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31.12: The Constellations (Appendix L)

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    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Constellations
    Constellation (Latin name) Genitive Case Ending English Name or Description Abbreviation Approximate Position: α (h) Approximate Position: δ (°)
    Andromeda Andromedae Princess of Ethiopia And 1 +40
    Antila Antilae Air pump Ant 10 −35
    Apus Apodis Bird of Paradise Aps 16 −75
    Aquarius Aquarii Water bearer Aqr 23 −15
    Aquila Aquilae Eagle Aql 20 +5
    Ara Arae Altar Ara 17 −55
    Aries Arietis Ram Ari 3 +20
    Auriga Aurigae Charioteer Aur 6 +40
    Boötes Boötis Herdsman Boo 15 +30
    Caelum Cael Graving tool Cae 5 −40
    Camelopardus Camelopardis Giraffe Cam 6 +70
    Cancer Cancri Crab Cnc 9 +20
    Canes Venatici Canum Venaticorum Hunting dogs CVn 13 +40
    Canis Major Canis Majoris Big dog CMa 7 −20
    Canis Minor Canis Minoris Little dog CMi 8 +5
    Capricornus Capricorni Sea goat Cap 21 −20
    Carina1 Carinae Keel of Argonauts’ ship Car 9 −60
    Cassiopeia Cassiopeiae Queen of Ethiopia Cas 1 +60
    Centaurus Centauri Centaur Cen 13 −50
    Cepheus Cephei King of Ethiopia Cep 22 +70
    Cetus Ceti Sea monster (whale) Cet 2 −10
    Chamaeleon Chamaeleontis Chameleon Cha 11 −80
    Circinus Circini Compasses Cir 15 −60
    Columba Columbae Dove Col 6 −35
    Coma Berenices Comae Berenices Berenice’s hair Com 13 +20
    Corona Australis Coronae Australis Southern crown CrA 19 −40
    Corona Borealis Coronae Borealis Northern crown CrB 16 +30
    Corvus Corvi Crow Crv 12 −20
    Crater Crateris Cup Crt 11 −15
    Crux Crucis Cross (southern) Cru 12 −60
    Cygnus Cygni Swan Cyg 21 +40
    Delphinus Delphini Porpoise Del 21 +10
    Dorado Doradus Swordfish Dor 5 −65
    Draco Draconis Dragon Dra 17 +65
    Equuleus Equulei Little horse Equ 21 +10
    Eridanus Eridani River Eri 3 −20
    Fornax Fornacis Furnace For 3 −30
    Gemini Geminorum Twins Gem 7 +20
    Grus Gruis Crane Gru 22 −45
    Hercules Herculis Hercules, son of Zeus Her 17 +30
    Horologium Horologii Clock Hor 3 −60
    Hydra Hydrae Sea serpent Hya 10 −20
    Hydrus Hydri Water snake Hyi 2 −75
    Indus Indi Indian Ind 21 −55
    Lacerta Lacertae Lizard Lac 22 +45
    Leo Leonis Lion Leo 11 +15
    Leo Minor Leonis Minoris Little lion LMi 10 +35
    Lepus Leporis Hare Lep 6 −20
    Libra Librae Balance Lib 15 −15
    Lupus Lupi Wolf Lup 15 −45
    Lynx Lyncis Lynx Lyn 8 +45
    Lyra Lyrae Lyre or harp Lyr 19 +40
    Mensa Mensae Table Mountain Men 5 −80
    Microscopium Microscopii Microscope Mic 21 −35
    Monoceros Monocerotis Unicorn Mon 7 −5
    Musca Muscae Fly Mus 12 −70
    Norma Normae Carpenter’s level Nor 16 −50
    Octans Octantis Octant Oct 22 −85
    Ophiuchus Ophiuchi Holder of serpent Oph 17 0
    Orion Orionis Orion, the hunter Ori 5 +5
    Pavo Pavonis Peacock Pav 20 −65
    Pegasus Pegasi Pegasus, the winged horse Peg 22 +20
    Perseus Persei Perseus, hero who saved Andromeda Per 3 +45
    Phoenix Phoenicis Phoenix Phe 1 −50
    Pictor Pictoris Easel Pic 6 −55
    Pisces Piscium Fishes Psc 1 +15
    Piscis Austrinus Piscis Austrini Southern fish PsA 22 −30
    Puppis2 Puppis Stern of the Argonauts’ ship Pup 8 −40
    Pyxis3 (=Malus) Pyxidus Compass of the Argonauts’ ship Pyx 9 −30
    Reticulum Reticuli Net Ret 4 −60
    Sagitta Sagittae Arrow Sge 20 +10
    Sagittarius Sagittarii Archer Sgr 19 −25
    Scorpius Scorpii Scorpion Sco 17 −40
    Sculptor Sculptoris Sculptor’s tools Scl 0 −30
    Scutum Scuti Shield Sct 19 −10
    Serpens Serpentis Serpent Ser 17 0
    Sextans Sextantis Sextant Sex 10 0
    Taurus Tauri Bull Tau 4 +15
    Telescopium Telescopii Telescope Tel 19 −50
    Triangulum Trianguli Triangle Tri 2 +30
    Triangulum Australe Trianguli Australis Southern triangle TrA 16 −65
    Tucana Tucanae Toucan Tuc 0 −65
    Ursa Major Ursae Majoris Big bear UMa 11 +50
    Ursa Minor Ursae Minoris Little bear UMi 15 +70
    Vela4 Velorum Sail of the Argonauts’ ship Vel 9 −50
    Virgo Virginis Virgin Vir 13 0
    Volans Volantis Flying fish Vol 8 −70
    Vulpecula Vulpeculae Fox Vul 20 +25

    Footnotes

    1The four constellations Carina, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela originally formed the single constellation Argo Navis.

    2The four constellations Carina, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela originally formed the single constellation Argo Navis.

    3The four constellations Carina, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela originally formed the single constellation Argo Navis.

    4The four constellations Carina, Puppis, Pyxis, and Vela originally formed the single constellation Argo Navis.

    This page titled 31.12: The Constellations (Appendix L) is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.