Since time immemorial, the stars have served as a guide to different civilizations. They used them to orient themselves while sailing the seas, walking through the desert or as a reference to the passing of the seasons. From different enclaves of the planet, they united the different stars of the firmament by means of imaginary lines to represent images related to their culture that, to this day, continue to be maintained. Looking at the starry sky on a clear night is one of the greatest pleasures that our planet gives us. If you want to know more about the constellations that you can find in the sky, these are the most famous.
If you feel passionate about astronomy, surely on more than one occasion you have looked for a place without too much light pollution to observe the sky on a clear night. Beyond going to an observatory or lying down to look at the sky at night, you can learn about the different constellations that we can see from planet Earth with programs and mobile apps about space that help you find them in the sky. These are some of the most popular.
Names of the best known constellations
Each of the constellations that we can see in the sky has a name and a series of stars that are responsible for shaping it. Its name is commonly related to the apparent shape of these stars. The International Astronomical Union officially recognizes a total of 88 constellations . Groups of stars that form well-defined patterns that are usually related to the signs of the zodiac and that, for the most part, are related to names from Greek mythology. As a general rule, each constellation has a main star that stands out from the rest due to its luminosity.
One aspect to keep in mind is that not all of them are visible all over the world. They are divided into two main groups: southern constellations (visible from the southern hemisphere) and northern constellations (visible from the northern hemisphere). Perhaps the best known by the general public are the zodiacal constellations, the easiest to locate, but there are also others important constellations that every astronomy fan should know.
Great Bear
It is visible throughout the year from the northern hemisphere. The stars that make up the Big Dipper give it the shape of a chariot, which is why it is also known as “the chariot.” A very useful constellation to locate the Pole Star.
Little Bear
Very similar to the Big Dipper and, as its name indicates, smaller in size and luminosity. Also formed by seven stars of which the Pole Star is the brightest of the set.
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
Orion
It is another of the most representative constellations of the night sky in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Also known as “the hunter” because the stars that form it represent a warrior with a shield and a weapon.
Cassiopeia
Easy to recognize in the sky due to its M or W shape depending on the hemisphere and the time of year in which you want to observe. It points north, so it is essential if you want to get your bearings when the Little Bear cannot be seen.
canis major
In this constellation we find one of the brightest stars in the sky: Sirius, a star worshiped by the Egyptians. As you can guess from its name, the stars that make it up give it an appearance that reminds us of a dog.
Constellation Canis Major
northern cross
Known in Latin as Corona Borealis, it sits on the celestial equator visible in the northern hemisphere. It forms a kind of semicircle and makes it one of the most difficult to locate, due to its small size and brightness.
lyra
A constellation associated with the myth of Orpheus. Easily detectable thanks to its bright star Vega located in the tail of a kind of asymmetrical square.
zodiacal constellations
In addition to the 7 constellations mentioned above, we could add to this list the 12 that represent the different signs of the horoscope : Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
zodiacal constellations
The next time you go out to see the starry sky, do it with one of the apps about space installed on your mobile, since finding the constellations with applications like Google Sky is very simple.