Do you know how many constellations in the sky?

The night starry sky fascinates the look,especially in clear cloudless weather. I would look at it and look, trying to identify various configurations, familiar figures. And they are really determined. The question of how many constellations is in the sky involuntarily. We will try to find the answer now.

Ancient astronomers about the stars

The first stars combined into constellations are severalthousands of years ago greek astronomers. They did this according to the principle of similarity with any mythical heroes, animals, birds. To do this, select the brightest stars or groups located close to each other. The names, of course, did not always reflect the essence of the resulting figure. However, today it is difficult for us to judge this. We just know that there are constellations of Andromeda, Pegasus, Hercules, Centauri, Cassiopeia and others in the sky.

So how many constellations in the sky? Ancient Greek astronomers identified 48. But this was not all.

Starry sky or heavenly sphere

The modern concept of "constellation" is different fromthe former. Ancient astronomers under this concept meant the 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, they did not exist at all.

So how many constellations are the sky divided today?Currently, this term refers to areas or areas into which the celestial sphere is divided in order to make it easier to navigate in the sky.

The separation of boundaries between constellations wascarried out at the beginning of the XIX century. This work was conducted by the International Astronomical Union from 1922 to 1935. As a result, both the boundaries between the constellations and their number were finally determined. That's when it became known how many constellations in the sky. They are 88.

Look them up

The Greeks might have discovered more constellations, but they mainly observed 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 simultaneously see allconstellation is impossible. As our planet rotates around the sun, new groups of stars are becoming visible. Constellations located near the pole are visible for a year. Some can only be seen at a certain time, for example, in summer or winter, spring or autumn.

Where to look for constellations?

Сейчас уже можно не бояться вопроса о том, 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 are located in the North, and 48 are located in the South. Another 9 constellations captured both celestial hemispheres and located on both sides of the celestial equator. These are Pisces, Orion, Whale, Unicorn, Virgo, Sextant, Snake, Eagle, Ophiuchus.

The brightest

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

Of the 88, only 30 stand out well for their clear contours and bright stars.

The largest of the brightest is the constellation.Ursa Major, which covers an area of ​​about 1,300 square degrees. In it you can count, in addition to the seven bright stars forming the bucket, another 118, which are visible to the naked eye from Earth.

The smallest, again of the brightest, must be sought inSouthern Hemisphere 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 weak stars.

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

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

How many constellations in the zodiac?

Twelve constellations through which movesThe sun in its annual turnover, with the exception of Ophiuchus, is called zodiac. They are located along the ecliptic. This is the name of the circle of the celestial sphere, in which the Sun makes a revolution within a year. In the day it passes about 1 degree. Each month corresponds to a certain constellation in which the sun is at that moment. But due to the displacement of the vernal equinox for more than two thousand years, the light now happens every month in two adjacent constellations.

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

Some stories about zodiac constellations

How many constellations are in heaven and how many are in the zodiac, wefound out. But why does Taurus occupy one of the leading places among the zodiac constellations? It's simple. In ancient times, the development of cattle breeding was given a great importance. The bull (Taurus) was very revered by people and was even considered a sacred animal. Therefore, the constellation in which the Sun finally defeats the winter and heralds the coming of spring and the awakening of nature is connected with it.

The origin of the name Cancer is connected evenseveral legends. But classical ancient mythology says: when Hercules fought with Hydra, he was attacked by a huge Cancer. The hero crushed him, but the goddess Hera in retaliation placed Cancer in the sky.

Libra is the only constellation in the zodiac thatnot related 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 appeared. According to other versions, the daughter of Zeus and Themis Astraea, the goddess of justice, weighed the fates of people with the help of Libra, which her father placed in heaven.

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

How many constellations in the sky, so many unusual names, hiding in themselves the secret meaning. This is especially true of those names that were given in antiquity.