Constellations

Bootes (Arcturus)

Boötes, the Herdsman The brightest stars of Boötes form a cone shape, with brilliant yellow-orange Arcturus at the base of the cone. The name Boötes comes from a Sumerian word that means "Man Who Drove the Great Cart." The "Great Cart" was the Big Dipper. Boötes trails the Big Dipper as it wheels around the North Star. Arcturus, the fourth-brightest star in Earth's night sky, is about 20 times larger than the Sun, and it produces about a hundred times as much energy. But Arcturus is nearing the end of its life. In astronomical parlance, Arcturus has moved off the main sequence and entered the "giant" phase of its life. At a distance of about 35 light-years, it's closer to us than any other stellar giant.

Canis Major (Sirius)

Canis Major, the Great Dog Canis Major loyally follows its mythical master, Orion, across the southern skies of winter. The brightest star in Canis Major also is the brightest in the entire night sky — brilliant Sirius, which is just 8.6 light-years away. That's only twice as far as our closest stellar neighbor. Because it is the brightest star of the Great Dog, Sirius is known as the Dog Star. Its first appearance in the dawn sky in August heralds the "dog days" of summer.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia, the Queen The mythological queen Cassiopeia floats overhead in fall and winter. The best time to see her is in late fall, when she stands high in the northeastern sky during the evening hours. Cassiopeia looks like a flattened "W" against the frothy background of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Gamma Cassiopeia is the star at the middle of the W.

Cepheus

Cepheus is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Cepheus, King of Aethiopia in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.

Cygnus

Cygnus, the Swan The brightest stars of Cygnus form a cross, so the swan is also known as the Northern Cross. Find it soaring high overhead during late summer evenings.

Draco

Draco The evening sky is alive with creepy crawlers: snakes, a dragon, a lizard, and a scorpion. The most ancient is the dragon, Draco, which winds between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Almost 5,000 years ago its brightest star, Thuban, served as the Pole Star. Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. Draco is circumpolar (that is, never setting) for many observers in the northern hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. The north pole of the ecliptic is in Draco.[1]

Gemini (Castor, Pollux)

Gemini, the Twins Gemini is easy to find as it glides high overhead in mid-winter, above and to the left of Orion. Its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, represent the mythological twin brothers of Helen of Troy.

Leo

Leo, the Lion The zodiacal constellation Leo, the lion, is one of a handful of constellations that really does look like its namesake. It consists of two patterns of stars that the brain puts together to make a lion. A backward question mark represents the head and mane, and a triangle of stars to the lower left forms the lion's hindquarters and tail. Look for Leo high in the south in April and May. Leo's brightest star is blue-white Regulus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Orion (Betelgeuse, Rigel)

Orion, the Hunter Orion is one of the most beautiful of all constellations, and one of the easiest to find. It looks like a large rectangle high in winter's south-southeastern sky. Two of the brightest stars in the evening sky lie at opposite corners of the rectangle: bright orange-red Betelgeuse at the northeastern corner and even brighter Rigel at the southwest.

Scorpius

Scorpius, the Scorpion Three bright stars form the "head" of Scorpius, the celestial scorpion, while its tail curves away below it in the southern sky of summer. The brightest star in Scorpius is Antares, which is in the middle of the scorpion's curving body.

Taurus (Aldebaran, Pleiades)

Taurus, the Bull Taurus, the bull, is marked by a V-shaped pattern of stars that outlines the bull's face. Bright red Aldebaran, the "eye" of the bull, stands at one point of the V. This pattern is part of a cluster of stars called the Hyades — the second-closest star cluster to Earth. It consists of several hundred stars that lie about 130 light-years away. Aldebaran outshines all the other stars that outline the bull's face.

Ursa Major

Ursa Major, the Great Bear Ursa Major — the great bear — is always above the horizon in the northern latitudes, but the best time to see it is in the spring when its high above the northeastern horizon. Ursa Major is best known as the home of the Big Dipper. Of all the star patterns in the sky, the Big Dipper is the most universally recognized. The dipper's seven bright stars form a portion of the great bear. It's hard to see the rest of the bear, especially from light-polluted cities. After you locate the dipper, look at the two stars that mark the outer edge of its bowl. Now connect these two stars, then extend the line above the dipper's bowl. Polaris, the north star, lies along this line, about five times the distance between the two pointers. No matter where the Big Dipper is in our sky, those two stars always point to Polaris.

Ursa Minor (Polaris)

Ursa Minor (Latin: "Smaller Bear", contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the northern sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the name Little Dipper. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Minor is notable as the location of the north celestial pole, although this will change after some centuries due to the precession of the equinoxes.[1] Polaris is the start that the arrow is pointing to on the picture.

Virgo (Spica)

Virgo Virgo is the second-largest constellation -- so big that it takes about four hours for the whole thing to clear the eastern horizon. To the unaided eye, though, that huge area is basically a void, because only one bright star resides within its borders. In mythology, Virgo was associated with the harvest. It represented a harvest goddess or the daughter of a goddess. The constellation's brightest star, Spica, was a stalk of wheat held in her hand. Virgo was associated with the harvest because the Sun passed across the constellation during late summer or early autumn, when farmers were reaping the crops they had planted months earlier. Although blue-white Spica is Virgo's only bright star, it is the 16th-brightest star in the night sky.