabiblos”.

Almagest (Great Construction) is the work of Ptolemy in thirteen books, where he, based on the work of Hipparchus of Nicea (c. 140 BC), tries to explain the structure of the Universe. He also lists the names of some of the brightest constellations.

Table of celestial bodies described in the Almagest

Name of the stars	Name of constellations	Description, location
Sirius	Big dog	Located in the mouth of the constellation. She is also called the Dog. The brightest of the night sky.
Procyon	Small dog	On the hind legs.
Arcturus	Bootes	Did not enter Bootes form. It is located below it.
Regulus	Lion	Located in the heart of Leo. Also called Tsarskaya.
Spica	Virgo	On the left hand. It has another name - Kolos.
Antares	Scorpion	Located in the middle.
Vega	Lyra	Located on the sink. Another name is Alpha Lyra.
Chapel	Auriga	Left shoulder. Also called - Goat.
Canopus	Ship Argo	On the keel of the ship.

Tetrabiblos is another work of Ptolemy Claudius in four books. The list of celestial bodies is supplemented here.

Roman period

The Roman Empire was engaged in the study of astronomy, but when this science began to actively develop, Rome fell. And behind the state, its science fell into decay. However, about a hundred stars have Latin names, although this does not guarantee that they were given names their scientists are from Rome.

Arab period

The fundamental work of the Arabs in the study of astronomy was the work of Ptolemy Almagest. They transferred most of it to Arabic. Based on the religious beliefs of the Arabs, they replaced the names of some of the luminaries. Names were often given based on the location of the body in the constellation. So, many of them have names or parts of names meaning neck, leg or tail.

Table of Arabic names

Arabic name	Meaning	Stars with Arabic names	Constellation
Ras	Head	Alpha Hercules	Hercules
Algenib	Side	Alpha Persei, Gamma Persei	Perseus
Menkib	Shoulder	Alpha Orionis, Alpha Pegasus, Beta Pegasus, Beta Aurigae, Zeta Persei, Phita Centauri	Pegasus, Perseus, Orion, Centaurus, Auriga
Rigel	Leg	Alpha Centauri, Beta Orionis, Mu Virgo	Centaurus, Orion, Virgo
Rukba	Knee	Alpha Sagittarius, Delta Cassiopeia, Upsilon Cassiopeia, Omega Cygnus	Sagittarius, Cassiopeia, Swan
Sheat	Shin	Beta Pegasus, Delta Aquarius	Pegasus, Aquarius
Mirfak	Elbow	Alpha Persei, Capa Hercules, Lambda Ophiuchus, Phita and Mu Cassiopeia	Perseus, Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Hercules
Menkar	Nose	Alpha Ceti, Lambda Ceti, Upsilon Crow	Keith, Raven
Markab	What moves	Alpha Pegasus, Tau Pegasus, Cape of Sails	Ship Argo, Pegasus

Renaissance

Since the 16th century in Europe, antiquity has been revived, and with it science. Arabic names did not change, but Arabic-Latin hybrids often appeared.

New clusters of celestial bodies were practically not discovered, but old ones were supplemented with new objects. A significant event of that time was the release of the starry atlas “Uranometry”.

Its compiler was the amateur astronomer Johann Bayer (1603). On the atlas he painted an artistic image of the constellations.

And most importantly, he suggested principle of naming luminaries with added letters Greek alphabet. The brightest body of the constellation will be called “Alpha”, the less bright “Beta” and so on until “Omega”. For example, the brightest star in Scorpii is Alpha Scorpii, the less bright Beta Scorpii, then Gamma Scorpii, etc.

Our time

With the advent of powerful ones, a huge number of luminaries began to be discovered. Now they are not allowed beautiful names, but simply assign an index with a digital and alphabetic code. But it happens that celestial bodies are given personal names. They are called by names scientific discoverers, and now you can even buy the opportunity to name the luminary as you wish.

Important! The sun is not part of any constellation.

What are the constellations?

Initially, the figures were figures formed by bright luminaries. Nowadays scientists use them as landmarks of the celestial sphere.

