Eighty-eight constellations

Base Info
Term	Eighty-eight constellations
Origin	Modern astronomy
Related Articles	Zodiac

The eighty-eight constellations are a concept in astronomy and are also the creative material of ACGN.

Introduction

Northern hemisphere

Southern hemisphere

A constellation is an artificially divided sky area containing several stars in order to facilitate the identification of stars in the sky. Generally speaking, the "eighty-eight constellations" are a concept in modern astronomy.

Constellations were first used by ancient Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian and other ancient Mediterranean civilizations to divide the sky. In ancient China, star officials were used to divide the sky. Since the classical period, some constellations have been split, added, withdrawn, renamed, etc. After several evolutions, today's eighty-eight constellation pattern was officially established by the International Astronomical Union in 1930. The 88 constellations are based on the 48 Ptolemaic constellations of ancient Greece and improved by adding and splitting some constellations.

Most constellations are related to ancient myths and legends (ancient Greece, ancient Rome, etc.). Many of the images and names of constellations are derived from characters, gods, animals, etc. in myths and legends, such as Leo, Scorpio, Orion, etc. But some of them have nothing to do with it, but are constellations that were later established to fill in the blank areas of the sky. Since most of the civilizations with advanced astronomy in ancient times were located in the northern hemisphere, many new constellations discovered in the southern hemisphere in modern times were named after scientific instruments.

Modern astronomy established the concept of "celestial sphere". The celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere with the center of mass of the Earth as the center (geocentric celestial sphere) or the center of mass of the sun as the center of the sphere (heliocentric celestial sphere) and infinite length as the radius. From the perspective of observing the center of the sphere, all stars and other celestial bodies have projections on the celestial sphere. The celestial sphere is divided into celestial longitude and latitude, and a celestial coordinate system is established. The coordinate position of a star on the celestial sphere can be established through celestial longitude and celestial latitude, so as to study the position changes and movement patterns of stars, and can also be used for navigation.

Among them, the latitude line of 0° latitude on the celestial sphere is also called the celestial equator, the north of the celestial equator is called the northern hemisphere, and the south is called the southern hemisphere. Among the 88 constellations, there are 29 in the northern hemisphere, 47 in the southern hemisphere, and 12 near the celestial equator and ecliptic. The ecliptic is the projection of the sun's path on the celestial sphere from the perspective of the earth. The 12 constellations that span the zodiac are also called "zodiac signs".

List of the 88 constellations

Northern Hemisphere

Name (Latin)	Name (Japanese)	Mythical archetype	Notes
Ursa Minor	こぐま座	Arcas, the son of Zeus, who was turned into a bear	This mythology contradicts some of the statements about Boötes
Ursa Major	大隈座	Callisto, the nymph, who was turned into a bear.
Draco	竜座	"Radon", the hundred-headed dragon guarding the golden apple tree
Cepheus	ケフェウス座	King Cepheus of Ethiopia
Cassiopeia	カシオペヤ座	Cassiopeia, the queen of Ethiopia
Andromeda	アンドロメダ	Andromeda, princess of Ethopia
Camelopardalis	麒麟座	The camel that took Rebekah to Isaac in the Bible	It was established by the Dutch theologian and astronomer P. Plancius in 1613; in 1624, the German mathematician Bach used the wrong word to write camel as "giraffe".
Canes Venatici	猟犬座	The two hounds sent by Hera to chase Arcas and Callisto.
Boötes	牛飼い座	One of the hunters that chased Ursa Major and Minor.	Other statements contradict Ursa Minor
Corona Borealis	冠座	The crown of Princess Ariadne of Crete, given to her by Dionysus
Hercules	ヘルクレス座	Hercules, the son of Zeus
Lyra	こと座	The lyre given by Apollo to Orpheus
Cygnus	白鳥座	Zeus, who transformed into a swan to seduce princess Leda
Lacerta	トカゲ座	-	Established in 1687 by Polish astronomer John Hevelius
Perseus	ペルセウス座	The hero who killed Medusa, son of Zeus
Auriga	馭者座	Erictonios, son of Hephaestus, god of fire, and adopted son of Athena
Lynx	山猫座	-	Established in 1690 by Polish astronomer John Hevelius
Leo Minor	小獅子座		Established in 1687 by Polish astronomer John Hevelius
Coma Berenices	髪座	The hair of the ancient princess Ptolemy III
Serpens	蛇崎	The giant snake controlled by Asclepis
Ophiuchus	蛇遣座	Asclepius, son of Apollo
Scutum	楯座	-	Established in 1690 by Polish astronomer John Hevelius
Aquila	鷲座	Zeus, who transformed into an eagle in order to find Ganymede, the waiter for the divine banquet, in the human world.
Sagitta	矢座	The arrow with which Hercules shot the vulture that tormented Prometheus
Vulpecula	小狐崎	-	Established in 1660 by Polish astronomer John Hevelius
Delphinus	海豚座	When Poseidon, the god of the sea, pursued the sea nymph Amphitrite, he found the dolphin where Amphitrite was hiding.
Equuleus	小馬座	The name Macleris given to Castor by Hermes	There are many versions of the legend
Pegasus	ペガスス座	The pegasus that flew out of Medusa's body when Perseus killed her
Triangulum	三角座	The island of Trinacria where Demeter, the goddess of agriculture lived	Trinacria is the old name of Sicily, Italy. The island is approximately triangular.

