The stars and their position have served to guide man since time immemorial whatever the civilization. The most famous constellations, the ones that were best seen were the key to knowing where to go. Today we bring you those constellations to get to know them a little better.
Traditionally, the different stars in the sky have been joined with invisible lines creating figures that would always allow those stars to be located and forming the constellations. These figures that they represented were related to the culture of each civilization. To this day, this knowledge has still been transmitted to us and stopping to look at the clear sky looking for these figures and their stars is something that many find interesting and pleasant.
The most famous constellations
Officially 88 constellations are recognized. Most of them are related to Greek culture and among the stars that compose them there is one that stands out above the others and is the one that allows you to locate the constellation.
It is important to know that depending on the part of the world where we live, there will be some constellations that we will not be able to see. This divides them into two: southern and northern. The first are seen from the southern hemisphere and the second from the north. You can find out more about the southern constellations this link.
Next, we are going to talk about the seven most important or well-known constellations, but also about the zodiacal constellations, which are also one of the most famous.
Great Bear
Visible from the northern hemisphere. The lines that compose it give it car appearance, that is why it is also known by that name. This constellation was of vital importance since it is visible throughout the year and allows us to locate the Pole Star which always points north. To better understand its importance, you can read about the pole star.
According to greek mythology tells, Callisto was a goddess with whom Zeus fell in love and soon became pregnant. Afraid Zeus of his wife Hera's reprisal of him, he transformed Callisto into a bear. Some time later Arkas would be born, who would be handed over to the Pleiades to be raised and would end up being the king of Arcaida. Calisto, being separated from her son, would die of grief and Zeus decided to turn her into the Big Dipper. from heaven to thank you for your love. When Arkas died, he would be turned into the Little Dipper and together they would remain immortal in the firmament.
Little Bear
In a similar way to Ursa Major, but the car is represented upside down and is smallerhence the name. The brightest star in this constellation is the pole star. Between the two constellations we just mentioned, this was the key to navigating the Northern Hemisphere year-round. To learn more about the characteristics of the constellations, you can visit this link.
Orion
Also known as "the hunter", can be seen from both hemispheres, hence its great importance. If we join their stars they come to represent a man (hunter) with a weapon and shield.
Already in the Odyssey (approx. XNUMXth century BC) Homer mentioned this constellation. The name is given because in Greek mythology Orion is the son of the god Poseidon, he was the great hunter in Greek mythology and was known for ridding the world of beasts.
However, soon pride turned into arrogance and he began to be a conceited being that aroused the wrath of the goddess Hera, who ordered Scorpio to bite him on the heel. Orion killed him with his club and from that moment both are enemies and therefore occupy opposite positions in heaven. When Scorpio is seen, Orion hides.
Near this constellation are his dogs Hunting dogs: Canis Major and Canis Minor. You can learn more about them in our article on sky constellations.
A characteristic of this constellation is that it has a bright red star. Something that is because this star has already consumed most of the nuclear fuel that powers it. We are talking about Betelgeuse, a huge star and the tenth brightest.
However, Betelgeuse is not the brightest star in Orion, Rigel is, the seventh brightest star in the sky. This star can be seen at the hunter's foot, while Betelgeuse is at his shoulder.
Major Dog
Sirius is the brightest star in the entire firmament. This star was worshipped by the Egyptians since ancient times. We find Sirius as part of a dog-shaped constellation. Sirius's importance has endured over time, and you can learn more about it here. numbers of stars on our site.
Cassiopeia
It is another of the famous constellations in the sky and visible from both hemispheres. Of course, depending on the hemisphere in which we find ourselves, we will see it in the shape of a "W" or an "M". This constellation always marks the north, so whenever the Big Dipper is not visible, it was important to locate Cassiopeia to orient yourself.
You have two of the most luminous stars in the galaxy: Rho Cassiopeiae and V509 Cassiopeiae. They are two yellow hypergiant stars.
The best time to see Cassiopeia is in October. You can find out the zodiac constellations and its relationship with the month in this link.
In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia is the mother of Andromeda and wife of Cepheus, the king of Ethiopia. She was so beautiful that she was compared to the Nereids, daughters of the sea and known as the most beautiful creatures. This aroused the wrath of Poseidon, who sent a sea monster to devastate Ethiopia. Frightened, they consulted the oracle, who determined that the only way to appease the sea's wrath was to offer their daughter Andromeda as a sacrifice. However, the hero Perseus, returning from killing the Gorgon, was captivated by the young woman and used Medusa's head to defeat the monster. Eventually, the two young people were married.
But Poseidon was determined that Cassiopeia had a punishment. He sent Cassiopeia to heaven in a chair, so that half the time she was upside down.
Lyra
The name of the musical instrument that this constellation has is due to the fact that it is associated with Orpheus. Its shape is that of an asymmetric square whose tail shine vega, another of the stars that shines the brightest in the firmament.
Orpheus's lyre was an instrument made by Hermes from a tortoise shell as a gift to the god Apollo. It is said that it was the first lyre in history. It would pass into the hands of Orpheus because he was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope.
It was said that the music that Orpheus emitted so beautiful that everything could be enchanted and it was the only thing capable of silencing the voices of the Sirens who tempted the Argonauts. The lyre in particular would help him on his journey to the underworld to try to win back his wife Eurydice. When he failed, he would die of grief, and Zeus would place his lyre in the firmament.
northern cross
perhaps one of the most Difficult to locate due to their small size and low light. It is only visible in the northern hemisphere and is very close to the celestial equator. Its shape is like that of a semicircle.
It was used by sailors that sailed those waters, and they would be the ones to name it. It would begin to appear on star charts from the XNUMXth century. Know more importance of the constellations in navigation.
Both in form and in name it is associated with religion.
zodiac constellations
Each one represents one of the zodiac symbols. Therefore, we're talking about twelve constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. To learn more about this topic, you can visit the page about .
Nowadays, with the technology we have around us, it's very easy to locate all these constellations, as they are the most famous. How? With the help of the many constellation apps available, which help you locate them wherever you are in the world.
So when you see the sky clear, take a good look at it and locate all these constellations, who knows? Maybe one day you run out of battery on your mobile and you need it to orient yourself as it has been done throughout all of humanity.