Most famous constellations in alphabetical order:

Andromeda. Located in the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere.
Twins. The brightest luminaries are Pollux and Castor. Zodiac sign.
Big Dipper. Seven stars forming the image of a ladle.
Big Dog. It has the brightest star in the sky - Sirius.
Scales. Zodiac, consisting of 83 objects.
Aquarius. Zodiac, with an asterism forming a jug.
Auriga. Its most outstanding object is the Chapel.
Wolf. Located in the southern hemisphere.
Bootes. The brightest luminary is Arcturus.
Veronica's hair. Consists of 64 visible objects.
Crow. It is best seen in mid-latitudes.
Hercules. Contains 235 visible objects.
Hydra. The most important luminary is Alphard.
Pigeon. 71 bodies of the southern hemisphere.
Hound Dogs. 57 visible objects.
Virgo. Zodiacal, with the brightest body - Spica.
Dolphin. Visible everywhere except Antarctica.
Dragon. Northern hemisphere, practically a pole.
Unicorn. Located on the milky way.
Altar. 60 visible stars.
Painter. Includes 49 objects.
Giraffe. Faintly visible in the northern hemisphere.
Crane. The brightest is Alnair.
Hare. 72 celestial bodies.
Ophiuchus. The 13th sign of the zodiac, but not included in this list.
Snake. 106 luminaries.
Golden Fish. 32 objects visible to the naked eye.
Indian. Faintly visible constellation.
Cassiopeia. It's shaped like the letter "W".
Keel. 206 objects.
Whale. Located in the “water” zone of the sky.
Capricorn. Zodiac, southern hemisphere.
Compass. 43 visible luminaries.
Stern. Located on the milky way.
Swan. Located in the northern part.
Lion. Zodiac, northern part.
Flying fish. 31 objects.
Lyra. The brightest luminary is Vega.
Chanterelle. Dull.
Ursa Minor. Located above north pole. It has the North Star.
Small Horse. 14 luminaries
Small Dog. Bright constellation.
Microscope. Southern part.
Fly. At the equator.
Pump. Southern sky.
Square. Passes through Milky Way.
Aries. Zodiacal, having bodies Mezarthim, Hamal and Sheratan.
Octant. At the South Pole.
Eagle. At the equator.
Orion. Has a bright object - Rigel.
Peacock. Southern Hemisphere.
Sail. 195 luminaries of the southern hemisphere.
Pegasus. South of Andromeda. Its brightest stars are Markab and Enif.
Perseus. It was discovered by Ptolemy. The first object is Mirfak.
Bake. Almost invisible.
Bird of paradise. Located near the south pole.
Cancer. Zodiac, faintly visible.
Cutter. Southern part.
Fish. A large constellation divided into two parts.
Lynx. 92 visible luminaries.
Northern Crown. Crown shape.
Sextant. At the equator.
Net. Consists of 22 objects.
Scorpion. The first luminary is Antares.
Sculptor. 55 celestial bodies.
Sagittarius. Zodiac.
Taurus. Zodiac. Aldebaran is the brightest object.
Triangle. 25 stars.
Toucan. This is where the Small Magellanic Cloud is located.
Phoenix. 63 luminaries.
Chameleon. Small and dim.
Centaurus. Its brightest star for us, Proxima Centauri, is the closest to the Sun.
Cepheus. Has the shape of a triangle.
Compass. Near Alpha Centauri.
Watch. It has an elongated shape.
Shield. Near the equator.
Eridanus. Big constellation.
South Hydra. 32 celestial bodies.
Southern Crown. Dimly visible.
Southern Fish. 43 objects.
Southern Cross. In the form of a cross.
Southern Triangle. Has the shape of a triangle.
Lizard. No bright objects.

What are the constellations of the Zodiac?

Zodiac signs - constellations through which the earth passes through throughout the year, forming a conditional ring around the system. Interestingly, there are 12 accepted zodiac signs, although Ophiuchus, which is not considered a zodiac, is also located on this ring.

Attention! There are no constellations.

By and large, there are no figures at all made up of celestial bodies.

After all, when we look at the sky, we perceive it as plane in two dimensions, but the luminaries are located not on a plane, but in space, at a huge distance from each other.

They do not form any pattern.

Let's say that light from Proxima Centauri, closest to the Sun, reaches us in almost 4.3 years.

And from another object of the same star system Omega Centauri - reaches the earth in 16 thousand years. All divisions are quite arbitrary.

Constellations and stars - sky map, interesting facts

Names of stars and constellations

Conclusion

It is impossible to calculate a reliable number of celestial bodies in the Universe. You can't even get close to exact number. Stars unite into galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy alone numbers about 100,000,000,000. From Earth using the most powerful telescopes About 55,000,000,000 galaxies can be detected. With the advent Hubble telescope, which is in Earth's orbit, scientists have discovered about 125,000,000,000 galaxies, and each has billions, hundreds of billions of objects. What is clear is that there are at least a trillion trillion luminaries in the Universe, but this is only a small part of what is real.

