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January

  • 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.

  • Cae - Caelum the Engraver's Chisel

    IAU Constellation
    Cae - Caelum the Engraver's Chisel

    Size

    81 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    A tiny, faint constellation, located south of Orion, barely visible from 35 degrees north latitude in December and January.

  • Cnc - Cancer the Crab

    IAU Constellation
    Cnc - Cancer the Crab

    Size

    31 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    A faint constellation between Gemini and Leo.

  • CMa - Canis Major the Big Dog

    IAU Constellation
    CMa - Canis Major the Big Dog

    Size

    43 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    South of Orion in the Winter Hexagon, near the horizon.

  • CMi - Canis Minor the Little Dog

    IAU Constellation
    CMi - Canis Minor the Little Dog

    Size

    71 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    Procyon, the brightest star of Canis Minor, serves as the vertex of the Winter Hexagon lying between Gemini and Sirius.

  • Car - Carina the Keel of Argo Navis

    IAU Constellation
    Car - Carina the Keel of Argo Navis

    Size

    34 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Circumpolar (southern)
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Locate Canopus by drawing a line from the easternmost star of Orion’s belt down through Rigel, Orion’s left foot. Canopus lies about twice as far from Orion’s belt as Sirius.

    Between Canopus and the south pole lies the Large Magellenic Cloud (LMC), located in the constellation Dorado the Swordfish.

    Between Canopus and Crux are the False Cross (nearer Canopus, shared by Carina and Vela) and the Diamond Cross (nearer Crux, in Carina). These are fainter than Crux and were once part of Argo Navis.

  • Col - Columba the Dove

    IAU Constellation
    Col - Columba the Dove

    Size

    54 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    Below Orion in the far south, Columba is tiny, with few bright stars. Barely visible in December from 35 degrees north latitude.

  • Dor - Dorado the Swordfish

    IAU Constellation
    Dor - Dorado the Swordfish

    Size

    72 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern
    Circumpolar (southern)

    Intro and Visual description

    Dorado the Swordfish is a small and obscure but very interesting constellation. It contains the Large Magellenic Cloud (LMC) and the only recent naked-eye supernova. In addition, the south ecliptic pole is located about where the "eye" of the fish would be. The Large and Small Magellenic Clouds are bright enough to be visible even in Moonlight.

  • Gem - Gemini the Twins

    IAU Constellation
    Gem - Gemini the Twins

    Size

    30 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Look for the two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, which form one vertex of the Winter Hexagon. Castor is closer to Capella, in Auriga on the north; and Pollus is closer to Procyon, in Canis Minor on the south. Cancer and Leo lie to the east.

    The Geminids meteor shower occurs around October 19.

  • Lep - Lepus the Hare

    IAU Constellation
    Lep - Lepus the Hare

    Size

    51 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern

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IAU Constellation Main Page

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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| And | Ant | Aps | Aql | Aqr | Ara | Ari | Aur | Boo | Cae | Cam | Cap | Car | Cas | Cen | Cep | Cet | Cha | Cir | CMa | CMi | Cnc | Col | Com | CrA | CrB | Crt | Cru | Crv | CVn | Cyg | Del | Dor | Dra | Equ | Eri | For | Gem | Gru | Her | Hor | Hya | Hyi | Ind | Lac | Leo | Lep | Lib | LMi | Lup | Lyn | Lyr | Men | Mic | Mon | Mus | Nor | Oct | Oph | Ori | Pav | Peg | Per | Phe | Pic | PsA | Psc | Pup | Pyx | Ret | Scl | Sco | Sct | Ser | Sex | Sge | Sgr | Tau | Tel | TrA | Tri | Tuc | UMa | UMi | Vel | Vir | Vol | Vul |

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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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