![Acta Eruditorum - X astronomia, 1684 – BEIC 13376927](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Acta_Eruditorum_-_X_astronomia%2C_1684_%E2%80%93_BEIC_13376927.jpg)
Former constellations are old historical
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
s that for various reasons are no longer widely recognised or are not
officially recognised by the
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
(IAU).
Prior to 1930, many of these defunct constellations were traditional in one or more countries or cultures. Some only lasted decades but others were referred to over many centuries. All are now recognised only for having classical or historical value.
Many former constellations had complex
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ised names after objects, people, or mythological or zoological creatures.
Others with unwieldy names were shortened for convenience. For example, Scutum Sobiescianum was reduced to
Scutum
The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC.
The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formati ...
, Mons Mensae to
Mensa, and Apparatus Sculptoris to
Sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
.
Some of the
Northern Sky's former constellations were placed in the less populated regions between the traditional brighter constellations just to fill gaps. In the
Southern Sky
The southern celestial hemisphere, also called the Southern Sky, is the southern half of the celestial sphere; that is, it lies south of the celestial equator. This arbitrary sphere, on which seemingly fixed stars form constellations, appears ...
, new constellations were often created from about the 15th century by voyagers who began journeying south of the
Equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
. European countries like England, France, the Netherlands, German or Italian states, etc., often supported and popularised their own constellation outlines. In some cases, different constellations occupied overlapping areas and included the same stars. These former constellations are often found in older books,
star charts, or
star catalogue
A star catalogue is an astronomical catalogue that lists stars. In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. There are a great many different star catalogues which have been produced for different purposes over the years, ...
s.
The 88 modern constellation names and boundaries were standardised by
Eugene Delporte for the IAU in 1930, under an international agreement, removing any possible astronomical ambiguities between astronomers from different countries.
Nearly all former or defunct constellations differ in their designated boundaries in as much as they have outlines that do not follow the exact lines of
right ascension
Right ascension (abbreviated RA; symbol ) is the angular distance of a particular point measured eastward along the celestial equator from the Sun at the March equinox to the (hour circle of the) point in question above the earth.
When paired w ...
and
declination
In astronomy, declination (abbreviated dec; symbol ''δ'') is one of the two angles that locate a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system, the other being hour angle. Declination's angle is measured north or south of the ...
.
Noteworthy former constellations
Argo Navis
Argo Navis
Argo Navis (the Ship Argo), or simply Argo, is one of the 48 Ptolemy's constellations, now a grouping of three IAU constellations. It is formerly a single large constellation in the southern sky. The genitive is "Argus Navis", abbreviated "Arg". ...
is the only constellation from
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's original list of 48 constellations that is no longer officially recognized. Due to its large size, it was split into three constellations by
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (; 15 March 171321 March 1762), formerly sometimes spelled de la Caille, was a French astronomer and geodesist who named 14 out of the 88 constellations. From 1750 to 1754, he studied the sky at the Cape of Good ...
:
Carina
Carina may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura
Serbia
* Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District
...
(the keel),
Puppis
Puppis is a constellation in the southern sky. Puppis, the Latin translation of "poop deck", was originally part of an over-large constellation Argo Navis (the ship of Jason and the Argonauts), which centuries after its initial description, was ...
(the
poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.
The name originates from the French word for stern, ''la poupe'', from Latin ''puppis''. Thus th ...
), and
Vela (the sails).
The new constellations were introduced in the 1763 star catalog ''Coelum Australe Stelliferum'', which was published soon after de Lacaille's death.
Quadrans Muralis
Quadrans Muralis
Quadrans Muralis (Latin for ''mural quadrant'') was a former constellations, constellation created by the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1795. It depicted a wall-mounted quadrant with which he and his nephew Michel Lefrançois de Lalande ha ...
was originally created in 1795, placed in the northern skies between the still-accepted constellations
Boötes
Boötes ( ) is a constellation in the northern sky, located between 0° and +60° declination, and 13 and 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere. The name comes from la, Boōtēs, which comes from grc-gre, Βοώτης, Boṓtēs ...
and
Draco
Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon.
Draco or Drako may also refer to:
People
* Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived
* ...
. The
Quadrantid
The Quadrantids (QUA) are a meteor shower that peaks in early January and whose radiant lies in the constellation Boötes. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of this shower can be as high as that of two other reliably rich meteor showers, the Persei ...
s
meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extre ...
is named after this former constellation.
Remnant nomenclature
*
53 Eridani
53 Eridani (abbreviated 53 Eri), also designated l Eridani (l Eri), is a binary star in the constellation of Eridanus. The system has a combined apparent magnitude of 3.87. Parallax estimates made by the '' Hipparcos'' spacecraft put i ...
retains the name Sceptrum from the former constellation
Sceptrum Brandenburgicum.
List of former constellations
See also
*
Asterism
*
Lists of constellations
The following lists of constellations are available:
* IAU designated constellations - a list of the current, or "modern", constellations.
* Former constellations - a list of former constellations.
* Chinese constellations - traditional Chinese a ...
*
Julius Schiller
Julius Schiller (c. 1580 – 1627) was a lawyer from Augsburg, who like his fellow citizen and colleague Johann Bayer published a star atlas in celestial cartography.
In the year of his death, Schiller, with Bayer's assistance, published th ...
's ''
Coelum Stellatum Christianum'' (1627, "Christian Starry Sky") renamed the pagan constellations with new names after Christian figures.
References
Further reading
*Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). ''Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning'' New York: Dover. (Original work published 1899)
*Nick Kanas.
Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography'. Springer; 5 June 2012. .
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Former Constellations
*