Distant sky, rich bright stars, especially beautiful long winter nights. The transparency of frosty, clear nights makes it possible to clearly see the expressive constellations of the northern hemisphere. Humanity has been studying the starry sky for several thousand years. First astrological calendars Maya and Egyptians were compiled very accurately and without modern achievements science.

Magic of the stars

On the evening of February 15, constellations of the northern hemisphere can be observed in the southern sky. The gigantic figure of the legendary Orion, whose belt includes three hot white stars. Right shoulder The hunter is decorated with the red star Betelgeuse, the brightest in the constellation. Vintage images Orion was always presented with it surrounded by wild animals.

On the right, just above Orion, an angry bull, Taurus, is running across the sky. His eye sparkles - this is the star Aldebaran (alpha Taurus). Orion is not intimidated by Taurus, he swings a club at him. Next to him you can see two faithful dogs - Canis Major and Canis Minor. These are the bright constellations of the northern hemisphere. Each of these constellations has stars of the first magnitude. IN Big Dog the brightest star in the entire starry sky is located - Sirius, in Canis Minor - a more modest star in brilliance, Procyon.

The Big Dog was distracted by the Hare, who took off running. The main star in this constellation, and 2m,6 and Rigel, as well as χ Orionis together form the vertices of an almost equilateral triangle. This hunting scene has been captured in the starry sky for at least two thousand years, and the above group of constellations has been known to man for about as long as Ursa Major.

Two bright constellations of the northern hemisphere - Auriga and Gemini. The stars α and β in the constellation Gemini are named Castor and Pollux in honor of the mythical twin children of Zeus.

Near the zenith is the bright yellow star Capella, the main star of the constellation Auriga. Unusual name"capella" is translated as "goat". On old maps in this direction a goat is depicted, carried by the giant Charioteer on his mighty shoulders. This constellation, according to ancient Greek legends, was considered the abode of the Athenian king Erichthon, who was considered by the ancients to be the creator of chariots. And the star on the giant’s shoulder is the mythical goat Amalthea, who suckled Zeus himself.

Two constellations of the northern hemisphere do not have bright stars in winter. On the right side of the constellation Orion is the constellation Eridanus, the mythical river in which Phaethon, the son of the sun god, drowned. This “river” stretches far, right up to the bright star Achernar in the sky of the southern hemisphere. On the other side of Orion is the constellation Monoceros. Appearing on maps in 1624 after the invention of the telescope, it resembles a mythical animal, a cross between a horse and a rhinoceros, that was told about in the Middle Ages.

Orion is the brightest constellation in the northern hemisphere

In the starry sky you will not find the same constellation as Orion, since it contains a lot of interesting objects that are easy to observe.

Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion. Its radiation has a bluish-white hue, the surface is heated to almost 13,000°. Rigel has a significant brilliance (0 m .3); surprisingly, this star emits light 23,000 times brighter than the Sun. The mystery of Rigel's exceptionally high brightness lies not only in its temperature, but also in its size. Rigel is 33 times larger than the sun and is considered a supergiant star.

As big as Rigel is, the star Betelgeuse is much larger. It is no coincidence that Orion is the brightest constellation in the northern hemisphere. Using an interferometer, the diameter of Betelgeuse was repeatedly measured, and it turned out that Betelgeuse is 450 times larger in diameter than our Sun! If we replaced the Sun with Betelgeuse, then the star would take the places of four planets up to and including Mars! And if you replace the Sun with Rigel, then with its heat the bluish-white giant would incinerate all life on Earth.

The star Bellatrix is γ Orionis, less luminous than Rigel and Betelgeuse. But, despite this, it is also a giant star, even hotter than Rigel. Its surface temperature is more than 20,000°. In the Middle Ages, the mythological Bellatrix was considered a warrior. In the astrological book of the Middle Ages there is a funny reference that says that “women born under this star are happier and more talkative.

The unnamed, fourth star χ in the figure of Orion is an even hotter star, with a temperature of about 25,000° on the surface.

Another pair of stars σ and λ belong to the constellation Orion. One of them is the hottest among the brightest ones in the constellation, its temperature is almost 30,000°.

