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December

  • 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.

  • Ari - Aries the Ram

    IAU Constellation
    Ari - Aries the Ram

    Size

    39 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Zodiac
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    A small zodiac constellation with only two easily visible stars.

  • Aur - Auriga the Charioteer

    IAU Constellation
    Aur - Auriga the Charioteer

    Size

    21 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    Auriga lies in the Milky Way, with many binocular and telescopic objects, between Gemini, Perseus and Taurus, at the top of the Winter Hexagon. Auriga looks like a pentagon, if one includes Alnath, which is also the tip of one of Taurus the Bull’s horns (Alnath was once Gamma-Aurigae, but is now officially Beta-Tauri).

  • 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.

  • Cam - Camelopardalis the Giraffe

    IAU Constellation
    Cam - Camelopardalis the Giraffe

    Size

    18 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Circumpolar (northern)
    Northern

    Intro and Visual description

    A huge and dim constellation located between Perseus and Ursa Major.

  • Cet - Cetus the Sea Monster or Whale

    IAU Constellation
    Cet - Cetus the Sea Monster or Whale

    Size

    4 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    South of Aries and Pisces, one of the largest constellations. Trace to the second-magnitude star Beta-Ceti (Diphda, near the flukes) by following a line southward from Alpheratz (the corner of Pegasus and Andromeda) through gamma-Pegasi, across Pisces and Cetus.

  • 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.

  • Eri - Eridanus the River

    IAU Constellation
    Eri - Eridanus the River

    Size

    6 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern
    Equatorial

    Intro and Visual description

    The River Eridanus flows northward (like the Nile) from the bright star Achernar (Arabic for "End of the River") to Kursa (beta-Eridani) near Rigel in Orion. Eridanus is the longest (not largest) constellation, spanning over 50 degrees of declination, and its many faint stars glitter like reflecting light off the surface of its waves.

  • For - Fornax the Furnace

    IAU Constellation
    For - Fornax the Furnace

    Size

    41 of 88
    Astronomical Regions
    Southern

    Intro and Visual description

    A small constellation of faint stars nestled within a bend of the river (Eridanus), low in the south.

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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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