CONSTELLATIONS and ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS * What is a Constellation? * A constellation is a group of stars that appears to form a pattern or picture like Orion the Great Hunter, Leo the Lion, or Taurus the Bull. Constellations are easily recognizable patterns that help people orient themselves using the night sky. * In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky. * The constellation Orion is one of the most recognizable in the night sky. * There are 88 standard constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 1922. The majority of these go back to the 48 constellations defined by Ptolemy in his Almagest (2nd century). The remaining ones were defined in the 17th and 18th century; the most recent ones are found on the southern sky, defined in Coelum australe stelliferum by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1763). * There are also numerous historical constellations not recognized by the IAU, or constellations recognized in regional traditions of astronomy or astrology, such as Chinese, Hindu or Austral Aboriginal. * Are the Stars in a Constellation near each other? * Not necessarily. Each constellation is a collection of stars that are distributed in space in three dimensions – the stars are all different distances from Earth. The stars in a constellation appear to be in the same plane because we are viewing them from very, very, far away. Stars vary greatly in size, distance from Earth, and temperature. Dimmer stars may be smaller, farther away, or cooler than brighter stars. By the same token, the brightest stars are not necessarily the closest. Of the stars in Cygnus, the swan, the faintest star is the closest and the brightest star is the farthest! * How are constellations named? * Most of the constellation names we know came from the ancient Middle Eastern, Greek, and Roman cultures. They identified clusters of stars as gods, goddesses, animals, and objects of their stories. It is important to understand that these were not the only cultures populating the night sky with characters important to their lives. Cultures all over the world and throughout time — Native American, Asian, and African — have made pictures with those same stars. In some cases the constellations may have had ceremonial or religious significance. In other cases, the star groupings helped to mark the passage of time between planting and harvesting. There are 48 “ancient” constellations and they are the brightest groupings of stars – those observed easily by the unaided eye.

* The original constellations of Ptolemy are:

Latin Name | Location/Zodiac | English Version | Ara | S | Altar | Cancer | Z | Crab | Canis Major | S | Great Dog | Canis Minor | S | Little Dog | Capricornus | Z | Goat (Sea Goat) | Carina | S | Keel (of Argo) | Cetus | S | Whale | Cygnus | N | Swan | Leo | Z | Lion | Saggita | N | Arrow | Triangulum | N | Triangle | Ursa Major | N | Big Dipper | Ursa Minor | N | Little Dipper |

* Andromeda * It is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus * Andromeda is sometimes called “The Chained Lady" or "the Chained Woman" in English .