Southern Hemisphere

Name (Latin)	Name (Japanese)	Mythical archetype	Notes
Corona Australis	南冠座（みなみのかんむりざ）	The flower crown worn by Zeus' lover and Phoenician princess Semele during her lifetime
Lupus	狼座（おおかみざ）	Callisto's father, who was turned into a wolf
Ara	祭壇座（さいだんざ）	An altar set up by the children of Cronus who swore to overthrow his rule
Grus	鶴座（つるざ）	-	Established in 1604 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Phoenix	鳳凰座（ほうおうざ）	-	Established in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Horologium	時計座（とけいざ）	-	Established by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Pictor	画架座（がかざ）	-
Vela	帆座（ほざ）	The sail of the Argo, the ship of the Greek mythology hero Jason, in his quest for the Golden Fleece	Once part of the constellation "Argo Navis".
Circinus	コンパス座（ざ）	-	Established in 1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Piscis Austrinus	南の魚座（みなみのうおざ）	The fish transformed by the goddess Aphrodite when Typhon invaded the banquet of the gods.
Fornax	炉座（ろざ）		Established in 1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Caelum	彫刻具座（ちょうごくぐざ）		Established in 1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Canis Major	大犬座（おおいぬざ）
Puppis	艫座（ともざ）		Once a part of "Argo Navis"
Norma	定規座（じょうぎざ）		Established in 1763 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Tucana	巨嘴鳥座（きょしちょうざ）		Established in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Volans	飛魚座（とびうおざ）		Established in 1595-1597 by Dutch navigators Peter Coser and Frederic de Hautman
Carina	竜骨座（りゅうこつざ）	The bottom of the ship "Argonavis" where the Greek hero Jason searched for the Golden Fleece.	Formerly part of "Argo Navis"
Apus	風鳥座（ふうちょうざ）		Established at the end of the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirk Coser and Frederic de Hautman
Hydrus	水蛇座（みずへびざ）		Established in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Sextans	六分儀座（ろくぶんぎざ）		Established in 1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Microscopium	顕微鏡座
Triangulum Australe	南の三角座		Established at the end of the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirk Coser and Frederic de Hautman
Centaurus	ケンタウルス座	The half-human, half-horse centaur race
Pavo	孔雀座	The ship "Argo" on which the ancient Greek hero Jason traveled to search for the Golden Fleece, which was transformed into a peacock by Hera
Sculptor	彫刻実座		Established at the end of the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirk Coser and Frederic de Hautman
Columba	鳩座	The dove that carried the olive branch back to Noah's Ark and announced that the flood had begun to recede
Lepus	兎座	The prey rabbit placed by Zeus next to Orion (son of Poseidon) who became a constellation
Pyxis	羅針盤座		Established in 1750 by French scientist Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (once a part of "Argo Navis")
Antlia	ポンプ座		Established in 1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Reticulum	レチクル座		Established by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Dorado	旗魚座		Established in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Musca	蝿座		In 1603, the German astronomer Johann Bayer established the constellation Apes; in 1763, the French astronomer Lacaille changed its name to Musca Australis; after the constellation Musca Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere was withdrawn, Musca Australis was renamed Musca.
Mensa	テーブル山座		Established in 1751-1754 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Chamaeleontis	カメレオン座		Established at the end of the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirk Coser and Frederic de Hautman
Telescopium	望遠鏡座		Established in 1751-1752 by French scientist Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Crux	南十字星
Cetus	鯨座	The whale monster sent by Poseidon to attack Ethiopia was petrified by Perseus with the head of Medusa.
Indus	インディアン座		Established in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer
Eridanus	エリダヌス座	The river Eridanus where Phaethon, son of the sun god Helios, died
Orion	オリオン座	Orion, son of Poseidon and master hunter
Monoceros	一角獣座		Established in 1613 by Dutch theologian and astronomer P. Plancius
Canis Minor	小犬座	The little dog Zeus placed beside Orion (son of Poseidon) who became a constellation
Hydra	海蛇座	Hydra, slain by Hercules
Corvus	烏崎	Messenger of the sun god Apollo , a crow with silver feathers and a human tongue
Crater	コップ座	① A cup used to fetch water for the crow, the messenger of the sun god Apollo; ② A magic bowl used by Medea to trick the daughters of Pelias into killing their father.
Octans	八分儀座		Originally named "Octant", it was established in 1752 by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille.

