History UsefulNotes / ConstellationTrip

In spite of being close to each other in the sky, Ursa Major's & Ursa Minor's territories don't border on at all: there is a small space between them occupied by another constellation. What character is? Well... a dragon. '''Draco''' (the latin word of dragon) is a very long figure starting with a "head" of four stars placed "above" the Big Dipper, continuing with a serpentine "Z"-like body that almost encircles Ursa Minor, and ending with a tail wedging between the two Ursae. Draco is probably the monster killed by Hercules during his 11° fatigue, and is portrayed as a gigantic snake-thing (legged or legless) with its body making some small "coils" elsewhere -- quite different from the classical winged fire-breathing dragons, more similar to the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent serpentine Eastern dragons]]. In the proximity, another large animal wedges its small head between the dragon's tail and the great bear's head: this is the Cameleopard, the ancient name of the Giraffe; its official latin name is '''Camelopardalis''' (lit. the [[MixAndMatchCritter camel-leopard]], an old name for the giraffe). Both Draco and Camelopardalis belong to that type of constellations that are wide but hard to spot because of the faintness of their stars; however, while the Dragon, having several 4th magnitude stars and some other brighter stars elsewhere, is still spottable in the sky (though with some effort), the Giraffe put its faintness to the extreme having its figure made mainly of 5th magnitude stars [[note]]5° magnitude stars are the weakest stars visible to a naked eyes, hardly recognizable even in the most obscure nights; they are everywhere in the sky but more common near the Milky Way, the faint stripe of light representing our Galaxy seen from its interior.[[/note]], and thus looking more like an area devoid of stars than to a commonly-intended constellation. Despite appearences, Camelopardalis is the biggest constellation by area created in recent centuries in the whole Sky, bigger even than Orion.

In spite of being close to each other in the sky, Ursa Major's & Ursa Minor's territories don't border on at all: there is a small space between them occupied by another constellation. What character is? Well... a dragon. '''Draco''' (the latin word of dragon) is a very long figure starting with a "head" of four stars placed "above" the Big Dipper, continuing with a serpentine "Z"-like body that almost encircles Ursa Minor, and ending with a tail wedging between the two Ursae. Draco is probably the monster killed by Hercules during his 11° fatigue, and is portrayed as a gigantic snake-thing (legged or legless) with its body making some small "coils" elsewhere -- quite different from the classical winged fire-breathing dragons, more similar to the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent serpentine Eastern dragons]]. In the proximity, another large animal wedges its small head between the dragon's tail and the great bear's head: this is the Cameleopard, the ancient name of the Giraffe; its official latin name is '''Camelopardalis''' (lit. the camel-panther). Both Draco and Camelopardalis belong to that type of constellations that are wide but hard to spot because of the faintness of their stars; however, while the Dragon, having several 4th magnitude stars and some other brighter stars elsewhere, is still spottable in the sky (though with some effort), the Giraffe put its faintness to the extreme having its figure made mainly of 5th magnitude stars [[note]]5° magnitude stars are the weakest stars visible to a naked eyes, hardly recognizable even in the most obscure nights; they are everywhere in the sky but more common near the Milky Way, the faint stripe of light representing our Galaxy seen from its interior.[[/note]], and thus looking more like an area devoid of stars than to a commonly-intended constellation. Despite appearences, Camelopardalis is the biggest constellation by area created in recent centuries in the whole Sky, bigger even than Orion.

In other words: if we want to find several other northern constellations Ursa Major might give an useful help. Let's start this trip just trying to find its little sister, '''Ursa Minor''' the Little Bear. Not necessarily an easy job: four of the seven stars of this small constellation are of 4th magnitude (4° magnitude stars are very faint stars usually invisible from cities); only Polaris, the famous Polar Star (signing the point of the Little Bear's tail) [[note]]Curiously, the original greek name of Polaris is Cynosura, "the DOG's tail. The denomination of "polar" has been only since few centuries -- in antiquity the polar was a weaker star (Thuban) in another constellation nearby, Draco, see [[UsefulNotes/{{Constellations}} Constellations near the North Pole]] in the main page.[[/note]] and the two stars at the opposite end of the figure are respectively of 2nd and 3rd magnitude. Anyway, if you've got the patience you could identify the Polar (and consequently Ursa Minor) by noting the polar is the ONLY star in the firmament that seems remaining eternally fixed in a precise point of the Sky[[note]]At least, if you don't travel much norther or much souther from your territory: in the first case you'll find the Polar higher and higher until you'll see it at the Zenith once you've reached the Earth's North Pole; in the second case the Polar will be closer and closer to the north horizon until it'll disappear below the latter once crossed the Earth's Equator (people below the Equator cannot see the Polar at all). So, if you live in the earthy North Emisphere and have the possibility to calculate the highness of the Polar respect to the north horizon, you'll know automatically the terrestrial latitude in which you are.[[/note]]. If you haven't got the patience, then watch the two Ursa Major's stars at the wider end of the "P", try to lengthen their imaginary link four times, and here's the polar. We don't know for sure from where the two Bears come from: probably the big one was a nymph loved by Zeus and transformed in a bear by his wife Hera to save her from the god's lust of women; the small one could have been invented by the first Greek philosopher, Taletes (if it represent just an undersized bear or a bear-cub is uncertain).

[[caption-width-right:350:Oh, my! Where's the Polar Star?]]

We're again in Summertime. Between the Summer Triangle and the star Arcturus you might discover one of the biggest stellar figures of the sky, the fifth by area precisely; '''Hercules''', portraying the greek {{Superman}} covered by a lion's hide (probably the Leo's one). He's shown in illustrations in a kneeled suffering pose while leaving a mace with his right hand and something else with the left (usually a bow, sometimes flowers). Several other constellations are linked with Hercules' legendary enterprises known as the 12 Fatigues (undertook by the hero as a punishment for his arrogance); however, only a handful of critters fought by the demigod are represented in the sky, and they are usually in distant portions of the celestial sphere far from Hercules. A notable exception could be the circumpolar Draco (the Dragon) whose head is just near one of Hercules' feet, looking like the hero is actually crushing the dragon's head as a sign of victory!

