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Former Constellations

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Former constellations



 
 
Former constellations are constellation
Constellation

A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky. The stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth....
s that are no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
 for various reasons. Many of these constellations existed for long periods of time, even centuries in many cases, which means they still have a large historical value and can be found on older star charts.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m6071923",this)' onMouseout='hide("m6071923")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Argo_Navis">Argo Navis
Argo Navis

Argo Navis was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into three separate constellations. It represented the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology....
 is the only constellation from Ptolemy's
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
 original list of 48 constellations that is no longer officially recognized.






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Former constellations are constellation
Constellation

A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky. The stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth....
s that are no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
 for various reasons. Many of these constellations existed for long periods of time, even centuries in many cases, which means they still have a large historical value and can be found on older star charts.

Noteworthy Former Constellations


Argo Navis

Argo Navis
Argo Navis

Argo Navis was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into three separate constellations. It represented the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology....
 is the only constellation from Ptolemy's
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
 original list of 48 constellations that is no longer officially recognized. Due to its large size, it was split into four constellations by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille

Abb? Nicolas Louis de Lacaille was a France astronomer.He is noted for his catalogue of nearly 10,000 southern stars, including 42 nebulous objects....
: Carina
Carina (constellation)

Carina , is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was formerly part of the larger constellation of Argo Navis until that constellation was divided in three....
 (the keel), Puppis
Puppis

Puppis is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the poop deck of a ship, and it was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina and Vela ; Puppis is the largest of the three....
 (the poop deck), Pyxis
Pyxis

Pyxis is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a mariner's compass . Pyxis is completely visible in latitudes south of 53rd parallel north from January through March....
, the compass, and Vela
Vela (constellation)

Vela is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the sails of a ship, and it was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina and Puppis....
 (the sails). This new version was introduced in the star catalog Coelum Australe Stelliferum in 1763, which was published after de Lacaille's death.

Quadrans Muralis

Quadrans Muralis
Quadrans Muralis

Quadrans Muralis was a constellation created by J?r?me Lalande in 1795. It was located between the constellations of Bo?tes and Ursa Major. It is no longer in use, but the Quadrantid meteor shower is named after it....
 was originally created in 1795, but has since been merged into the constellations Boötes
Boötes

Bo?tes Bo?tes was one of the 48 constellations described by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. It contains the List of brightest stars in the night sky, Arcturus....
 and Ursa Major
Ursa Major

Ursa Major is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. Its name means the Great Bear in Latin. It is dominated by the widely recognized asterism known as the Big Dipper or Plough, which is a useful pointer toward north, and which has mythological significance in numerous world cultures....
. However the Quadrantids meteor shower
Meteor shower

Meteor showers, some of which are known as "meteor storms" , "meteor outbursts,"or "star storm are celestial events in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the sky....
 is still named after the former constellation.

Other Reminiscences

53 Eridani
53 Eridani

53 Eridani is a star in the constellation Eridanus . It also has the traditional name Sceptrum . 53 Eridani was one of the brighter stars, denoted p Sceptri , in the obsolete constellation Sceptrum Brandenburgicum....
 retains the name Sceptrum from the former constellation Sceptrum Brandenburgicum
Sceptrum Brandenburgicum

Sceptrum Brandenburgicum was a constellation created in 1688 by Gottfried Kirch, astronomer of the Prussian Royal Society of Sciences. It represented the scepter used by the royal family of the Elector of Brandenburg....
.

List of Former Constellations

NamePronunciationMeaningDate createdCreated by
Antinous
Antinous (constellation)

Antinous is an obsolete constellation no longer in use by astronomers, having been merged into Aquila, which it bordered to the North.The constellation was created by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 132....
 
Antinous
Antinous

For the constellation, see Antinous ; for the asteroid, see 1863 Antinous; for the mythological figure, see Antinous son of EupeithesAntino?s or Antino?s , was a member of the Roman Emperor Hadrian's entourage, to whom he was beloved....
 
132 Claudius Ptolemy
Apis Bee (renamed to Musca Australis and then simply to Musca) 1598 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Argo Navis
Argo Navis

Argo Navis was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into three separate constellations. It represented the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology....
 
