88 modern constellations
The list of constellations contains all 88 of the International Astronomical Union ( IAU) binding specified constellations. After the passage of time the number of the applied partly arbitrary and without system constellations had reached more than 100 in their first meeting in 1922 a list of 88 constellations put the IAU tight binding. At the second meeting of the IAU 1925 Eugène Delporte was commissioned to determine their exact boundaries, which were approved at the Third General Assembly of 1928.
For exact boundaries today since then accrued precession ( displacement of the coordinate system ), however, observed.
Explanation of the table below
- Latin genitive: Call the Latin genitive of the constellation.
- Abbreviation: Call the determined according to the system proposed in 1922 by Henry Norris Russell three-letter abbreviation of the Latin name of the constellation.
- Hemisphere: Name the location of the constellation in the celestial sphere. Where N stands for the north and south of the southern hemisphere. Constellations marked with NS or SN are fairly centered on the celestial equator. When Ns and Sn only a very small part of the constellation area lies on the hemisphere indicated by the lowercase letters.
- Author: Lists the author who first introduced the constellation or named and published in cards. Some constellations were already known in other parts of a star image or under a different name. 47 constellations date back to Claudius Ptolemy, who described it in the year 150 in his Almagest. Petrus Plancius introduced in 1600 four more. Johann Bayer added in the Uranometria from 1603 added a further twelve constellations. In Johannes Hevelius go back seven constellations. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1750 extended the southern sky by 17 constellations.
- Year: Indicates the year in which the constellation was introduced and published in cards. For the Almagest the probable year 150 of the creation was given by Ptolemy.
- Face: Specifies the area (more precisely, the solid angle ) of the constellation in square degrees. The heavens comprises 41 253 square degrees, spread over the 88 constellations. The boundaries of the constellations were set and approved in 1928 by the IAU.
- Visibility: With visibility of the area is specified on the earth in latitude to fully observe from which the constellation mathematically (ie " Deep in the night alone on the high seas without clouds or fog on the horizon " ) and is visible.
- Magmax: Refers to the apparent brightness in magnitudo ( m) of the brightest star within the respective constellation.
- 3.0 m: Reports the number of stars that are within the corresponding constellation brighter than 3.0 m.
- List: A cross reference for the main star