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/interactive_sky_chart_600px.jpg]]

->''"Oh, my! Where's the Polar Star?"''[[note]]It's not the big point at the bottom of the the map, that is the Moon.[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/constellations_star-map_northern_1757.png]]]]

->''"Oh, my! Where's the Polar Star?"''[[note]]It's not the big star at the center of the map, that is Vega.[[/note]]

[[folder:The Brightest Northern Star in Spring]]

We are in Autumn, around 22-23 o'clock. The Sky you see is quite poor of bright stars (a sensation increased by the fact that the Great Bear is near the horizon, making it difficult to spot). However, it's just in this period that you can see one of the most famous greek myths portrayed by a bunch of notable figures: other than the aforementioned Cepheus & Cassiopeia (which are minor characters of the story) there are other three large constellations placed "under" them: Perseus the Hero, Andromeda the Princess, and Pegasus the Flying Horse (and also Cetus the sea-monster below them, but this one is mentioned in another chapter). '''Perseus''' is the central character of the legend of Perseus & Andromeda (see [[UsefulNotes/{{Constellations}} Northern Seasonal Constellations]] in the main page to see a summary of the story), and also one of the three human "heroes" of the sky (the others are Hercules and Orion); but he's actually set rather apart from the other constellations of his own myth. In drawings Perseus is shown holding a sword with one hand and the cut-off head of the monster Medusa (the critter killed by him) with the other; curiously, it's sometimes said that Medusa's evil eye seems almost blinking, because it's signed by the famous variable star Algol ("the devil" in Arabic) that periodically lowers its luminosity.

[[folder:The End of the Stellar Jorney]]

[[folder:The Zodiac in Spring]]

[[folder:A Strange Crusader]]

[[folder:Near the South Pole]]

[[folder:Beauties and Beasties in Spring]]

Returning to the Centaur and the Southern Cross, it's hard imagining two more different-looking celestial figures like these. Centaurus is a very large (9th placement) constellation placed between the Ship Argo and the Southern Zodiac (below the end of Hydra's tail) full of 2nd magnitude stars that make one of the contenders of "the most luminous constellation in the sky" title; [[note]]Obviously it's impossible saying which constellation is really the brightest: it's usually said to be Orion, but also Centaurus, Scorpius, Carina, and Canis Major -- all in the southern emisphere -- are dign rivals. On the other hand, the Great Bear of the Northern Emisphere is not rival despite its evidentness because hasn't any 1st magnitude star.[[/note]] Crux is a small rhombus-like quadrilater encircled by the Centaur's limbs at three sides; the scarcity of "room" due to the centaur's cumbersomeness astonishingly makes the cross the smallest-by area constellation in the whole sky. Being made of bright stars, Crux seems bigger than some weaker "lesser southern constellations" nearby such as Musca and Chamaeleon. This is a simple psychological effect however: also Orion appears one of the biggest figure of the firmament for the same reason, but is actually only the 26th constellation by area -- even smaller than the weak Giraffe near the North Pole. Anyway, the southernmost parts of both Centaurus and Crux hold the record of the celestial zone with the absolutely highest density of 1st magnitude stars: four in an area not wider than the Little Bear! They are Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri, Alpha Crucis and Beta Crucis (Centauri & Crucis are latin genitives of Centaurus & Crux respectively: remember your Latin lessons again). And then, the 2nd magnitude star Gamma Crucis is almost of 1st magitude. Alpha Centauri's common name is Rigil Kentaurus, meaning "the centaur's foot" (similarly to Rigel in Orion), or alternatively Toliman; the Beta Centauri's is named either Hadar or Agena. Alpha Crucis is named Acrux, Gamma Crucis is named Gacrux, while Beta Crucis has two names, Becrux and also the name of a flower, Mimosa. However, these names are rarely heard; unusually for constellations, the official denomination with greek letters of the main stars of Centaurus and Crux is more familiar to people than their common names. Making things clear: even if you're not an astronomy-expert you'll have surely heard at least once the name Alpha Centauri somewhere in pop-culture, but have you ever heard the names Rigil-Kentaurus or even Toliman? And oppositely, when was the last time you've heard Sirius named "Alpha Canis Majoris", Betelgeuse named "Alpha Orionis", or Vega named "Alpha Lyrae"?

Here we've named "extreme celestial South" the celestial area from -65° degrees down to the Pole -- that is, the area at even souther latitudes than '''Crux''' the Southern Cross -- Crux means simply "cross" in latin: the adjective "Australis" (southern) is omitted. Some "extreme southern" constellations have already been described above, the ones closest to Eridanus and Sagittarius: Hydrus, Tucana, Indus, Pavo. Here we'll describe the 8 still not mentioned yet, the ones at the side of the polar zone closest to Centaurus and the Cross, not including the keel of the Ship Argo, the shiny '''Carina''' already described.