The ship Argo
Argo

In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcus to retrieve the Golden Fleece....
 (now divided into Carina
Carina

Carina may refer to:* Carina - smartass* Carina * Carina Dwarf, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way* Carina Nebula * Carinatae, a term within phylogenetic taxonomy referring to birds...
, Puppis
Puppis

Puppis is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the poop deck of a ship, and it was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina and Vela ; Puppis is the largest of the three....
 and Vela
Vela

Vela may refer to:* Vela , a constellation * Vela Pulsar, a pulsar in the constellation of Vela* Project Vela, a system developed by the United States to monitor compliance with the Partial Test Ban Treaty...
)
Ancient Greek unknown
Cancer Minor
Cancer Minor (constellation)

Cancer , Latin: lesser crab, was a constellation composed from a stars in Gemini adjacent to Cancer . The 5th magnitude stars constituting Cancer Minor were HIP 36616, and 68, 74, 81 and 85 Geminorum, constituting a faint natural arrow formed asterism....
 
Lesser Crab 1613 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Cerberus
Cerberus (constellation)

Cerberus was a constellation created by Hevelius. It was depicted as a three-headed snake that Hercules is holding in his hand. The constellation is no longer in use....
 
Cerberus
Cerberus

Cerberus is the name given to the entity which, in Greek mythology and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping....
, guardian dog of Hades
Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
 
1690 Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius , also called Johannes Hewel, Johann Hewelke, Johannes H?welcke in German language, or Jan Heweliusz , , was a Protestant councillor and mayor in History of Gdansk , As an astronomer he gained the reputation of "the founder of lunar topography" and invented ten new constellations, seven of which are still r...
Custos Messium
Custos Messium

Custos Messium was a constellation created by J?r?me Lalande in 1775. It was located between the constellations of Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia and Cepheus ....
 
Keeper of harvests 1775 Jérôme Lalande
Jérôme Lalande

Joseph J?r?me Lefran?ais de Lalande was a France astronomer and writer....
Felis
Felis (constellation)

Felis was a constellation created by J?r?me Lalande in 1805. He chose the name partially because, as a cat lover, he felt sorry that there was not yet a cat among the constellations ....
 
Cat 1805 Jérôme Lalande
Jérôme Lalande

Joseph J?r?me Lefran?ais de Lalande was a France astronomer and writer....
Frederici Honores
Frederici Honores

Frederici Honores or Honores Friderici or Gloria Frederica was a constellation created by Johann Bode in 1787 to honor Frederick II of Prussia, the king of Prussia who had died in the previous year....
 
Frederick
Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a monarch of Kingdom of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV of Margraviate of Brandenburg....
's Honors
1787 Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode

Johann Elert Bode was a Germany astronomer known for his reformulation and popularization of the Titius-Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name....
Gallus
Gallus (constellation)

Gallus was a constellation invented by Petrus Plancius in the early 17th century. It was in the northern part of what is now Puppis. It was not adopted in the atlases of Johann Bode and fell into disuse....
 
Rooster 1613 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Globus Aerostaticus
Globus Aerostaticus

Globus Aerostaticus was a constellation created by J?r?me Lalande in 1798. It was located east from the constellation Microscopium. It is no longer in use....
 
Hot air balloon
Hot air balloon

The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-Fran?ois Pil?tre de Rozier and Fran?ois Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers....
 
1798 Jérôme Lalande
Jérôme Lalande

Joseph J?r?me Lefran?ais de Lalande was a France astronomer and writer....
Jordanus
Jordanus (constellation)

Jordanus was a constellation invented by Petrus Plancius in the early 17th century. One end was in Canes Venatici and then it flowed through Leo Minor and Lynx and ended near Camelopardalis....
 
River Jordan
Jordan River

The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. It is 251 kilometers long....
 
1613 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Lochium Funis
Lochium Funis

Lochium Funis was a constellation created by Johann Bode from the stars which Nicolas Louis de Lacaille created the constellation Pyxis. It was never used by other astronomers....
 