12 zodiac constellations

For the zodiac signs, see the article Zodiac.

Name (Latin)	Name (Japanese)	Mythical archetype	Notes
Aries	牡羊座	Chrysomaros, the golden sheep who rescued Phrixus and Helle
Taurus	牡牛座	A bull that Zeus transformed into when he courted the princess Europa
Gemini	双子座	The twins Pollux and Castor born to Zeus and Leda, Princess of Sparta
Cancer	蟹座	When Hercules killed the Hydra , Hera sent a giant crab to hinder Hercules.
Leonis	獅子座	The man-eating lion strangled in one of the Twelve Labors of Hercules
Virgo	乙女座	① Astraea, the goddess of justice and stars, or Dicke, the goddess of justice; ② The common incarnation of Ceres (Demeter), the goddess of the valley , and her daughter Golay (Persephone), the queen of the underworld.
Libra	天秤座	The scale thrown by Zeus to commemorate the reconciliation after Themis, the goddess of justice , and Poseidon , the god of the sea, quarreled over mankind.
Scorpius	蠍座	① Phaethon drives the sun chariot to prove that he is the son of the sun god Helios , and the poisonous scorpion released by Hera to stop it; ② The poisonous scorpion sent by Apollo or Artemis to assassinate the proud hunter Orion.
Sagittarius	射手座	①The image of Chiron, the learned sage and mentor of the Centaur tribe, holding a bow and arrow; ②The image of Clothos, son of the god Pan, holding a bow and arrow
Capricornus	山羊座	Pan, the god of fauns, was responsible for taking care of Zeus' cattle and sheep. In order to save the Harp Fairy, he stepped into the lake at the end of the sky and turned his lower body into a fish.
Aquarius	水瓶座	Zeus went to the human world to find Ganymede, the waiter at the divine banquet, and the bottle he used to pour wine.
Pisces	魚座	When Typhon invaded the banquet of the gods, the gods Aphrodite and Eros transformed into fish in the water.

Related works

• Saint Seiya: The Cloths of the Saints are based on the 88 constellations.
• StaRevo: 88 Seiza no Idol Kakumei
• Uchu Sentai Kyuranger