Most of the constellations of the "extreme south" were officialized by famous astronomer Johann Bayer in 1603 in his atlas Uranometria (which also started the use to list the stars of a constellation with greek letters), but few are Lacaille's. Now we're almost at the end of our stellar journey. Just below Alpha Centauri and the Altar, a small but unexpectedly bright nearly-equilateral triangle attracts our attention: this is '''Triangulum Australe''' (Australe is latin neuter of Australis). This is Bayer's southern equivalent of Triangulum, with its corners signed by one 2nd magnitude star and two of 3rd.[[note]]The four stars of the corners of Crux are named Acrux, Becrux, Gacrux & Decrux; the three of Triangulum Australe are called Atria, Betria & Gatria. A = Alpha, Be = Beta, Ga = Gamma, D = Delta; Tria are the first four letters of the double name Triangulum Australe.[[/note]] With its add constellations portraying geometrical figures become three (Crux + the northern and southern Triangles) [[note]]Until few centuries ago there was a third tiny triangle just beside the northern one, Triangulum Minus ("lesser triangle") but is one of the constellations disappeared today.[[/note]]. Pressed in the narrow space between T. Australe and the star Alpha Centauri, '''Circinus''' the compasses ("circus" = circle in latin) is a small segment looking like the geometrical tool (and not the geographical compass) -- which Lacaille appropriately put near Norma (which represents a set-square, a ruler or a level). Constellations portraying objects are numerous in the sky, but only few are ancient objects of the Greeks -- a pair of scales, a lyre, two crowns, a cup, an arrow, and an altar (and of course a ship). Between the triangle and the south-pole there's the most southern of the celestial birds, '''Apus''' the Bird-Of-Paradise (apus = footless, but the real-life bird does have feet! Today "Apus" is the scientific name of another bird, the swift, which has really tiny feet). Originally called "Avis Indica" (bird of the Indies), in spite of portraying one of the most beautiful birds in the world Apus is the least luminous among the 9 bird-portraying constellations. [[note]]Celestial birds are 9 in total: a swan, an eagle, a crow, a dove, a crane, a phenix, a peacock, a toucan, and indeed a bird-of-paradise.[[/note]] Just below the iconic Southern Cross buzzes the only insect still-remaining today in the sky: '''Musca''' (latin for fly) which is appropriately small like its portrayed animal (it originally was a bee, named Apis, "bee" in Latin) but slightly brighter than its neighbors.[[note]]Another even smaller fly was once depicted above the Ram's body: Musca Borealis ("northern fly"), another example of a "dead" constellation today.[[/note]], Even below Musca there's one possible predator of it, '''Chamaeleon''' (useless saying which animal indicates this greek word); this is one of the six celestial reptiles (the others are the Dragon, the Lizard, the Ophiuchus' Snake, and the two Hydras. Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals would be apt for some constellations on their own, but prehistoric beings were discovered only after the XVIII century or even later, decades after the creation of the most recently invented constellations). Chamaeleon is as difficult to see as a RealLife chameleon in the trees. Below the Keel of Ship Argo here's a "flying" creature that is neither a bird nor an insect: '''Volans''' the Flying Fish ("volans" = flying in Latin), originally named Piscis Volans (the flying fish indeed). Made only by 4th magnitude stars (like Chamaeleon and Apus), the fish is shown in drawings escaping toward the Ship to escape the bigger Dorado nearby [[note]]Fish-portraying constellations are four in total (plus two portraying marine mammals, a dolphin and a whale): other than Volans and Dorado there are Piscis Austrinus "the Southern Fish" (which ironically has become norther than Volans and Dorado when the latest two were invented) and of course Pisces.[[/note]] Between Dorado and the South Pole, here's the faintest among all the 88 constellations: '''Mensa''' ("table" in latin). A veritable "phantom-constellation" without any recognizable figure, this is the only constellation other than the Eridanus River representing a geographical element: the flat "Table Mountain" near Cape Town in South Africa, from where Lacaille made his sky-observations. [[note]]Under Bootes' feet there was once another flat mountain, Mons Maenelus, still another disappeared constellation.[[/note]] Despite this Mensa is notable because contains the smaller-southermost portion of the Large Magellanic Cloud, mainly visible in Dorado just above it. And here we are at the actual South Pole of the Sky at last! The honor of occuping the pole belongs to the last Lacaille's constellation: '''Octans''' (octo = eight in latin). This is the southern "twin" of Sextans, with a similar faint triangular shape of three 4th magnitude stars -- in RealLife the Octant was a little-used astronomical tool very similar to the sextant.

Here we've named "extreme celestial South" the celestial area from -65° degrees down to the Pole -- that is, the area at even souther latitudes than '''Crux''' the Southern Cross -- Crux means simply "cross" in latin: the adjective "Australis" (southern) is omitted. Some "extreme southern" constellations have already been described above, the ones closest to Eridanus and Sagittarius: Hydrus, Tucana, Indus, Pavo. Here we'll describe the 8 still not mentioned yet, the ones at the side of the polar zone closest to the Centaur and the Cross outside Carina. Most of the constellations of the "extreme south" were officialized by famous astronomer Johann Bayer in 1603 in his atlas Uranometria (which also started the use to list the stars of a constellation with greek letters), but few are Lacaille's. Now we're almost at the end of our stellar journey.

