When the names of the constellations were first invented

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

If you look at the night sky, you can distinguish groups that form bright stars. For many centuries, people, looking at the sky, gave them names. Constellations, namely this name was given to all groups of stars, there are approximately 88. Many of them got their names back in ancient Greece. In addition, some constellations were named by Arab and Chinese scientists.

Most likely, the names of the constellations are necessary in order to be able to locate a star in the sky. Probably, many had the feeling that the stars are located very close to each other. But it is not so. In fact, they are separated from each other simply by huge distances. Scientists from all over the world, after long disputes, came to a single solution to the problem of determining the boundaries that separate all the constellations. Names, in their opinion, should be written in Latin. In the old days, astronomers chose the names of animals as names for stars. For example, there are constellations called "Leo", "Swan", etc. In addition, some of the names of the constellations appeared thanks to mythological heroes. For example,Perseus and Andromeda. Not so long ago, some groups of stars were given the names "Octant" and "Hours".

At different times of the year, some constellations begin to shine brighter, while others become completely invisible. In addition, some groups of stars can only be seen in certain places in the world. For example, the largest number of constellations can be seen by the population of the northern hemisphere.

One of the brightest clusters is considered to be Orion or, as some call it, the Hunter. In this group, you can see the three brightest stars, which are located in one row, forming the belt of Orion. Near it you can see several more groups of stars. We are talking about the constellations of Taurus and Gemini. In addition, on summer evenings there is an opportunity to see the Southern Cross and Centaurus.

Due to the fact that during the day it is impossible to see the stars because of the bright sunlight, it is impossible to look at the movement of the Sun. And it goes through some constellations. During the year, the Sun moves along the inner belt of groups of stars. The common name for the constellations of the inner belt is the zodiac. In ancient Greece, it was customary to divide it into twelve specific components, which were of equal size. Subsequently, they began to be called signs of the zodiac.

Any such sign corresponds to a certain constellation. This is so, despite the fact that they are not at all equal in size to each other. With the help of such signs, astrologers from all over the world are trying to determine the fate and character of a particular person. And some in itachieve some success. Astrological forecasts were and are widely popular in any country.

Although the names of the constellations began to appear a long time ago, but even now not all groups of stars have been fully studied and found. It remains only to wish success to astronomers in the search for new celestial bodies and, accordingly, it is worth waiting for the emergence of new knowledge that has not left people indifferent for many hundreds of years.