* Antlia * It is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means "pump" and it specifically represents an air pump. Antlia was created by the French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. It was originally denominated Antlia pneumatica to commemorate the air pump invented by the French physicist Denis Papin. There is no mythology attached to Antlia as Lacaille discontinued the tradition of giving names from mythology to constellations and instead chose names mostly from scientific instruments. * Apus
It is a faint constellation in the southern sky, first defined in the late 16th century. Its name means "no feet" in Greek, and it represents a bird-of-paradise (which were once believed to lack feet). * Aquila * It is a stellar constellation. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it is commonly represented as such. In mythology, Aquila was owned by the Roman god Jupiter and performed many tasks for him. * Aquila lies just a few degrees North of the celestial equator. The alpha star, Altair, is a vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. The constellation is best seen in the summer as it is located along the Milky Way. Because of this location along the line of our galaxy, many clusters and nebulae are found within its borders, but they are dim and there are few galaxies. * Auriga
It is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for 'charioteer' and its stars form a shape that has been associated with the pointed helmet of a charioteer. Its brightest star is Capella. * Boötes
It is a constellation in the northern sky. Meaning herdsman or plowman (literally, ox-driver; from boos, related to the Latin bovis, “cow”). It contains the third brightest star in the night sky, Arcturus. * Caelum * It is a faint constellation in the southern sky, introduced in the 18th century by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Its name means "the chisel" in Latin, and it was formerly known as Caelum Scalptorium, "the engraver's chisel".It is the eighth smallest constellation, with an area just less than that of Corona Australis. Caelum is a faint constellation, having no star brighter than fourth magnitude. Its brightest star is the magnitude 4.45 α Caeli. * Camelopardalis * It is a large but faint constellation in the northern sky. The constellation was introduced in 1612 (or 1613) by Petrus Plancius. Some older astronomy books give an alternative spelling of the name, Camelopardus. First attested in English in 1785, the word camelopardalis comes from the Latin and it is the romanisation of the Greek meaning "giraffe", "camel"+ (pardalis), "leopard", due to its having a long neck like a camel and spots like a leopard. * Canes Venatici * It is one of the 88 official modern constellations. It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for "hunting dogs", and the constellation is often depicted in illustrations as representing the dogs of Boötes the Herdsman, a neighboring constellation. * Cassiopeia * It is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars. It is bordered by Andromeda to the south, Perseus to the southeast, and Cepheus to the north. She is opposite the Big Dipper, and from northern latitudes can be seen at her clearest in early November. * Canis Major * Its name is Latin for 'greater dog', and is commonly represented as one of the dogs following Orion the hunter Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the 'dog star', which is part of the asterism known as the Winter Triangle in the Northern Hemisphere, or the Summer Triangle in the Southern. The star is also recognized as Canis Major's nose * Hydra * It is the largest of the 88 modern constellations, measuring 1303 square degrees. It is commonly represented as a water snake. It should not be confused with the similarly named constellation of Hydrus. * Monoceros * Monoceros is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Greek for unicorn. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south and Hydra to the east. Other bordering constellations include Canis Minor, Lepus and Puppis.
ASTOLOGICAL SIGNS * Astrological signs represent twelve equal segments or divisions of the zodiac. * The twelve signs are held to represent twelve basic personality types or characteristic modes of expression. * In Western and Asian astrology, the emphasis is on space, and the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets in the sky through each of the zodiac signs. In Chinese astrology, by contrast, the emphasis is on time, with the zodiac operating on cycles of years, months, and hours of the day. * A common feature of all three traditions however, is the significance of the ascendant or rising sign, namely the zodiac sign that is rising (due to the rotation of the earth) on the eastern horizon at the moment of a person's birth. * The zodiac is divided into twelve different signs each of which is 30 degrees long and begins at Aries. * The order of the zodiac signs is Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. * It is believed that the concept of the zodiac had evolved from Babylonian astronomy, and was later influenced by Hellenistic astronomy.
ZODIAC SIGNS * Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac, located between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. Its name is Latin for ram, and its symbol is (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. * Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is a Latin word meaning 'bull', and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head: (Unicode ♉). Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lie Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, to the south Eridanus, and to the southwest Cetus. * Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac.. Its name is Latin for "twins," and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. Its symbol is (Unicode ♊). * Cancer is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for ”crab” and it is commonly represented as such. Its symbol is (Unicode ♋). Cancer is small and its stars are faint. It lies between Gemini to the west and Leo to the east, Lynx to the north and Canis Minor and Hydra to the south. * Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for lion. Its symbol is ( ♌). Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east. * Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is (Unicode ♍). Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra). It can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica. * Libra is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for weighing scales, and its symbol is (Unicode ♎). It is fairly faint, with no first magnitude stars, and lies between Virgo to the west and Scorpius to the east. * Scorpius, sometimes known as Scorpio, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for scorpion, and its symbol is (Unicode ♏). It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. * Sagittarius is a constellation of the zodiac, the one containing the galactic center. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is (Unicode♐), a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur drawing a bow. It lies between Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus to the east. * Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac; it is often called Capricorn, especially when referring to the corresponding astrological sign. Its name is Latin for "horned male goat" or "goat horn", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. Its symbol is (Unicode ♑). Under its modern boundaries it is bordered by Aquila, Sagittarius, Microscopium, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius. The constellation is located in an area of sky called the Sea or the Water, consisting of many water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus. It is the second faintest constellation in the zodiac after Cancer. * Aquarius (♒) Latin: ("Aquārius") is the eleventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation Aquarius. In astrology, Aquarius is considered a "masculine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered an air sign and is one of four fixed signs. Aquarius has been traditionally ruled by the planet Saturn, and, since its discovery, Uranus has been considered a modern co-ruler of this sign. "Exalting" planets are either Mars and/or Neptune, while the "fall" planets are Mercury and/or Venus. * The Traditional Rulerships
Aries (Mars)
Taurus (Venus)
Gemini (Mercury)
Cancer (Moon)
Leo (Sun)
Virgo (Mercury)
Libra (Venus)
Scorpio (Mars)
Sagittarius (Jupiter)
Capricorn (Saturn)
Aquarius (Saturn)
Pisces (Jupiter)