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Constellation
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Constellation Finder tool displaying labeled constellations in the Northern Hemisphere, with a circular star map and search options on the left. 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.
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.
Engraved star map from Bode's 1801 Uranographia showing the constellations Indus, Grus, and Pavo with illustrated mythological figures and labeled stars.
Quizzes
constellation virgo, astronomy
Constellations of the Zodiac and Their Signs Quiz
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
Stars: Explosions in Space
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
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Constellation

astronomy
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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ā€¢History

Constellation, in astronomy, originally any of certain groupings of stars that were imaginedā€”at least by those who named themā€”to form conspicuous configurations of objects or creatures in the sky. The sky is divided into 88 constellations, and they are used by astronomers and navigators to designate the location of certain stars. Constellations are not intrinsic features of the sky but are cultural constructs. Different cultures have seen the same groupings of stars as different objects....

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