Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Constellation: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  EncyclopƦdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Photos and Videos

Circular astronomical map of the northern sky showing major constellations, with constellation names and star patterns marked. The outer edge is labeled with months to indicate when constellations are visible at night throughout the year.
Circular astronomical map of the southern sky showing major constellations, with constellation boundaries and star patterns marked. The outer ring is labeled with months to indicate which constellations are visible at different times of year.
Engraved star map from Bode's 1801 Uranographia showing the constellations Indus, Grus, and Pavo with illustrated mythological figures and labeled stars.
Night sky with constellation lines drawn over stars, highlighting Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, and Orion above a dark landscape with silhouetted trees.
Star chart in German showing constellations and celestial coordinates in a circular pattern, with white dots for stars on a blue background and constellation names labeled.
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Johannes Hevelius.
Johannes Hevelius
Polish astronomer
default image
Benjamin Apthorp Gould
American astronomer
Orion
Johann Bayer
German astronomer
Lacaille, detail from an engraving
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
French astronomer

Related Quizzes

Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
Stars: Explosions in Space
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
The Night Sky: Galaxies and Constellations
constellation virgo, astronomy
Constellations of the Zodiac and Their Signs Quiz
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz