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All stars but one can be associated with an IAU (International Astronomical Union) constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput (the snake's head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (the snake's tail ...
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. [ 1] The first constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, mythology.
Click on to see large image. Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after a hunter in Greek mythology .
Leo, with Leo Minor above, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Leo is also home to a bright variable star, the red giant R Leonis. It is a Mira variable with a minimum magnitude of 10 and normal maximum magnitude of 6; it periodically brightens to magnitude 4.4.
γ And (Almach) is an orange-hued bright giant star of type K3 [10] found at the southern tip of the constellation with an overall magnitude of 2.14. [24] Almach is a multiple star with a yellow primary of magnitude 2.3 and a blue-green secondary of magnitude 5, separated by 9.7 arcseconds .
It is found in a region often called the Sea due to its profusion of constellations with watery associations such as Cetus the whale, Pisces the fish, and Eridanus the river. [3] At apparent magnitude 2.9, Beta Aquarii is the brightest star in the constellation.
The constellation as a whole is often depicted as having the rough appearance of a stick-figure archer drawing its bow, with the fainter stars providing the outline of the horse's body. Sagittarius famously points its arrow at the heart of Scorpius , represented by the reddish star Antares , as the two constellations race around the sky.
The following is a list of particularly notable actual or hypothetical stars that have their own articles in Wikipedia, but are not included in the lists above. BPM 37093 — a diamond star. Cygnus X-1 — X-ray source. EBLM J0555-57Ab — is one of the smallest stars ever discovered.