Do you know how many constellations in the sky?

The night starry sky fascinates the view, especially in clear, cloudless weather. I would look at it and look, trying to identify different configurations, familiar shapes. And they are really determined. Involuntarily the question arises about how many constellations in the sky. We will try to find the answer now.

Ancient astronomers about the stars

The first to unite the stars in the constellation several thousand years ago were Greek astronomers. They did it on the principle of similarity with some mythical heroes, animals, birds. For this purpose, the brightest stars or groups located near each other were selected. Names, of course, did not always reflect the essence of the resulting figure. However, today we are hard to judge about this. We just know that there are in the sky constellations of Andromeda, Pegasus, Hercules, Centauri, Cassiopeia and others.

So how many constellations are in the sky? Ancient Greek astronomers isolated 48. But it was not all.

Starry sky or heavenly sphere

The modern concept of "constellation" differs from the old one. Ancient astronomers, by this concept, meant figures formed by stars. Sometimes it turned out that the same stars could belong to different constellations, and where there were few stars or they were very pale, there were none at all.

So how many constellations is the sky divided today? Currently, this term refers to areas or areas to which the celestial sphere is divided in order to be more convenient to navigate the sky.

The division of the boundaries between the constellations was carried out at the beginning of the XIX century. This work was carried out by the International Astronomical Union from 1922 to 1935. As a result, the boundaries between the constellations and their number were finally determined. Then it became known how many constellations in the sky. There are 88 of them.

I can not look at them

The Greeks might have discovered more constellations, but they mostly watched the sky accessible from the south of Europe, that is, its northern hemisphere. In the XVII-XVIII centuries the study continued.

Astronomers have noticed that it is impossible to see all the constellations at the same time. As our planet rotates around the Sun, new groups of stars become available to the eye. The constellations, located near the pole, are visible for a whole year. Some can be seen only at a certain time, for example, in summer or in winter, in spring or in autumn.

Where to look for the constellations?

Now you can not be afraid of the question of how many constellations in the sky. The answer is known. But in which hemispheres of the sky are they located? It turns out that 31 is in the North, and 48 are in the South. Another 9 constellations captured both celestial hemispheres and settled on either side of the celestial equator. They are Pisces, Orion, Kit, Unicorn, Virgo, Sextant, Snake, Eagle, Ophiuchus.

The brightest

Constellations vary in magnitude and degree of brightness. So how many constellations in the sky are the brightest?

Out of 88 only 30 are well distinguished by their distinct outlines and bright stars.

The largest of the brightest is the constellation Ursa Major, which covers an area of about 1300 square degrees. In it, you can count, besides the seven bright stars forming the bucket, 118 more, which are visible to the naked eye from the Earth.

The smallest, again from the bright, it is necessary to search in the Southern hemisphere of the sky. Unfortunately, it is not visible on the territory of the Russian Federation. This beautiful constellation of the Southern Cross covers an area of 68 square degrees and consists of five bright and twenty-five faint stars.

The largest number of bright stars contains the constellation of Scorpio. There are 12 of them in it.

And yet, you can safely call the constellation Orion the most beautiful . It has 120 visible stars, seven of them stand out with a bright luster.

How many constellations in the zodiac?

The twelve constellations through which the Sun moves in its annual turnover, with the exception of Ophiuchus, are called zodiacal. They are located along the ecliptic. This is the name of the circle of the celestial sphere, according to which the Sun circulates during the year. In a day it passes about 1 degree. To each month there corresponds a certain constellation in which the Sun is at that moment. But due to the displacement of the point of the vernal equinox for more than two thousand years, the light now every month is in two adjacent constellations.

The longest, 44 days, the Sun moves along the constellation of the Virgin, least of all it is in Scorpio - only six days.

A few stories about the zodiacal constellations

How many constellations in the sky and how many in the Zodiac, we found out. But why does Taurus occupy one of the dominant places among the zodiacal constellations? It's simple. In ancient times the development of cattle breeding was given very great importance. The bull (Taurus) was very revered by people and even considered a sacred animal. Therefore, it is with him that the constellation is associated, in which the Sun finally defeats the winter and announces the arrival of spring and the awakening of nature.

Even the origin of the name Cancer is associated with several legends. But classical ancient mythology says: when Hercules struggled with Hydra, he was attacked also by a huge Cancer. The hero crushed him, but the goddess Hera in revenge placed Cancer in the sky.

Libra - the only constellation in the Zodiac, which has no relation to animals or semi-animals. About two thousand years ago in Libra was the point of the autumnal equinox. Perhaps because of the equality of day and night, this name also arose. According to other versions, the daughter of Zeus and Themis Astrea, the goddess of justice, weighed the fate of people with the help of Libra, which her father placed in the sky.

The constellation of Scorpio was named not only because of external similarity, but also because the Sun entered it in the fall, when nature fell asleep or died, as if bitten by a poisonous reptile.

How many constellations in the sky, so many unusual names, concealing a secret meaning. Especially it concerns those names that were given in antiquity.