Taurus Poniatovii was a constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 created by Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt in 1777 to honor Stanislaus Poniatowski, king of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. It consisted of stars that are today considered part of Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus is a large constellation located around the celestial equator. Its name is from the Greek "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century...

 and Aquila

Aquila (constellation)

Aquila is a stellar constellation. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it is commonly represented as such. In mythology, Aquila was owned by the Roman god Jupiter and performed many tasks for him....

. It is no longer in use.
It was wedged in between Ophiuchus, Aquila and Serpens Cauda.

The stars were picked for the resemblance of their arrangement to the Hyades

Hyades

Hyades may refer to:*Hyades *Hyades , an open star cluster in the constellation Taurus...

 group which form the "head" of Taurus

Taurus

Taurus is Latin for "Bull" and may refer to:* Taurus , one of the constellations of the zodiac* Bull , the mythological references around Taurus* Taurus , the astrological sign* Bos taurus, a species of cattle...

. Before the definition of Taurus Poniatovii, some of these had been part of the obsolete constellation "River Tigris"

The brightest of these stars is 72 Oph (3.7 magnitude) in the "horn" of Taurus Poniatovii. The "face" of Taurus Poniatovii is formed by 67 Oph (4.0), 68 Oph (4.4) and 70 Oph (4.0).
The five brightest stars belong to loose open cluster

Open cluster

An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy, and many more are thought to exist...

 Collinder 359 or Melotte 186. Barnard's star

Barnard's star

Barnard's Star, also known occasionally as Barnard's "Runaway" Star, is a very low-mass red dwarf star approximately six light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus . In 1916, the American astronomer E.E...

is also inside the boundaries of this former constellation. Some minor stars (5th and 6th magnitude) now in Aquila formed the "rear" of Taurus Poniatovii.

External links

• http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/obsolete_pages/taurus_poniatovii.htm
• http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/poniatowski.htm