The nature of the Andromeda and Orion nebulae, the brightest in the starry sky, is completely different. Andromeda is a gigantic and very distant system consisting of tens of billions of stars. The Orion Nebula is much smaller. On average, its diameter is 5 light years. The Andromeda nebula is a galaxy located in our neighborhood. The Orion Nebula intersects with our Galaxy 350 light-years from the Sun.

Taurus

The names of the constellations in the northern hemisphere are easy to remember. While looking at Taurus, why not test your vision by counting how many stars your eye can clearly see in the Pleiades? If 6 or 7, then vision is normal, if more - excellent. Galileo was able to count 36 stars with his primitive telescope. The Pleiades are quite close to Earth, the distance to them is approaching 130 sl. The cluster occupies an area in the sky many times larger than the full Moon. The Pleiades extend in all directions in space for 22 light years.

Back in 1859, a transparent nebula was discovered located around the Pleiades. Unlike the Orion Nebula, this nebula is not self-luminous. It only reflects the light of the Pleiades immersed in it, and it consists of tiny particles.

The leading star in the constellation Taurus is the yellowish-orange Aldebaran, it is visible in the sky, but is not in the space of the constellation! And it is located in the midst of an open star cluster called the Hyades. It refers to a group of two hundred stars. The stars inside the Hyades have their own movement, and quite fast. Therefore, such a cluster moving “before our eyes” is called a moving cluster.

All the stars of the Hyades move parallel in space, just as they are parallel railway rails. The Hyades is the closest cluster of stars to us. It's only 40 words away. Its shape is spherical, its diameter is almost 33 light years. The passage of the Hyades near the Sun occurred approximately 80,000 years ago. Then they were as close as possible to the Sun, twice as close as they are now. In about 6,500,000 years, the Hyades will move away from us and occupy an area in our sky much smaller than the Moon, and the brightest stars of them will become barely noticeable 12m stars.

Crab Nebula

Taurus, a northern hemisphere constellation, contains one landmark: the Crab Nebula. Located near the star ζ, it is an object that is difficult to observe from Earth. Only deep dark night You can see with a good telescope or very powerful binoculars a small luminous speck, about 6"x4 in size." The Crab Nebula is one of the most powerful sources cosmic radiation, is designated in catalogs as “Taurus A”. In fact, it is shaped like a crab, with branches that bear some resemblance to tentacles.

In 1054, a very bright supernova exploded at this site. Now here we can discern a small, unusual in spectrum and incredibly hot star 9m. All the gas clouds that form the Crab Nebula come from this star and fly away in all directions at a speed of about 1000 km/sec! Without a doubt, we are observing a former supernova, and gas clouds were ejected during a powerful explosion. Moreover, the star has a temperature of more than 150,000°, which is almost impossible to find in ordinary stars.

Big Dog

“Vacations,” a word that came into Russian from Latin, was literally translated as “dog days.” Such an unexpected and illogical name for summer months happened thanks to the main star in Canis Major. Canis Major is a constellation in the northern hemisphere of the sky.

Sirius is translated from Greek as Shiny. In ancient Egypt during summer solstice Sirius is always first at dawn. This moment of the year was tracked by the priests, observing the constellations of the northern hemisphere in winter and knowing that after that the Nile would flood, and the sizzling days of summer would begin.

The main star of the constellation is Sirius; in ancient times it was called the Dog Star, which in Latin meant “canis”. Therefore, the ancient Romans called hot summer days of rest “vacations” or “dog days.” At that distant time, the holidays caused anxiety among people, since, according to legend, the Dog Star caused rabies and fever.

Sirius is considered the brightest star in the sky. The level of its blue brilliance approaches l m .4. Apart from Sirius, only one star (Kapopus) has a brilliance expressed by negative magnitudes. Sirius is located quite close to us and is the seventh star in terms of distance from the Sun. If you fly on it spaceship at a speed of 10 km/sec, it will take 300 thousand years to reach Sirius. Light from Sirius reaches us in 9 years. Sirius has a diameter twice the size of the Sun. It is twice as heavy and hotter than our sanctuary. The light of Sirius is 24 times more intense than the sun.

Sirius has white satellite- star 8 m,6, the so-called Puppy. It is the first white dwarf discovered by humanity. The puppy has a mass equal to the Sun, but is only three times the size of the Earth. If you put its substance in a matchbox, it would weigh almost a ton.

