Trivia and Facts about Constellations
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Today, we're going to discuss the Trivia and facts about constellations!
Here are the 10 trivia and facts about constellations:
1. Constellations Are Star Patterns In The Night Sky
Constellations (“set of stars”) are basically groups of stars that have imaginatively been linked together to depict mythological characters, animals and objects from mankind’s past. This allowed early people to organize the night sky into a recognizable form to assist in their religious study of the celestial heavens, as well as more earthly applications, such as predicting the seasons for farming, measuring time or as a directional compass.
2. There Are 88 Official Constellations
In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognized 88 constellations, 48 of which were recorded by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his book ‘Almagest’ written around 150 AD. Ptolemy’s chart had gaps, especially near the south celestial pole as this area was uncharted at the time, but over the centuries new constellations have been added to the list, including by Dutch explorers Gerardus Mercator (1551), and Pieter Keyser and Frederick de Hautmann near the turn of the 16th century. Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1690), and French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1750s) later completed the remaining constellations we are now familiar with in the night sky.
3. Constellations Travel From East To West Like The Sun
Each night more stars and constellation begin to appear in the eastern part of the sky at dusk before moving across and disappearing over the western horizon by dawn. Likewise, those constellations which we had been able to see low near the western horizon after sunset will vanish from our view only to be replaced by constellations which had been higher in the sky at sunset just a few weeks earlier. The constellations which appear in the east have a daily shift rate close to one degree per day, as completing a 360 degrees circular journey around the Sun in 365 days produces roughly that rate. One full year later, and the stars subsequently return to the same position and rising time as the year before.
4. Zodiac Constellations Found Where Sun, Moon, and Planets Move
The most commonly known of all the 88 constellations are the 12 zodiac constellations, which appear within an 18 degree wide band of sky called the ecliptic plane, which the Sun, Moon and planets seems to traverse throughout the year from the Earth’s perspective. Less well known, however, is that there is in actual fact a 13th constellation which also occupies this zodiacal band, namely Ophiuchus the ‘serpent-bearer.’
5. Asterism Not Considered True Constellation
An asterism is a pattern of stars that are widely recognized and contained within an official constellation but is not counted as a true constellation in itself. The Big Dipper, for instance, is a famous asterism but the seven stars in this arrangement of stars represent less than half of the whole constellation known as Ursa Major. Another famous asterism is the three stars in a row which form Orion’s belt.
6. The word “constellation” comes from a Latin term meaning “set with stars.”
7. Not everyone can see all the constellations – it depends on where you are in the world. In addition, the season of the year also plays a role in what constellations can be seen.
8. Hydra is the largest constellation by area which takes up 3.16% of the sky. While the smallest constellation is Crux. It only takes up 0.17 percent of the sky.
9. The Greeks are responsible for naming the constellations. These names came from their mythological heroes and legends.
10. Astrology also has their own set of 12 Zodiacal Constellations; Aries, Aquarius, Cancer, Capricornus, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius,
Scorpius, Taurus and Virgo.
That's all. Thank you!
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References:
http://www.astronomytrek.com/10-interesting-facts-about-the-constellations/
https://osr.org/blog/universe/what-are-constellations/