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Definition: constellation from Philip's Encyclopedia

Grouping of stars, forming an imaginary figure traced on the sky. The groupings have no physical basis as each star is a different distance from Earth. There are 88 constellations that have been assigned boundaries on the celestial sphere by the International Astronomical Union in 1930.

constellation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
One of the 88 areas into which the sky is divided for the purposes of identifying and naming celestial objects. The first constellations were simple, arbitrary patterns of stars in which early civilizations visualized gods, sacred beasts, and mythical heroes. The constellations used in scientific astronomy today are derived from a list of 48 known to the ancient Greeks, who inherited some from the Babylonians. The current list of 88 constellations was adopted by the International Astronomical Union, astronomy's governing body, in 1930. Traditional Chinese astronomy used different constellations; for example, the zodiac was divided into 28 ‘mansions’ rather than the 12 constellations familiar in the West. Ancient origins Some of the current constellations can be traced back to the inhabitants of the Euphrates valley, from whom they were handed down through the Greeks and Arabs. Few pictorial records of the ancient constellation figures have survived, but in the Almagest AD 150, Ptolemy…
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Full text Article constellation

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
Astronomy a. A grouping of stars on the celestial sphere perceived as a figure or design, especially one of the 88 recognized groups named after characters from classical Greek and Roman mythology as well as various common animals and objects. b. An area of the celestial sphere occupied by one of…
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Full text Article constellation

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
Any of the 88 areas into which astronomers have divided the whole of the northern and southern hemispheres of the sky (or celestial sphere ). Every star, galaxy, nebula, or other celestial body lies within, or sometimes overlaps, the boundaries of one of the constellations. These boundaries were…
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in common usage, group of stars that appear to form a configuration in the sky; properly speaking, a constellation is a definite region of the sky in which the configuration of stars is contained. Identifiable groupings of bright stars have been recognized and named since ancient times, the names…
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“Constellation” is a term generally used in philosophy and in literary and cultural studies to express the relationship between ideas or concepts and objects, especially the way in which the object retains its particularity in resistance to the universalizing tendencies of the idea or concept. It is…
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Full text Article constellation

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Arbitrary grouping of stars, 88 of which are recognized by modern astronomers. Various constellation systems have been developed by civilizations over the ages; the one we follow is based on that of the ancient Greeks, although it actually originated around 4000 years ago with the Sumerian people of…
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Full text Article constellation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
One of the 88 areas into which the sky is divided for the purposes of identifying and naming celestial objects. The first constellations were simple, arbitrary patterns of stars in which early civilizations visualized gods, sacred beasts, and mythical heroes. The constellations used in scientific…
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Full text Article CONSTELLATIONS

From National Geographic Answer Book: 10,001 Fast Facts About Our World Full text Article THE UNIVERSE
CONSTELLATIONS OF THE ZODIAC ♈ ARIES ♉ TAURUS ♊ GEMINI ♋ CANCER ♌ LEO ♍ VIRGO ♎ LIBRA ♏ SCORPIO ♐ SAGITTARIUS ♑ CAPRICORN ♒ AQUARIUS ♓ PISCES Stars seem to move across the sky through the night, but that movement is due to Earth's rotation. As Earth spins on its axis, objects appear to rise in the…
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Full text Article CONSTELLATION

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Greek playwright I know the nightly concourse of the stars And which of the sky's bright regents brings us storm Which summer; when they set, and their uprisings. In Great Books of the Western World (Volume 5 ) The Plays of Aeschylus Agamemnon, l. 4-6 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Chicago Illinois…
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Full text Article constellation

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy
An easily identifiable (with the naked eye) configuration of the brightest stars in a moderately small region of the night sky. Originally there was not a single set of constellations recognized by all astronomers. Rather, early astronomers in many regions of the world often defined and named the…
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Full text Article Constellations

From 1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization
With the rise of observatories and a greater interest in the night sky, Muslim astronomers from the ninth century onward were fascinated by the night sky and carried out substantial work on stars and constellations. These included ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, a Persian astronomer who lived during the…
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