Just below Alpha Centauri and the Altar, a small but unexpectedly bright nearly-equilateral triangle attracts our attention: this is '''Triangulum Australe''' (Australe is latin neuter of Australis). This is Bayer's southern equivalent of Triangulum, with its corners signed by one 2nd magnitude star and two of 3rd.[[note]]The four stars of the corners of Crux are named Acrux, Becrux, Gacrux & Decrux; the three of Triangulum Australe are called Atria, Betria & Gatria. A = Alpha, Be = Beta, Ga = Gamma, D = Delta; Tria are the first four letters of the double name Triangulum Australe.[[/note]] With its add constellations portraying geometrical figures become three (Crux + the northern and southern Triangles) [[note]]Until few centuries ago there was a third tiny triangle just beside the northern one, Triangulum Minus ("lesser triangle") but is one of the constellations disappeared today.[[/note]]. Pressed in the narrow space between T. Australe and the star Alpha Centauri, '''Circinus''' the compasses ("circus" = circle in latin) is a small segment looking like the geometrical tool (and not the geographical compass) -- which Lacaille appropriately put near Norma (which represents a set-square, a ruler or a level). Constellations portraying objects are numerous in the sky, but only few are ancient objects of the Greeks -- a pair of scales, a lyre, two crowns, a cup, an arrow, and an altar (and of course a ship). Between the triangle and the south-pole there's the most southern of the celestial birds, '''Apus''' the Bird-Of-Paradise (apus = footless, but the real-life bird does have feet! Today "Apus" is the scientific name of another bird, the swift, which has really tiny feet). Originally called "Avis Indica" (bird of the Indies), in spite of portraying one of the most beautiful birds in the world Apus is the least luminous among the 9 bird-portraying constellations. [[note]]Celestial birds are 9 in total: a swan, an eagle, a crow, a dove, a crane, a phenix, a peacock, a toucan, and indeed a bird-of-paradise.[[/note]] Just below the iconic Southern Cross buzzes the only insect still-remaining today in the sky: '''Musca''' (latin for fly) which is appropriately small like its portrayed animal (it originally was a bee, named Apis, "bee" in Latin) but slightly brighter than its neighbors.[[note]]Another even smaller fly was once depicted above the Ram's body: Musca Borealis ("northern fly"), another example of a "dead" constellation today.[[/note]], Even below Musca there's one possible predator of it, '''Chamaeleon''' (useless saying which animal indicates this greek word); this is one of the six celestial reptiles (the others are the Dragon, the Lizard, the Ophiuchus' Snake, and the two Hydras. Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals would be apt for some constellations on their own, but prehistoric beings were discovered only after the XVIII century or even later, decades after the creation of the most recently invented constellations). Chamaeleon is as difficult to see as a RealLife chameleon in the trees. Below the Keel of Ship Argo here's a "flying" creature that is neither a bird nor an insect: '''Volans''' the Flying Fish ("volans" = flying in Latin), originally named Piscis Volans (the flying fish indeed). Made only by 4th magnitude stars (like Chamaeleon and Apus), the fish is shown in drawings escaping toward the Ship to escape the bigger Dorado nearby [[note]]Fish-portraying constellations are four in total (plus two portraying marine mammals, a dolphin and a whale): other than Volans and Dorado there are Piscis Austrinus "the Southern Fish" (which ironically has become norther than Volans and Dorado when the latest two were invented) and of course Pisces.[[/note]] Between Dorado and the South Pole, here's the faintest among all the 88 constellations: '''Mensa''' ("table" in latin). A veritable "phantom-constellation" without any recognizable figure, this is the only constellation other than the Eridanus River representing a geographical element: the flat "Table Mountain" near Cape Town in South Africa, from where Lacaille made his sky-observations. [[note]]Under Bootes' feet there was once another flat mountain, Mons Maenelus, still another disappeared constellation.[[/note]] Despite this Mensa is notable because contains the smaller-southermost portion of the Large Magellanic Cloud, mainly visible in Dorado just above it. And here we are at the actual South Pole of the Sky at last! The honor of occuping the pole belongs to the last Lacaille's constellation: '''Octans''' (octo = eight in latin). This is the southern "twin" of Sextans, with a similar faint triangular shape of three 4th magnitude stars -- in RealLife the Octant was a little-used astronomical tool very similar to the sextant.

Returning to the Centaur and the Southern Cross, it's hard imagining two more different-looking celestial figures like these. Centaurus is a very large (9th placement) constellation placed between the Ship Argo and the Southern Zodiac (below the end of Hydra's tail) full of 2nd magnitude stars that make one of the contenders of "the most luminous constellation in the sky" title; [[note]]Obviously it's impossible saying which constellation is really the brightest: it's usually said to be Orion, but also Centaurus, Scorpius, Carina, and Canis Major -- all in the southern emisphere -- are dign rivals. On the other hand, the Great Bear of the Northern Emisphere is not rival despite its evidentness because hasn't any 1st magnitude star.[[/note]] Crux is a small rhombus-like quadrilater encircled by the Centaur's limbs at three sides; the scarcity of "room" due to the centaur's cumbersomeness astonishingly makes the cross the smallest-by area constellation in the whole sky. Being made of bright stars, Crux seems bigger than some weaker "lesser southern constellations" nearby such as Musca and Chamaeleon. This is a simple psychological effect however: also Orion appears one of the biggest figure of the firmament for the same reason, but is actually only the 26th constellation by area -- even smaller than the weak Giraffe near the North Pole. Anyway, the southernmost parts of both Centaurus and Crux hold the record of the celestial zone with the absolutely highest density of 1st magnitude stars: four in an area not wider than the Little Bear! They are Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri, Alpha Crucis and Beta Crucis (Centauri & Crucis are latin genitives of Centaurus & Crux respectively: remember your Latin lessons again). Alpha Centauri's common name is Rigil Kentaurus, meaning "the centaur's foot" (similarly to Rigel in Orion), or alternatively Toliman; the Beta Centauri's is named either Hadar or Agena. Alpha Crucis is named Acrux, while Beta Crucis has two names, Becrux and also the name of a flower, Mimosa. However, these names are rarely heard; unusually for constellations, the official denomination with greek letters of the main stars of Centaurus and Crux is more familiar to people than their common names. Making things clear: even if you're not an astronomy-expert you'll have surely heard at least once the name Alpha Centauri somewhere in pop-culture, but have you ever heard the names Rigil-Kentaurus or even Toliman? And oppositely, when was the last time you've heard Sirius named "Alpha Canis Majoris" or Betelgeuse named "Alpha Orionis"?

Here we've named "extreme celestial South" the celestial area from -65° degrees down to the Pole -- that is, the area at even souther latitudes than '''Crux''' the Southern Cross -- Crux means simply "cross" in latin: the adjective "Australis" (southern) is omitted. Some "extreme southern" constellations have already been described above (Hydrus, Tucana, Indus, Pavo), here we'll describe the 8 still not mentioned yet -- the ones at the side of the polar zone closest to the Cross outside Carina. Most of the constellations of the "extreme south" were officialized by famous astronomer Johann Bayer in 1603 in his atlas Uranometria (which also started the use to list the stars of a constellation with greek letters), but few are Lacaille's. Now we're almost at the end of our stellar journey.

