This drawing, as well as those below, is from Sidney Hall’s set of drawings called Urania’s Mirror. Delphinus , on the left, is still a recognized constellation, but quite small and faint. Some additional ideas to examine are: sagitta, the bow and aries, while more, and musca borealis, the bee, is a discarded constellation.
The International Astronomical Union lists 88 constellations — a list that has been in use since 1922 and encompasses all the night sky around the world. I chose the 15 below based on a combination of size, visibility, importance of stars within them, ease of recognition, and place in folklore through history.
The next thing we asked ourselves was: what are the easiest constellations to see?
Orion, ‘The Hunter’ Orion is also one of the easiest constellations to spot in the night sky. Begin by looking for the three bright stars that form the straight line of the hunter’s belt.
This may be ‘cheating’ a little bit because the Big Dipper is not technically a constellation, but part of a constellation known as Ursa Major. However, in the northern hemisphere the Big Dipper is usually the most identifiable pattern of stars in the sky, so it makes an excellent starting point to begin our orientation .
While one of the biggest, most famous, and oldest named constellations, Aquarius is faint and often hard to find/see. In Greek mythology, Aquarius represented Ganymede, a very handsome young man. Zeus recognized the lad’s good looks, and invited Ganymede to Mt. Olympus to be the cupbearer of the gods.
How to find constellations in the sky?
Using a star map will be your best bet for assisting in finding where to look for constellations, depending on your location and time of year . It’s different depending on where you live and on the seasons, so use something like Astro. Viewer that lets you enter your location and gives you a customized star map.
You should be asking “How can I learn to identify the shapes of the constellations?”
Something like Google Sky can also help you to practice identifying the shapes of the constellations. Other than a star map, all you need is a dark sky (as far away from cities as possible), and for extra visual aide, a pair of binoculars or a telescope.
Why do astronomers use Greek mythology to identify the constellations?
I use Greek mythology because it was Ptolemy in the 2nd century who identified and listed 48 constellations . This was the first written and scientific account of the constellations, and although his notes only covered the sky that he could see, it was used for centuries as the benchmark for astronomy.