Log
Chip log

A chip log, also called common log, ship log or just log, is a navigation tool used by mariners to estimate the speed of a vessel through water....
 line
Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode

Johann Elert Bode was a Germany astronomer known for his reformulation and popularization of the Titius-Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name....
Machina Electrica
Machina Electrica

Machina Electrica was a constellation created by Johann Bode in 1800. He created it from a southern part of constellation Cetus. It was never popular and is no longer in use....
 
Electricity generator 1800 Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode

Johann Elert Bode was a Germany astronomer known for his reformulation and popularization of the Titius-Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name....
Malus
Malus (constellation)

Malus was a sectional asterism in the former constellation Argo Navis. Its stars were incorporated into the new constellation Pyxis by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille....
 
Mast  
Mons Maenalus
Mons Maenalus

Mons Maenalus was a constellation created by Johannes Hevelius. It was located between the constellations of Bo?tes and Virgo , and depicts a mountain in Greece that the herdsman is stepping upon....
 
Mount Mainalo
Mainalo

The Mainalo or Menalo , older forms: Mainalon, Mainalos, Menalon, Menalos, rarely Menalus or Mainalos, Latin forms: Maenalos and Maenalus, rarely Maenalon is a mountain range that spans about 15 to 20 from north to south and from east to west from 5 to 10 km....
 
Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius , also called Johannes Hewel, Johann Hewelke, Johannes H?welcke in German language, or Jan Heweliusz , , was a Protestant councillor and mayor in History of Gdansk , As an astronomer he gained the reputation of "the founder of lunar topography" and invented ten new constellations, seven of which are still r...
Musca Borealis
Musca Borealis

Musca Borealis was a constellation located between the constellations of Aries and Perseus .It was first described as such by Hevelius in his catalogue of 1690, to distinguish it from the southern fly, Musca....
 
Northern Fly 1690 Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius , also called Johannes Hewel, Johann Hewelke, Johannes H?welcke in German language, or Jan Heweliusz , , was a Protestant councillor and mayor in History of Gdansk , As an astronomer he gained the reputation of "the founder of lunar topography" and invented ten new constellations, seven of which are still r...
Noctua
Noctua

Noctua is a seldom mentioned constellation that was once placed between the end of the tail of Hydra, the sea-serpent and Libra. The origins of the constellation are unknown, but an image of it appears in the American astronomer Elijah Burritt's Atlas, part of his Geography of the Heavens....
 
Owl  
Officina Typographica
Officina Typographica

Officina Typographica was a constellation located east of Sirius. It was created by Johann Bode in the late eighteenth century. It was used at least in one other star atlas, but quickly fell out of use....
 
Printshop Johann Elert Bode
Johann Elert Bode

Johann Elert Bode was a Germany astronomer known for his reformulation and popularization of the Titius-Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name....
Phoenicopterus Flamingo (an obsolete name for Grus
Grus (constellation)

Grus is constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the crane , a species of bird. It was introduced in the sixteenth century....
)
 
Polophylax
Polophylax

Polophylax was a southern constellation that laid where Tucana and Grus now are.It was introduced by Petrus Plancius in the small celestial planispheres on his large wall map of 1592....
 
Guardian of the Pole
South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's rotation intersects the surface....
 
1592 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Psalterium Georgii
Psalterium Georgii

Psalterium Georgii was a constellation created by Maximilian Hell in 1789 to honor George III of Great Britain of Great Britain. It was created from parts of Eridanus and was located next to the constellations Taurus and Cetus....
 
George
George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-L?neburg and Prince-elector#High Offices and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death....
's Psaltery
Psaltery

A psaltery is a stringed instrument musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument....
 
 
Quadrans Muralis
Quadrans Muralis

Quadrans Muralis was a constellation created by J?r?me Lalande in 1795. It was located between the constellations of Bo?tes and Ursa Major. It is no longer in use, but the Quadrantid meteor shower is named after it....
 
Mural Quadrant
Quadrant

Quadrant may refer to:* One of the four sections of the Cartesian coordinate system#Two-dimensional coordinate system* Quadrant , a measuring instrument capable of measuring angles up to 90°...
 
 
Ramus Pomifer
Ramus Pomifer

Ramus Pomifer was a constellation located between Hercules and Lyra.It was depicted in the form of three serpents wrapped around a branch held in Hercules' left hand....
 