Returning a moment to the other heavenly centaur, Sagittarius, there are a bunch of some "lesser-southern-constellations" at its surroundings. Put near Sagittarius' feet (a bit like Crux in respect to Centaurus), '''Corona Australis''' ("southern crown" in latin) is a tiny but attractive semicircle of starlets visible only in the cleanest night (and only from the southern USA); known since Antiquity, it's the counterpart of the brighter Corona Borealis of the northern emisphere (some portray the southern as a laurel-crown), but it's unknown who is its owner -- it could belong to the Archer, but it's not sure. Below the Crown, here's the poor Lacaille's homage to the basic instrument of every astronomer: '''Telescopium''' (meaning "the one watching far" in Greek) at a first glance appears a tiny figure made of only two 4th magnitude stars, but its area is actually rather large occuping most the territory below Sagittarius & Corona Australis considered together. Between Sagittarius and the Southern Fish, just next to the tool for watching the infinitively great Lacaille wittily put the one for watching the infinitively small: '''Microscopium''' (lit. "the one watching the small"), a sort of "phantom-figure" exclusively made of 5th magnitude stars. Below the Microscope there is a long but evanescent figure which is notable for being the only constellation of modern origins portraying a human: '''Indus''' (latin adjective meaning "indian") --- not a Hindu but a Native North-American completed with arrows and feathered cap. Indus' feet are already in the "extreme celestial South" and divide two of the aforementioned "four birds" (Grus the Crane and Tucana the Toucan) from the only one still-not described yet: '''Pavo''' (latin for peacock), representing the bird sacred to Hera (usually shown not-spreading its tail). Fainter than Grus but brighter than Tucana, the Peacock with its dozen 4th magnitude stars (+ one of 2th) is bigger and brighter than the previous constellations (about the same size and luminosity of Capricornus), but being in full "extreme celestial south" you should go to the Tropics to see it fully. A bit norther than Pavo (but still close to the "extreme celestial south") there is '''Ara''' ("altar" in Latin), another rare example of a "lesser-southern constellation" of ancient origins; looking like a polygon made of 3rd and 4th magnitude stars, it doesn't portray a Christian but a greek altar with something burning above. Ara (which is also the shortest-named constellation together with Leo) could be the site of the sacrifice of the poor Lupus -- but could also be a more generic altar. Fortunately for the wolf, Lacaille chose to put another of its almost-invisible constellations just between the two setting them apart from each other: '''Norma''' (a latin word originally meaning "rule", "law") created by taking some starlets away from both Lupus and Ara.

As is known crusaders were knights of the Middle Ages with a cross designed on their costume. In a sense a crusader is actually still-present in the sky, but his cross is put UNDER him. Of course we are talking about the two most iconic constellations of the southern sky: '''Centaurus''' (the other celestial centaur other than Sagittarius) & '''Crux''' (the "southern-cross" so beloved by Australians, New Zealanders and Oceanians as a whole, see also further). While the cross is a modern figure not related with mythology, Centaurus (centaur in Latin) in an ancient figure representing a half-horse/half-human holding a wild animal with his spear as a sacrifice to the Gods. He could be Chiron, the wisest among the centaurs and educator of many greek heros (among them Achilles), thus a more peaceful creature than his warlike "cousin" Sagittarius. Even though seeming a simple part of Centaurus, the sacrificed animal is actually a constellation on its own: '''Lupus''' ("wolf" in Latin: remember the 2nd latin declination you could have learned at school?), an irregular but relatively bright figure placed at the left side of Centaurus near the Scorpion's tail, with several 3rd magnitude stars that make it more visible than most other small-sized constellations below the Equator.

Returning to the Centaur and the Southern Cross, it's hard imagining two more different-looking celestial figures like these. Centaurus is a very large (9th placement) constellation placed between the Ship Argo and the Southern Zodiac (below the end of Hydra's tail) full of 2nd magnitude stars that make one of the contenders of "the most luminous constellation in the sky" title; [[note]]Obviously it's impossible saying which constellation is really the brightest: it's usually said to be Orion, but also Centaurus, Scorpius, Carina, and Canis Major -- all in the southern emisphere -- are dign rivals. On the other hand, the Great Bear of the Northern Emisphere is not rival despite its evidentness because hasn't any 1st magnitude star.[[/note]] Crux is a small rhombus-like quadrilater encircled by the Centaur's limbs at three sides; the scarcity of "room" due to the centaur's cumbersomeness astonishingly makes the cross the smallest-by area constellation in the whole sky. [[note]]Being made of bright stars, Crux seems bigger than some weaker "lesser southern constellations" nearby such as Musca and Chamaeleon. This is a simple psychological effect however: also Orion appears one of the biggest figure of the firmament for the same reason, but is actually only the 26th constellation by area -- even smaller than the weak Giraffe near the North Pole.[[/note]] Anyway, the southernmost parts of both Centaurus and Crux hold the record of the celestial zone with the absolutely highest density of 1st magnitude stars: four in an area not wider than the Little Bear! They are Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri, Alpha Crucis and Beta Crucis (Centauri & Crucis are latin genitives of Centaurus & Crux respectively: remember your Latin lessons again). Alpha Centauri's common name is Rigil Kentaurus, meaning "the centaur's foot" (similarly to Rigel in Orion), or alternatively Toliman; the Beta Centauri's is named either Hadar or Agena. Alpha Crucis is named Acrux, while Beta Crucis has two names, Becrux and also the name of a flower, Mimosa. However, these names are rarely heard; unusually for constellations, the official denomination with greek letters of the main stars of Centaurus and Crux is more familiar to people than their common names. Making things clear: even if you're not an astronomy-expert you'll have surely heard at least once the name Alpha Centauri somewhere in pop-culture, but have you ever heard the names Rigil-Kentaurus or even Toliman? And oppositely, when was the last time you've heard Sirius named "Alpha Canis Majoris" or Betelgeuse named "Alpha Orionis"?

