There’s a lot of different things to understand about the night sky. With thousands of stars up there, it only makes sense that throughout history, people have looked up there and seen different images in their mind. At it’s most basic, a constellation is simply a concept of the human minds imagination. But is this … Read more
One of the smallest constellations up there in our night sky, Reticulum is known for being one of the constellations discovered by astronomer Nicolas Lacaille during his time spent in South Africa. This constellation is best seen in the Southern hemisphere due to it’s declination. Let’s look at some facts about Reticulum. Bordered By; Horologium, … Read more
Sagitta is one of the smallest constellations in our night sky, and is also quite dim too. However, although it is small, it is very distinctive and a true representation of the object it’s meant to resemble – the arrow. It is another of the constellations founded by Ptolemy in the 2nd Century. Let’s learn … Read more
Another one of the constellations discovered by Frenchman Nicolas Lacaille, Sculptor is one of the Southern constellations worth looking for if you’re in the Southern hemisphere. It has many stars in it, but they are all quite faint, and even the brightest of these stars isn’t easily visible without a telescope. Let’s look at some … Read more
If you’re looking at the Zodiac constellations, then one of the most visible in our night sky is Scorpius. Although it’s not visible throughout the entire year, when it is visible it is easily seen due to it’s bright stars. It is surrounded by many other constellations, and it’s a middle sized constellation. Let’s look … Read more
If you’re learning about constellations, then one that you’ve likely already heard of is Sagittarius. This archer constellation has many different stars in it, which make it one of the larger of the 88 constellations. Lets look at some facts about Sagittarius. Bordered By; Aquila, Scutum, Serpens Cauda, Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Corona Australis, Telescopium, Indus, Microscopium, … Read more
Orion is a fantastic place to start when you’re looking into the night sky, as it is a larger constellation that contains some of the brightest stars in our night sky. So, let’s have a look at some more details about this constellation. Bordered By; Lepus, Monoceros, Taurus Eridanus, Gemini. Named after; The Hunter Declination; … Read more
When you get started with your astronomy career, one of the first constellations that we learn about is Gemini. It is easily identified, and it closely resembles what it’s meant to – two twin brothers in the night sky. For those interested in astrology, this constellation of course is part of the Zodiac family too. … Read more
When we’re talking about constellations in the night sky, the conversation soon turns to the Great Bear and it’s smaller companion the Little Bear, better known as Ursa Minor. Now, Ursa Minor has had many different nicknames throughout it’s lifetime, as it’s shape can be interpreted in many different ways. Whilst some refer to it … Read more
If you’re just starting to learn about the planets, then one of the most interesting to learn about is definitely Mercury. It is the smallest of the 8 planets that orbit around the Sun in our great solar system. However, there are many questions that people have about Mercury, with people wondering whether it is … Read more
Scutum is one of the faintest constellations, so it’s not easy to get a good view of it. It is also relatively small too, which makes it even more difficult to see it in the night sky. However, it is an interesting one made up of many different stars. Let’s take a look at Scutum … Read more
The Tucana constellation is one of the best to see if you’re located in the Southern hemisphere. It’s part of a group of constellations known as the “Southern birds”, along with Pavo, Phoenix and Grus. Along with several stars in the constellation, we can also see the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is another galaxy. Let’s … Read more
Serpens is one of the larger constellations, and it’s definitely one of the most interesting too. It is the only constellation that is essentially split into two parts; Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda. Let’s take a look at some of the facts about Serpens, and what the two parts of this constellation mean. Bordered By; … Read more
Triangulum Australe is a constellation best seen by those in the Southern hemisphere. It’s quite a small constellation, surrounded by four others; Ara on the East, Circinicus on the West, Apa to it’s South and Norma just above it. It is generally quite easy to identify, as it’s brightest star, Alpha Trianguli Australis, is one … Read more
Triangulum, as you’d probably expect, takes it’s name from the Latin for Triangle. It contains several galaxies, with the brightest being the Triangulum galaxy. Although we don’t have any writings of Triangulum until Ptolemy in the 2nd Century, it was likely that it was noticed far further back than this, and Ptolemy’s writings indicated that … Read more
The Vulpecula constellation makes up one of the 19 constellations that belong to the Hercules family. If you’re looking to start with astronomy, it can be a good place to start because it has the Dumbbell Nebula in it, which can be seen very easily with a telescope. It also contains the Coathanger Cluster, which … Read more
The Volans Constellation is known as being one of the smaller constellations, but this doesn’t mean that the flying fish should be ignored. It borders some other awesome constellations, including Dorado the Dolphin, which makes a great match with the flying fish. Lets look at some facts about Volans. Bordered By; Carina, Pictor, Dorado, Mensa, … Read more
The Virgo constellation is one of the most well known groups of stars due to it’s Zodiac family. It’s one of the largest constellations overall, and it’s a great place for beginners to start because it’s very easy to identify. It’s brightest star, Spica, is one of the brightest in the sky, so it’s quite … Read more
For those looking to learn about the Vela constellation, then you’re definitely in the right place. The famous Sail constellation is bordered by several other constellations, and it actually was only part of a constellation with two others until the 18th Century. lets look at some details about Vela. Bordered By; Antlia, Pyxis, Puppis, Carina, … Read more
The Telescopium constellation is one of the few constellations which was named to represent scientific tools and instruments – it’s pretty easy to see where it got it’s named from! Lets have a look at some of the most interesting things about the Telescopium minor constellation. Bordered By; Ara, Corona Australia, Indus, Microscopium, Pavo, Sagittarius … Read more
