The Rambling Astronomer

A small but distinctive constellation between Andromeda and Aries, consisting of 3 main stars that form a thin delta or triangle shape. The Greeks referred to it as Deltoton.

Another constellation introduced by de La Caille in the 1750s in honour of the invention of the telescope which had such a revolutionary significance for astronomy. However like many of his constellations it is faint and indistinct.

One of the most ancient constellations. Taurus has been known to people’s throughout the world since the dawn of civilisation, for the bull’s attributes of strength and fertility mean that it has always held an honoured place in ceremony and religion.

A barren constellation south of Leo introduced in the late 17th century by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. It commemorates the instrument used for observing star positions. Although the instrument was very important this constellation certainly is not, there are no bright stars here and little of interest to naked eye observers.

An ancient constellation representing a serpent wrapped around the serpent bearer, Ophiuchus. In fact Serpens has come off much worse with Ophiuchus because the constellation is split into two halves, Serpent Caput the Head, and Serpens Cauda the tail. However although a large constellation it is faint with no bright stars.

A faint constellation between Aquila and Serpens, introduced in the 1680s by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius under the title Scutum Sobieski. This was to honour King John Sobieski of Poland who defeated the Ottoman army at the battle of Vienna in 1683. Today we just call it it Scutum.

One of the faint and half forgotten constellations introduced in the 1750s by Lacaille to fill in the southern celestial hemisphere. Originally called Apparatus Sculptoris. This constellation represents a sculptor’s workshop, why he put this in the sky is unknown. Its stars are of little interest.

A resplendent constellation lying in a rich area of the Milky Way, and packed with exciting objects for users of binoculars and small telescopes. In mythology, Scorpius was the scorpion whose sting killed Orion. And in the sky Orion still flees from the scorpion, for Orion sets below the horizon as the scorpion rises.

An ancient constellation depicting a centaur, half man, half beast with a raised bow and arrow. Sagittarius has been visualised this way since at least ancient Greek times. It probably originated with the Sumerian civilization around the river Euphrates who saw him as Nergal, their archer god of war.

Despite its small size Sagitta is the 3rd smallest constellation in the sky this arrow shaped constellation as known to the ancient Greeks. In the sky the arrow seems to be flying between Cygnus and Aquila. One legend says the arrow was shot by Hercules. Sagitta lies in a very river part of the galaxy.

The Romans built their Watling Street, but is it possible that the name used for this Roman road was based on an earlier Celtic myth based on the path of the Waetlings the sons of King Waetla?

A small and very inconspicuous constellation introduced in the 1750s by Lacaille to commemorate the instrument known as the reticule which he used for measuring star positions on his surveys of the southern skies. The best example of a reticule is if you look through a telescope and you see lines that help you target the star you are looking for.

The smallest and least impressive of the four parts into which the constellation Argo Navis the ship was divided into in the 1750s by Lacaille. The other sections Carina the keel , Puppis the poop and Vela the sails.

This is the largest of the four sections into which the ancient constellation of Argo Navis, the ship of the Argonauts, the constellation was dismembered in the 1750s by the French astronomer Nicolas Lacaille. The other sections are Carina the Keel, Pyxis the compass and Vela the sails.

This constellation has been known since ancient times and is often represented as a fish drinking the flow of water from the urn of the neighbouring Aquarius the water bearer. The fish has been identified with the Babylonian fish god Oannes and is said to be the parent of the zodiacal fish Pisces.

An ancient constellation representing a pair of fishes tied by their tails, the knot being marked by the star alpha. One legend identifies the constellations with Venus and her son Cupid, who turned themselves into fishes and swam away from the attack of the monster Typhon.

Phoenix was the largest of the 12 constellation described by Petrus Plancius in 1597-98 its an inconspicuous constellation lying near the southern end of Eridanus the River representing the mythological bird that was regularly reborn from its own ashes. It was introduced in 1603 by Johann Bayer in an area known by the Arabs as the boat moored on the shores of the river.

Perseus was the hero of Greek mythology who rescued Andromeda who was chained to a rock waiting to be eaten by the Kraken sea monster. Previously he had killed the medusa. The Gorgons eye is marked by Algol. Perseus lies in a rich part of the milky way and is worth sweeping with binoculars.

The winged horse of Greek mythology, born from the blood of Medusa after she was slain by Perseus, who can be found nearby in the sky. The most famous feature is the great square outlined by 4 stars. Strangely and for some unknown reason the top left hand star of the square which used to be known as delta Pegasi has now been transferred to Andromeda where it has become alpha Andromedae.

‘Twas the night before Christmas… and the festive season of 1965 would be like no other when, above the small Leicestershire village of Barwell, a very large turkey size meteorite was about to crash from the sky. This is the amazing story of the Barwell Meteorite.

Introduced by Johann Bayer in 1603 it is one of a series of celestial birds in this region of the sky including Apus, Grus, Phoenix and Tucana. In mythology the peacock was sacred to Juno, goddess of the heavens. According to legend Juno sent a creature with a 100 eyes called Argus to watch over a white heifer; Juno guessed that this heifer was the form into which her husband Jupiter had turned on...

This is the story of how Venus changes from the goddess of love to the vision of hell when 2 spacecraft one American the other Russian in 2 Decembers 8 years apart changed our views of our nearest planetary neighbour.

Without doubt the brightest and grandest constellation in the sky, crammed with objects of interest for all sizes on instruments. Orion’s impressiveness stems from the fact that it is an area of star formation in a nearby arm of the galaxy, centred on the famous Orion Nebula. In one story the boastful Orion was stung to death by a scorpion and is now placed in the sky so he sets as the scorpion ri...

The Before Yule Moon is the full moon which occurs before the feast of Yule on December 21st. This year that Full Moon falls on December 19th.

An ancient constellation, depicting a man encolied by a serpent (constellation of Serpens). He is identified as a mythological healer and forerunner of Hippocrates . He served as a ship’s doctor aboard the Argo.