But this constellation don't exist anymore. It was one of the original 48 Ptolemy's constellations, but was divided in three parts by Lacaille because it was judged really too big: '''Carina''' (Keel in Latin), '''Puppis''' (latin for Stern), and '''Vela''' (plural latin of Velum, "sail"), each still a large figure compared with most southern constellations. As one would expect Carina is the southernmost part of the ship, another "extreme celestial south" figure reaching an almost as-low latitude as Hydrus; however, the keel's stars appear "fused" with those of Puppis & Vela --- ancients saw the whole ensemble as one single constellation because of this. The fact that ancient navigators of the Mediterranean waters could spot this figure just above the marine horizon like it's ploughing the waves [[note]]Because of the Precession Carina was visible at mediterranean latitudes in ancient times, but today only the Stern & (to a less degree) the Sails are still-visible; european watchers have to travel in Northern Africa to see the Keel completely.[[/note]] could explain why they identified it as a ship. The second brightest star in the Sky just belongs to Carina and is called Canopus (the name of one of the Argonauts); it is at its posterior end, while the second brighter star of the Keel (and of the whole Ship Argo), Miaplacidus, is at the front end of the keel. At about 70° south, Miaplacidus is the most southern 2nd magnitude star of the Sky (to be fair it's almost of 1st magnitude). Roughly other nine stars of the Ship are of 2nd magnitude, making it not only the widest but also one of the totally brightest celestial figures; Carina alone is almost as bright as Canis Major or Orion, and even Vela and Puppis are relatively bright figures (about the same luminosity of Andromeda or Cassiopeia). The main star of Puppis is named Naos ("ship" in Greek). Interestingly, a forth portion of the Ship Argo (the mast) was deemed by Lacaille a brand new figure: '''Pyxis''' the Compass (the tool to find the North), visible at the left of Puppis and above the Sails. As a memory of the object originally-portrayed, however, Pyxis has the shape of a straight line of three 4th magnitude stars. Just on the left side of Pyxis Lacaille invented an even more evanescent neighbor: '''Antlia''' the Pneumatic Machine (or more simply the Air Pump) -- "pneumatic machine" sounds as of the most bizarre names for a constellation, at least according to some. Both are middle-latitude figures pressed between Argo Navis and Hydra; because of the imposing presence of the ship, these two "sister" constellations are isolated from most other lesser-southern-constellations.

Returning to the dead constellation Argo Navis: this has not been the only case in history. Many other brand-new constellations invented at one point have disappeared today: they were ignored in 1918 by the Astronomical International Convention either because they were extremely small or faint (and thus believed unnecessary), or because they were proposed alternatively against some still-living constellations (with the latter that won the contest)... or maybe simply because they "spoiled" the beauty of the classical constellations thanks to their presence. Anyway, many classical maps of the Sky show them as "official" constellations of their time. One famous example in the northern sky is "Quadrans Muralis" (lit. "Quadrant of the Wall") between Bootes and Draco, which still today gives its name to the Quadrantid Meteors; you can see other examples in other chapters. Note that in this list there are included even the Magellanic Clouds, the two dwarf-galaxies satellites of our own Galaxy, that were once classified as proper constellations on their own! For plant-lovers there's "Robur Carolinum" (Charles' Oak): it was created in the XVII century by taking some stars away from the Ship Argo before Lacaille divided it in three parts, but has had less-luck than Pyxis and today the sky is totally devoid of members of the plant world.

Beyond the second bend Eridanus points decisely southwards, making some zigzags with its (almost-exclusively of 4th magnitude) stars, and starting to become invisible from the northermost USA latitudes. Finally, our boundless river ends its journey with Achernar ("the river's mouth" in Arabic), the 9th brightest star in the Sky signing its mouth (sometimes portrayed as a delta and sometimes as an estuary). We started just below the Equator and now we're not far from the South Pole! At the river's left bend near Achernar there is a relatively wide and visible constellation : '''Phoenix''' the Phenix (whose name recalls "Phoenicia", the ancient mideastern region were it was believed living in), portraying the legendary Arabian bird able to be born again from its own ashes. On the right side of Phoenix there's another bird: '''Grus''' (crane in Latin), the brightest among the so-called "four birds" -- the remaining two are a toucan and a peacock, see further. Two 2nd magnitude stars and one of 3rd make Grus as bright as the Little Bear in the northern emisphere, while its figure resembles a distorted cross looking like a humbler version of Cygnus the Swan. While the phoenix is often shown perched on a branch near the mouth of the Eridan River signed by Achernar, the crane is usually shown flying, just below another [[{{Pun}} mouth]], the Southern Fish' one signed by Fomalhaut. Achernar & Fomalhaut are the only bright 1st magnitude stars near the area occupied by the "4 birds"; this area appears very poor of luminous stars if compared with the spectactular zone populated by such evident constellations like Centaurus, Crux, & Argo Navis. Still, the "4 birds" are bigger and/or more luminous than most other "minor southern constellations". Returning to Eridanus' right bank, just below Columba there are four small roughly parallel constellations running from Achernar and the shiny Ship Argo's star Canopus -- now we're in the closeness of the "extreme celestial south". The one closest to Eridanus is another very modest-looking Lacaille's figure, '''Horologium''' the Pendulum Clock ("horologium" is a latin neologism, since clocks obviously didn't exist in Ancient times), bordering with its elongated shape the Eridanus' lowest right bank below Caelum. The following figure is smaller but more visible: a small rhombus named '''Reticulum''' by Lacaille (dim. of "net" in Latin). And then, the relatively most well-known of the foursome: '''Dorado''', the only constellation of the whole sky whose official name is neither greek nor latin (it's a spanish word meaning "golden"). This constellation looks like a distorted line of faint stars and represents a large RealLife gold-skinned fish swimming in the waters of Ship Argo: the Coryphenid or "dolphinfish", which often leaps out of water to catch the smaller flying-fishes. Finally, between Dorado and Canopus, another Lacaille's constellation: '''Pictor''' the Painter's Easel (pictor = "painter" in latin), similar to Dorado but even weaker. It's noteworthy that just the area including these 4 constellations owns two notable features: the Great Magellanic Cloud (with its Tarantula Nebula and the Supernova 1987A) which is mainly in Dorado, and the South Pole of the Ecliptic, at the opposite pole in respect to the one in Draco. Returning to Achernar, in the "sea" beyond the mouth of the Eridan River a guy is swimming in the "extreme celestial south", which you could actually think to be Hydra's husband: '''Hydrus''' (whose latin name is the masculine version of Hydra), the so-called "male sea-serpent". it's actually a simple RealLife small-sized sea-snake, nothing to do with the huge monster of the equatorial regions. Near its figure there is the Small Magellanic Cloud, which at a first glance seems pertaining to Hydrus but actually lies within the territory of '''Tucana''' (another latin neologism, as toucans were unknown by Ancients!). This is another member of the "4 birds", less-bright than Grus & Phoenix (about the same luminosity of the Lynx) and placed below them in full "extreme-celestial-south" zone like Pavo (which, being set rather apart from the other three birds, is described in another chapter). Hydrus is slighty brighter than the Toucan (with three 3rd magnitude stars) and reaches even souther latitudes, becoming the closest constellation to the South Pole among those still-visible in a non-perfectly clean sky (other four, Apus, Mensa, Chamaeleon & Octans, are even closer but their figure is exclusively made of few 4th or even 5th magnitude stars).