Below Sirius, a rare o 2 Wolf-Rayet type star can be observed. In the gap between Sirius and o 2 there is a bright cluster of stars M41. Unique are the UW stars, which are supergiants of the spectral class O 8. These are the heaviest stars studied. Each has a mass almost 30 times greater than that of the sun, and tens of millions of times greater than that of the earth!

Small Dog

It is impossible to imagine the winter constellations of the northern hemisphere without Canis Minor. The leading star of the constellation Canis Minor is Procyon, which has a yellowish hue. In terms of its performance, it is inferior to Sirius and also has a white dwarf as its satellites. Procyon is several times more luminous than the Sun. It is slightly larger and hotter than the Sun. The temperature reaches 7000°. Procyon is quite close to Earth and is located at a distance of 3.5 liters.

Procyon's satellite is a small star (11th magnitude). Only a professional astronomer can see it. Its radiation is ten times weaker than that of the satellite Sirius. This dwarf has even greater density than the Puppy. Thus, two strange commonwealths without common features, stars (Sirius and Procyon), have similar dwarf satellites.

Twins

In the constellation Gemini, the brightest and most important are Castor and Pollux, which have very different properties. The constellations of the starry sky of the northern hemisphere would fade without them.

Castor is a star made of two components - blue hot stars. Pollux is a cold orange loner. Closer to us is Pollux, 10 lines to it, and 14 lines to Castor. Pollux does not stand out in any way, but Castor is one of the unique and rare stars. It consists of luminaries 2m,0 and 2m,9, between which there is a gap of 4",1, called Castor A and Castor B. They are spectrally binary twin stars, separated by only 10 million km. The distance from the Sun to Mercury is greater 6 times. At a distance of 73" from Castors A and B is Castor C, which is a small reddish dwarf. It also consists of twin dwarfs located at a distance of almost 3 million km, like two Suns.

Thus, Castor is a “six” star. Then on the planets that may orbit around it, you can see six suns in the sky at once!

A pair of bright stars variable type in Gemini. One of them is Cepheid. Its brightness changes periodically over 10 days from 3 m.9 to 4 m.3. The second variable star belongs to spectroscopic binaries and eclipsing variables with a period of three thousand days. The open cluster M35 is located nearby. In the sky it looks like the size full moon, but actually has a diameter of 7 sl.

Auriga

Auriga is a constellation in the northern hemisphere of the sky. Capella is a brilliant yellow star 0m.09, “leading” the constellation. It consists of two giants yellow. The distance between them is just one radius of the earth's orbit. The duality of Capella cannot be seen through a telescope due to its small angular distance; this is only proven by spectral analysis. The two stars orbit from each other for a period equal to 104 Earth days.

The second brightest after Capella is P Auriga, which changes brightness periodically. The ζ Aurigae system is interesting, consisting of two stars that are different in all respects. The first is hot, bluish-white, 13 times the Sun's gravity. The second is a reddish-orange supergiant, 30 times heavier than the Sun and 300 times larger in size. Such a huge star, being in the place of the Sun, would contain the orbits of all the planets up to Mars.

In ε Aurigae there is an eclipsing variable star with the most ambitious period of changes in brightness known to us - 27 years. This system consists of a pair of stars - bright and inconspicuous. The yellowish star we see is a supergiant with a temperature of 6300°. It is 36 times greater than the Sun in gravity and 190 times in size. The second star, invisible, is even larger. This is the largest of all the stars that we know. With a diameter 2700 times larger than the sun, which would contain the entire solar system. But its brightness is weak, almost equal to that of the sun, since Epsilon A is cold and low in density.

The constellations in the northern hemisphere are very interesting to observe. In the constellation Auriga one can observe not only extraordinary eclipsing variable stars, but also open clusters of stars M 36, 37 and 38. These are mainly hot white class B stars and cool stars similar to the Sun. There are about 350 stars in the three clusters.

Unicorn

Not a small constellation, but also not rich in clearly visible stars. An interesting object in it is the diffuse disk-shaped “Rosette” nebula at a distance of 1100 sl from us. From the inside, it is illuminated by hot O-class stars and has a diameter twice that of the Moon.

Eridanus

The triple star O 2 Eridani, a northern hemisphere constellation, consists of main star 4 m ,6 and double satellite (9 m ,7 and 11 m ,2). The leading star is similar to the Sun, but smaller and cooler. The second star is a cool red dwarf five times smaller than the Sun. The third is a white dwarf, 50 times smaller in size than the Sun, but 64 thousand times denser. Both dwarfs orbit each other for 250 years. They are located next door to us, 5 str.