Apple-bearing Branch  
Robur Carolinum
Robur Carolinum

Robur Carolinum was a constellation created by the England astronomer Sir Edmund Halley in 1679. The name refers to the Royal Oak where Charles II of England was said to have hidden from the troops of Oliver Cromwell after the Battle of Worcester....
 
Charles' Oak
Royal Oak

The Royal Oak is the name given to the oak tree within which Charles II of England of England Escape of Charles II the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651....
 
Edmund Halley
Sceptrum Brandenburgicum
Sceptrum Brandenburgicum

Sceptrum Brandenburgicum was a constellation created in 1688 by Gottfried Kirch, astronomer of the Prussian Royal Society of Sciences. It represented the scepter used by the royal family of the Elector of Brandenburg....
 
Scepter of Brandenburg
Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
 
 
Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae
Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae

Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae was a constellation created by Augustin Royer in 1679 to honor king Louis XIV of France of France. It was formed from stars of what is today the constellations Lacerta and western Andromeda ....
 
Scepter and Hand of Justice  
Solarium
Solarium (constellation)

Solarium was a constellation located between the constellations of Horologium, Dorado and Hydrus. It occurred in the 1835 star map of Elijah Hinsdale Burritt ....
 
Sundial  
Tarandus vel Rangifer
Tarandus vel Rangifer

Tarandus or Rangifer was a small constellation located between the constellations of Cassiopeia and Camelopardalis. It was created by the France astronomer Pierre Charles Lemonnier in 1736 to commemorate the expedition of Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis to S?pmi ....
 
Reindeer Pierre Charles Lemonnier
Taurus Poniatovii
Taurus Poniatovii

Taurus Poniatovii was a constellation created by Marcin Poczobutt-Odlanicki in 1777 to honor Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski of Poland, king of Poland....
 
Poniatowski's Bull  
Telescopium Herschelii
Telescopium Herschelii

Telescopium Herschelii was a constellation created by Maximilian Hell in 1789 to honor the famous England astronomer Sir William Herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus....
 
Herschel
William Herschel

Sir Frederick William Herschel, Fellow of the Royal Society Royal Guelphic Order was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering Uranus....
's Telescope
 
Testudo
Testudo (constellation)

Testudo was a constellation located between the constellations of Cetus and Pisces , today constituting a natural but faint asterism composed from the stars 20, 27, 29, 30 and 33 Piscium, where the star 20 is intended to be the head of the turtle....
 
Tortoise  
Tigris
River Tigris (constellation)

River Tigris or Tigris was a constellation, invented by Jakob Bartsch in the 17th century . One end was near the shoulder of Ophiuchus and the other was near Pegasus , and in between it passed through the area now occupied by Vulpecula, flowing between Cygnus and Aquila ....
 
Tigris
Tigris

The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq....
 River
1613 Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius

Petrus Plancius , was a Netherlands astronomer, Cartography and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders....
Triangulum Minor
Triangulum Minor

Triangulum Minus was a constellation created by Johannes Hevelius. It is often misspelt into Triangulum Minor. It was formed from the southern parts of his Triangulum , but is no longer in use....
 
Lesser Triangle  
Turdus Solitarius
Turdus Solitarius

Turdus Solitarius was a constellation created by Pierre Charles Lemonnier in 1776 from stars of Hydra 's tail. It was replaced by another constellation, Noctua ....
 
Solitary Thrush  
Vespa
Vespa (constellation)

Vespa was the name used by Jakob Bartsch in 1624 for a constellation, now obsolete, that was originally called Apes by Petrus Plancius when he created in 1612....
 
Wasp  


See also

  • Asterism
    Asterism (astronomy)

    In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars seen in Earth's sky which is not an official constellation. Like constellations, they are composed of stars which, while they are in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth....
  • Constellation
    Constellation

    A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky. The stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth....
  • List of Constellations
    List of constellations

    Each culture has its own constellations, usually based on mythology. This article covers the 88 constellations used in modern astronomy, which properly speaking are not patterns of stars, as in the common use of the word, but areas of the sky ....


External links