Two constellations, however, make this fantasy actually realistic: Cetus the Whale, which appears emerging from the "equator-ocean" with only its head, while the tail is kept underwater (just like what RealLife whales do), and '''Hydra''' ("water snake" in latin) swimming almost-totally underwater with its tiny head slightly above the "surface" just like RealLife snake. Cetus and Hydra are placed in opposite sides of the Equatorial Belt with respect to Orion, and share several traits in common. Both are just below the Ecliptic [[note]]Note that the moon and the planets can travel slightly above or below the ecliptic, thus being potentially visible is some other constellations other than the 13 zodiacal ones (Ophiuchus included); among them, Cetus or even Orion. This furtherly debunks the astrologers' theory about the "twelve" constellations of the Zodiac.[[/note]]; both potray legendary & dragon-like marine critters; and both are faint for their size -- Hydra has only one 2nd magnitude star (signing the creature's heart) called Alphard, "the solitary one" in arabic because is the only relatively luminous star in the surroundings. And both are really large, to the point they border on FOUR zodiac constellations each: Aquarius Pisces Aries & Taurus (Cetus) and Cancer Leo Virgo & Libra (Hydra). To be precise, however, the Sea-Serpent borders only partially Leo & Virgo: between them there are three small constellations which appear "pressed" againt their much larger neighbors; Corvus, Crater & Sextans (see below). Hydra is NOT the seven-headed monster defeated by Hercules during its 2nd fatigue (despite its closeness to Leo, the critter of the 1st fatigue); it is a one-headed serpentine dragon very similar to "the" Dragon in the polar zone, even with its body making some small coils elsewere in drawings just like Draco's.

The Hydra's main trait, however, is its size. Not only it's the vastest by-area among the 88 constellations of the northern and the southern emisphere: its figure is so enormously long that it almost seems making Snake & Ladders in the sky, with its head just below Cancer and the tailtip touching Libra! Among the other constellations only Eridanus the River really rivals Hydra in length. Above Hydra lie the aforementioned 4 constellations of the Zodiac, while below it there are the most spectacular constellations of the deep south-sky, Centaurus and the huge Ship Argo. Moreover, beside the (signed by an attractive grouplet of six stars) hydra's head there is a relatively large but very faint modern figure that, in spite of portraying a legendary character, is definitively not linked with greek mithology: '''Monoceros''' the Unicorn (Monoceros = "one horn" in Greek), whose area fills the apparently "empty" zone in the middle of the bright Winter Triangle (Orion, Canis Major & Canis Minor). With Monoceros the celestial horses/horse-things reach the total number of five: other than the spiral-horned one there are also the bird-winged Pegasus, the two centaurs Sagittarius & Centaurus, and the tiny Equuleus (which is the only fully-horse of them all). And now let's talk about the aforementioned three small constellations between the Zodiac and Hydra. Sextans the Sextant, Crater the Cup (or the Bowl), and Corvus the Crow (or the Raven) are all just below the equator; even though they are usually not much considered because of their smallness and their "lowness" in the sky, they are nonetheless characteristic. '''Sextans''' ("sextus" means sixth in latin) is the largest one and the only that slightly passes the line of the equator, but is almost-invisible to naked eyes -- [[note]]Despite this the Sextant is worth of note because, being very close to the Ecliptic, it too can include the Moon or a planet within.[[/note]]. A typical "hole-filling" figure created in modern age, it represents the eponymous astronomical instrument to find the height of the stars in the celestial dome. On the other hand, '''Crater''' (crater is latin for cup, and is at the origin of the modern meaning of "mouth of the volcano") and '''Corvus''' (which can be translated either "crow" or "raven" from latin) are ancient figures strictly tied with Hydra by a legend involving the god Apollo. Both are shown in portrayal lying ''upon'' the monster's body; even though a bit wider and more northern, Crater is made of fainter stars and is harder to spot in the sky than the Crow, which has a rather evident quadrilater-like figure made of 3rd magnitude stars (that are also placed near the bright Virgo's star Spica), making it is the easiest to discover of the trio.

Fortunately, other than the aforementioned Canis Major (with Sirius) there is another bright constellation that, being only a bit below the heavenly equator, can still appear in full splendor without the necessity to travel to the terrestrial Tropics: the zodiacal '''Scorpius''' (a rare variant of Scorpio, "scorpion" in Latin), with its unmistakeable "S"-like shape. Its curved line of stars includes the bright 1st magnitude Antares and five stars of 2nd magnitude, that together make Scorpius almost as luminous as Orion. The northern end of the "S" has a "T" shape and signs the animal's head; the 1st magnitude red star Antares (lit. "anti" + "Ares", the greek name of Mars) is just behind it and marks the scorpion's heart; the southern end has a "V" shape and includes the star Shaula (liter. the "sting"), which is almost of 1st magnitude. But where are the pincers? They are marked by two weak 3rd magnitude stars (Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, "the southern pincer" and the "northern pincer" in Arabic) which... well... are not in Scorpius at all, but in the neighboring zodiac constellation, the much less-spectacular '''Libra''' ("scales" in latin) -- see [[UsefulNotes/{{Constellations}} The 12 constellations of the Zodiac]] to understand the reason of this oddity. However, almost-every illustration (ancient or modern) still portrays the scorpion with its claws, looking like it's trying to grasp the Scales with them. Libra has the shape of a rhombus, hasn't got bright stars, and as is known portrays a pair of ancient scales (possibly belonging to the near Virgo); this is the only zodiac constellations representing an object.