The constellations of the northern hemisphere, photos of which can be easily found, mostly consist of stars with systems unsuitable for life. The star ε (4 m .2) is similar to the Sun, it is one of a pair of stars visible in the northern hemisphere of the sky, possibly with habitable planets. There is some hope for success. The star is single, very cold, several times colder than the Sun, almost the same size and mass, slowly rotating around its axis. This circumstance cannot be considered as a direct sign of the presence of life, but only as a hint at the possibility of the existence of satellite planets near ε Eridani. This star is quite close to us (about 3 cl), compared to T Ceti. Perhaps future humanity will begin to explore the galactic expanses from these nearby stars. ε Eridani will definitely be included in the plans of the first interstellar expeditions.

Starry sky

You've probably had to lie on your back in summer day, look at the sky and see large clouds on it that look like fibrous pieces of cotton wool? Very often they suddenly take on the shape of an animal or human faces. Well, constellations are the same imaginary figures that stars form in the sky.

The night sky is a canvas dotted with pictures of dots. People have found pictures in the sky since ancient times.

Who first invented star constellations

We know that the ancient Sumerians described the constellations 4 thousand years ago. Naturally, people saw in the sky what they wanted to see. Hunting tribes saw star-shaped images of the wild animals they hunted. European navigators found constellations shaped like a compass. Indeed, scientists believe that the main use of constellations was to learn how to navigate the sea while sailing.

Legends and myths about constellations

There is a legend that says that the wife Egyptian pharaoh Berenice (Veronica) offered her luxurious hair as a gift to the goddess Venus. But the hair was stolen from the palace of Venus and ended up in the sky as a constellation. In summer, the constellation Coma Berenices can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere below the handle of the Ursa Major Dipper.

Related materials:

Why does the wind blow?

It was possible to determine one’s location by finding a certain constellation in the sky in one place or another in the sky. Isolating certain patterns in the mass of stars helped in studying the starry sky. Astronomers ancient world divided the sky into regions. Each region was divided into groups of stars called constellations. Constellations were given names, legends and myths were formed about them.

Different peoples divided the stars into constellations in various ways. Some of the stories surrounding the formation of constellations were extremely bizarre. Here, for example, is what the ancient Egyptians saw in the constellation surrounding the Ursa Major Dipper. They saw a bull, a man was lying next to him, the man was being dragged along the ground by a hippopotamus, who walked on two legs and carried a crocodile on his back.

Even ancient people united the stars in our sky into constellations. In ancient times, when the true nature of the celestial bodies was unknown, residents assigned the characteristic “patterns” of stars to the outlines of some animals or objects. Subsequently, the stars and constellations became overgrown with legends and myths.

Star maps

Today there are 88 constellations. Many of them are quite remarkable (Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Ursa) and contain many interesting objects accessible not only to professional and amateur astronomers, but also ordinary people. On the pages of this section we will tell you about the most interesting objects in the constellations, their location, we present many photographs and entertaining videos records.

