Constellations and Zodiac signs

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A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of stars forms an imaginary outline or pattern , typically representing animals , mythological person or creature or an inanimate object.

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In 1922, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally accepted the modern list of 88 constellations, and in 1928 adopted official constellation boundaries that together cover the entire celestial sphere. Any given point in a celestial coordinate system lies in one of the modern constellations.

Here is a selection of the most familiar and easily seen constellations in the northern sky

Aquarius

Aquila,the eagle

Aries,the Ram

Auriga,the charioteer

Bootes,the herdsman

Cancer,the crab

Canis Major,the great dog

Capricornus,the sea goat

Cassiopeia ,the queen

Cygnus,the swan

Gemini,the twins

Leo,the lion

Libra,the scales

Lyra,the Harp

Orion,the hunter

Pegasus,the flying horse

Perseus,the hero

Pisces,the fish

Sagittarius,the archer

Scorpius,the scorpion

Taurus,the bull

Ursa major,the great bear

Virgo

Constellation names and zodiac signs

As the Earth rotates, the sun, the moon and planets travel on a set path through the sky known as the ecliptic. The list of 13 constellations they pass through are known as the stars of the zodiac. The zodiac constellations' names are:

• Capricorn
• Aquarius
• Pisces
• Aries
• Taurus
• Gemini
• Cancer
• Leo
• Virgo
• Libra
• Scorpio
• Ophiuchus
• Sagittarius

Astrologers use 12 of these constellations as signs of the zodiac, omitting Ophiuchus, to make predictions. (Unlike astronomy, astrology is not a science.) Signs differ from constellations, bearing only a loose reference to one another. The sign of Pisces, for instance, corresponds to the rise of the constellation of Aquarius. Ironically, if you are born under a particular sign, the constellation it is named for is not visible at night. Instead, the sun is passing through it around that time of year, making it a daytime constellation that can't be seen.

The constellations appear to form shapes across the sky, but the stars themselves don't make up patterns in space. The distance from our world to the individual stars in a constellation varies, often by tens of light-years, scattering the stars randomly across the galaxy.

Constellations and Zodiac signs in Indian Astrology

Rāśi – zodiacal signs

The Nirayana, or sidereal zodiac, is an imaginary belt of 360 degrees, which, like the Sāyana, or tropical zodiac, is divided into 12 equal parts. Each part (of 30 degrees) is called a sign or rāśi (Sanskrit: 'part'). Vedic (Jyotiṣa) and Western zodiacs differ in the method of measurement. While synchronically, the two systems are identical, Jyotiṣa primarily uses the sidereal zodiac (in which stars are considered to be the fixed background against which the motion of the planets is measured), whereas most Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac (the motion of the planets is measured against the position of the Sun on the spring equinox). After two millennia, as a result of the precession of the equinoxes, the origin of the ecliptic longitude has shifted by about 22 degrees. As a result, the placement of planets in the Jyotiṣa system is consistent with the actual zodiac, while in western astrology the planets fall into the following constellations about two-thirds of the time.

Sanskrit	Transliteration	Representation	English	Ruling Astrological Body
मेष	Meṣa	ram	Aries	Mars
वृषभ	Vṛṣabha	bull	Taurus	Venus
मिथुन	Mithuna	twins	Gemini	Mercury
कर्क	Karka	crab	Cancer	Moon
सिंह	Siṃha	lion	Leo	Sun
कन्या	Kanyā	virgin girl	Virgo	Mercury
तुला	Tulā	balance	Libra	Venus
वृश्चिक	Vṛścika	scorpion	Scorpio	mars
धनुष	Dhanuṣa	bow and arrow	Sagittarius	Jupiter
मकर	Makara	sea monster	Capricorn	Saturn
कुम्भ	Kumbha	water-pourer	Aquarius	Saturn
मीन	Mīna	fishes	Pisces	Jupiter

How far away are constellations?

The pictures we see at night are formed because we only see two dimensions on the night sky, missing the depth that is also present.

Still, with a bit of imagination, the constellations can provide a great source entertainment. They can also help the lost find their way, and aid skywatchers in the search for planets, comets, or other events, by a process called star hopping. And, as they surely did in ancient times, constellations can provoke a sense of timeless wonder.

Other star patterns or groups called asterisms are not constellations , but are used by observers to navigate the night sky. Asterisms may be several stars within a constellation, or they may share stars with more than one constellation. Examples of asterisms include the Pleiades and Hyades within the constellation Taurus and the False Cross split between the southern constellations Carina and Vela, or Venus' Mirror in the constellation of Orion.

Sources :   https://stardate.org/nightsky/constellations

https://www.space.com/15722-constellations.html

Wikipedia
image credits : stardate.org