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Aql - Aquila the Eagle

  • Aql - Aquila the Eagle

    IAU Constellation

    Aql - Aquila the Eagle

    Size

    22 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Northern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Cygnus and Sagittarius, with Altair (its brightest star) making the south end of the Summer Triangle (along with Deneb of Cygnus and Vega of Lyra). As the night sky changes, Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan swing slowly westward across the sky towards the horizon. The Eagle sets tail first, followed closely by the Swan, who dives beak first below the western horizon.

  • Aqr - Aquarius the Water Carrier

    IAU Constellation

    Aqr - Aquarius the Water Carrier

    Size

    10 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Zodiac
    Southern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Water jar pattern near Pegasus.

  • Cap - Capricornus the Sea Goat

    IAU Constellation

    Cap - Capricornus the Sea Goat

    Size

    40 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Zodiac
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Sagittarius and Aquarius. Dim stars; look for a laughing mouth.

  • Del - Delphinus the Dolphin

    IAU Constellation

    Del - Delphinus the Dolphin

    Size

    69 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located between Pegasus and Aquila, look for four stars in a diamond.

  • Her - Hercules the Hero

    IAU Constellation

    Her - Hercules the Hero

    Size

    5 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located between Ophiuchus and Draco. Look for the Keystone, a trapezoid of four stars.

  • Oph - Ophiuchus, the Serpent Handler

    IAU Constellation

    Oph - Ophiuchus the Serpent Handler

    Size

    11 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Zodiac
    Southern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Between Scorpius and Hercules.

  • Sge - Sagitta the Arrow

    IAU Constellation

    Sge - Sagitta the Arrow

    Size

    86 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    A small, faint constellation, located in the Milky Way between Aquila and Vulpecula. Arrow-shaped. Shot by Sagittarius. 

  • Sgr - Sagittarius the Archer

    IAU Constellation

    Sgr - Sagittarius the Archer

    Size

    15 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Zodiac
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Look for teapot pattern to the east of Scorpius, complete with handle, lid, and spout. Tea pouring from the spout would indicate the direction of the center of Milky Way, and the entire constellation is rich with many stars. Try binoculars in the area where clusters gather like steam rising from the teapot.

    Centaur, half-man and half-horse, shooting an arrow. If you cannot see a creature half-man and half-horse in these stars, then try looking for a teapot. Four stars make the pot... Two stars form a handle... One star is a lid... And the tip of the bowman’s arrow makes a spout.

  • Sct - Scutum the Shield

    IAU Constellation

    Sct - Scutum the Shield

    Size

    84 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located within the Milky Way.

  • Ser - Serpens the Snake

    IAU Constellation

    Ser - Serpens the Snake

    Size

    23 of 88

    Astronomical Regions

    Northern
    Equatorial
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Located in the hands of Ophiuchus, Serpens is the only constellation divided into two parts: Serpens Caput (=head) and Serpens Cauda (=tail), with Ophiuchus between them.

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Tau - Taurus the Bull

IAU Constellation

Tau - Taurus the Bull

Size

17 of 88

Astronomical Regions

Zodiac
Northern
Equatorial

Intro and Visual description

Taurus the Bull is easily spotted. Its head is the Hyades, a V-shaped cluster of stars. His horns point outward from the V. Aldebaran is the red eye of the Bull as he charges down upon us.

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Kerry Magruder, Brent Purkaple, and Aja Tolman, editors, "The Sky Tonight: Cultural Archaeology of the Stars" (December 21, 2019 - ongoing), skytonight.org.


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