List of sky constellations in alphabetical order

Russian name	Latin name	Reduction	Square (square degrees)	Number of stars brighter 6.0m
	Andromeda	And	722	100
	Gemini	Gem	514	70
	Ursa Major	UMa	1280	125
	Canis Major	CMa	380	80
	Libra	Lib	538	50
	Aquarius	Aqr	980	90
	Auriga	Aur	657	90
	Lupus	Lup	334	70
	Boots	Boo	907	90
	Coma Berenices	Com	386	50
	Corvus	Crv	184	15
	Hercules	Her	1225	140
	Hydra	Hya	1303	130
	Columba	Col	270	40
	Canes Venatici	CVn	465	30
	Virgo	Vir	1294	95
	Delphinus	Del	189	30
	Draco	Dra	1083	80
	Monoceros	Mon	482	85
	Ara	Ara	237	30
	Pictor	Pic	247	30
	Camelopardalis	Cam	757	50
	Grus	Gru	366	30
	Lepus	Lep	290	40
	Ophiuchus	Oph	948	100
	Serpens	Ser	637	60
	Dorado	Dor	179	20
	Indus	Ind	294	20
	Cassiopeia	Cas	598	90
	Carina	Car	494	110
	Cetus	Set	1231	100
	Capricornus	Cap	414	50
	Pyxis	Pyx	221	25
	Puppis	Pup	673	140
	Cygnus	Cyg	804	150
	Leo	Leo	947	70
	Volans	Vol	141	20
	Lyra	Lyr	286	45
	Vulpecula	Vul	268	45
	Ursa Minor	UMi	256	20
	Equuleus	Equ	72	10
	Leo Minor	LMi	232	20
	Canis Minor	CMi	183	20
	Microscopium	Mic	210	20
	Musca	Mus	138	30
	Antlia	Ant	239	20
	Norma	Nor	165	20
	Aries	Ari	441	50
	Octans	Oct	291	35
	Aquila	Aql	652	70
	Orion	Ori	594	120
	Pavo	Pav	378	45
	Vela	Vel	500	110
	Pegasus	Peg	1121	100
	Perseus	Per	615	90
	Fornax	For	398	35
	Apus	Aps	206	20
	Cancer	Cnc	506	60
	Caelum	Cae	125	10
	Pisces	Psc	889	75
	Lynx	Lyn	545	60
	Corona Borealis	CrB	179	20
	Sextans	Sex	314	25
	Reticulum	Ret	114	15
	Scorpius	Sco	497	100
	Sculptor	Scl	475	30
	Mensa	Men	153	15
	Sagitta	Sge	80	20
	Sagittarius	Sgr	867	115
	Telescopium	Tel	252	30
	Taurus	Tau	797	125
	Triangulum	Tri	132	15
	Tucana	Tuc	295	25
	Phoenix	Phe	469	40
	Chamaeleon	Cha	132	20
	Centaurus	Cen	1060	150
	Cepheus	Cep	588	60
	Circinus	Cir	93	20
	Horologium	Hor	249	20
	Crater	Crt	282	20
	Scutum	Sct	109	20
	Eridanus	Eri	1138	100
Thanks to observations by astronomers, it turned out that the location of stars gradually changes over time. On precise measurements These changes take many hundreds and thousands of years. The night sky creates the appearance of a countless number of celestial bodies, randomly located in relation to each other, which often outline constellations in the sky. More than 3 thousand stars are visible in the visible part of the sky, and 6000 in the entire sky. Visible location Constellation Cygnus from Johann Bayer's atlas "Uranometria" 1603 The location of dim stars can be determined by finding bright ones, and thus, the required constellation can be found. Since ancient times, in order to make it easier to find constellations, bright stars have been grouped together. These constellations received the names of animals (Scorpio, Ursa Major, etc.), and were named after heroes Greek myths(Perseus, Andromeda, etc.), or simple names of objects (Libra, Arrow, Northern Crown, etc.). Since the 18th century, some of the bright stars of each constellation began to be named by letters of the Greek alphabet. In addition, about 130 brightly shining stars were named after them. After some time, astronomers designated them with the numbers that are used today for stars of low brightness. Since 1922, some large constellations were divided into small ones, and instead of groups of constellations, they began to be considered sections of the starry sky. On at the moment There are 88 separate areas in the sky called constellations. Observation Over the course of several hours of observing the night sky, you can see how celestial sphere, which includes the luminaries as one whole, smoothly rotates around an invisible axis. This movement was called diurnal. The movement of the luminaries occurs from left to right. The Moon and the Sun, as well as the stars, rise in the east, in the southern part they rise to maximum height, set on the western horizon. Watching the rising and setting of these luminaries, it is discovered that, unlike stars, corresponding different days year, they rise at different points in the east and set at different points in the west. In December, the Sun rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest. Over time, the points of west and sunrise shift to the northern horizon. Accordingly, the Sun rises higher above the horizon at noon every day, the length of the day becomes longer, and the length of the night decreases. Movement of celestial objects along the constellations From the observations made, it is clear that the Moon is not always in the same constellation, but moves from one to another, moving from west to east by 13 degrees per day. The moon moves across the sky full circle in 27.32 days, passing through 12 constellations. The Sun makes a similar path as the Moon, however, the speed of the Sun is 1 degree per day and the entire path is completed in a year. Zodiac constellations The names of the constellations through which the Sun and Moon pass were given the names of the zodiacs (Pisces, Capricorn, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Aries). The Sun passes through the first three constellations in the spring, the next three in the summer, and the subsequent ones in the same way. Only six months later those constellations in which the Sun is now located become visible. Popular science film "Secrets of the Universe - Constellations"