When thinking about the night-sky visible from USA, one common regret among U.S. astro-lovers is that the most shiny constellations of the celestial sphere are mainly in the Southern Emisphere. Among the seven most splendid celestial figures (those with MANY bright stars of 1st and 2nd magnitude and not just one or two), the Big Dipper is definitively in the Northern Emisphere, Orion is evenly divided in two by the Equator, but four are actually in full Southern Emisphere. Worsening things, two of them (the Centaur and the Ship Argo) are in the Deep South of the sky --spectacularly visible only for Australians, New Zealanders, Africans, Mexicans, South Americans, Caribbeans, Arabians, Indians, Indonesians etc., but hardly visible (when they are) for North American, European, Russian, and Chinese/Japanese Far East observers.

When thinking about the night-sky visible from USA, one common regret among U.S. astro-lovers is that the most shiny constellations of the celestial sphere are mainly in the Southern Emisphere. Among the seven most splendid celestial figures (those with MANY bright stars of 1st and 2nd magnitude and not just one or two), the Big Dipper is definitively in the Northern Emisphere, Orion is evenly divided in two by the Equator, but five are actually in full Southern Emisphere. Worsening things, three of them (the Centaur, the Southern Cross, and the Ship Argo) are in the Deep South of the sky --spectacularly visible only for Australians, New Zealanders, Africans, Mexicans, South Americans, Caribbeans, Arabians, Indians, Indonesians etc., but hardly visible (when they are) for North American, European, Russian, and Chinese/Japanese Far East observers.

Here we'll cope with other three excellent examples: the zodiacal Aquarius (10° widest) & Pisces (14°) plus Cetus the "Whale" (4°). Together, they make the bulk of the celestial area traditionally called for understandable reasons the Heavenly Waters (which includes also some smaller constellations nearby like Capricornus and Piscis Austrinus). [[note]]Some other constellations like Eridanus and Argo Navis are sometimes put the Heavenly Waters because are water-related, but in narrower sense only constellations of the area surrounding Aquarius belong to the H.W.[[/note]] Aquarius Pisces & Cetus are all visible in Fall like those of the Myth of Perseus but placed more south than them (they are all crossed by the Equator). To be fair, however, one of them, '''Cetus''', is one of the character of the myth, or rather, it's the villain of the story: it tried eating the princess Andromeda chained on a rock as a sacrifice to the Gods, but was killed by Perseus who pietrified the monster with the cut-head of Medusa's still-open eyes. Even though "Cetus" is usually translated as "the Whale" (recalling the modern word "cetacean") it actually means "great marine beast" or "marine monster" in latin, and represent a sort of sea-dragon more than a whale; however, considering its size, the nickname "whale" may be appropriate. Its only relatively bright stars are at the two opposite ends of the figure, the 3rd magnitude Menkar (the "nose") and the 2nd magnitude Deneb Kaitos ("the tail of the sea-monster"), the rest of the figure is made of 4th magnitude stars. On the other hand, the name of Cetus' most famous star, Mira, latin for "the wonderful one", also known as Mira Ceti, "the wonderful (star) of Cetus", was coined few centuries ago and refers to a merely astronomical trait, the star's extreme variations in luminosity. Not all star-names are of ancient origin as it could seem.

Here we'll cope with other three excellent examples: the zodiacal Aquarius (10° widest) & Pisces (14°) plus Cetus the "Whale" (4°). Together, they make the bulk of the celestial area traditionally called for understandable reasons the Heavenly Waters (which includes also some smaller constellations nearby like Capricornus and Piscis Austrinus). [[note]]Some other constellations like Eridanus and Argo Navis are sometimes put the Heavenly Waters because are water-related, but in narrower sense only constellations of the area surrounding Aquarius belong to the H.W.[[/note]] Aquarius Pisces & Cetus are all visible in Fall like those of the Myth of Perseus but placed more south than them (they are all crossed by the Equator). To be fair, however, one of them, '''Cetus''', is one of the character of the myth, or rather, it's the villain of the story: it tried eating the princess Andromeda chained on a rock as a sacrifice to the Gods, but was killed by Perseus who pietrified the monster with the cut-head of Medusa's still-open eyes. Even though "Cetus" is usually translated as "the Whale" (recalling the modern word "cetacean") it actually means "great marine beast" or "marine monster" in latin, and represent a sort of sea-dragon more than a whale; however, considering its size, the nickname "whale" may be appropriate. Its only relatively bright stars are at the two opposite ends of the figure, the 3rd magnitude Menkar (the "nose") and the 2nd magnitude Deneb Kaitos ("the tail of the sea-monster"), the rest of the figure is made of 4th magnitude stars. [[note]]On the other hand, the name of Cetus' most famous star, Mira, latin for "the wonderful one", also known as Mira Ceti, "the wonderful (star) of Cetus", was coined few centuries ago and refers to a merely astronomical trait, the star's extreme variations in luminosity. Not all star-names are of ancient origin as it could seem.[[/note]].

Just below the flying horse Pegasus there's '''Aquarius''' ("aqua" = water in Latin), a very irregular figure almost entirely of 4th magnitude stars, whose alpha has the long arabic name Sadlamelik. Slightly below the equator, Aquarius famously portrays a man spilling water from an urn (hence the name Water-Carrier), but how character is portrayed in Aquarius is matter of speculation -- it could be Ganymede, the Gods' cup-bearer. Pressed between Pegasus, Aquarius & Cetus, '''Pisces''' (latin plural of fish) is a very long "L"-like line of 4th/5th magnitude stars that seem encircling two sides of the great Pegasus' Square. The two parts of the "L" represent two ropes united by a knot, while the two ends portray one fish each. They are probably Venus and her son Cupidus transformed into fish to escape another sort of sea-monster, but the fishes' species is not known. Even though the bigger & most southern fish is marked by a typical ellipse of stars, Pisces is extremely faint for such an extended figure -- to the point to appear almost as an "empty" area between the other Fall constellations.