The Rambling Astronomer

The constellation that contains the South Pole star, despite this privileged position, Octans is faint and unremarkable. There is no southern equivalent of Polaris, the North Pole star. The nearest star to the south celestial pole is Sigma Octantis with a magnitude of only 5.5 which lies about 1 degree from the pole.

A superfluous constellation invented in the 1750s by Nicolas Lacaille who populated the southern skies with several constellations representing scientific instruments, in this case the Surveyor’s Level.

Musca (Latin for "the fly") is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It was one of 12 constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and it first appeared on a celestial globe 35 cm (14 in) in diameter published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius.

A faint but fascinating constellation between Orion and Canis Minor. Jakob Bartsch, a German mathematician and son in law of Johannes Kepler brought it into general use on his star chart of 1624, although there are references to such a constellation in this position in earlier works by astronomers. Its location in the Milky Way ensures that it is well stocked with nebulae and clusters.

Another constellation introduced by Lacaille in the 1750s. This group represents another of the scientific instruments that Lacaille placed in the southern sky. Sadly as with so many of his new constellations Microscopium is little more than a filler between Sagittarius and Piscis Austrinus.

A constellation introduced by Lacaille in the 1750s. It is a southern hemisphere group and celebrates the Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa from where he observed the night sky. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud strays from the neighbouring constellation of Dorado the Goldfish, over the border into Mensa possibly reminding Lacaille of the cloud that frequently covers the rea...

A constellation dating back to ancient times Lyra represents a stringed instrument invented by Hermes and given by his half-brother Apollo to Orpheus. Although a small constellation it is a very prominent one. Its brightest star Vega is the 5th brightest star in the sky and it is one of the summer triangle star, the others being Altair in Aquila and Deneb in Cygnus.

A decidedly obscure constellation despite its size, it is the 28th largest of the 88 constellations. It was introduced by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687 to fill the gap between Ursa Major and Auriga. He named it Lynx because only the lynx eyed would be able to examine it.

Lupus is often overlooked by observers because it is so close to the constellation of Scorpius and Centaurus. Although the term Lupus refers to a wolf, the Greeks and Romans regarded this constellation as an unspecified wild animal held by Centaurus as an offering to the gods. It appear to be during the renaissance period that the connection with the Wolf seems to have become the common term to us...

A small faint constellation of the zodiac, the ancient Greeks knew it as the ‘claws of the scorpion’ an extension of the neighbouring constellation of the Scorpion. However the Romans made it a separate constellation at the time of Julius Caesar. Since then the scales of Libra have come to be regarded a the symbol of justice held aloft by the goddess of justice Astraea.

A constellation known to the ancient Greeks, it represents a hare cunningly located at the feet of Orion. The Hare was placed in the sky for Orion to Hunt.

The smaller Lion designated by Johannes Hevelius in 1687, located between Ursa Major and Leo. Leo Minor hardly merits a separate name as there are no bright stars. He designed 10 new constellation and we still use 7 of them today.

One of the few constellations that looks like the figure it is supposed to represent in this case a crouching lion. The Lion’s head is outlined by a sickle shape or backwards question mark at the bottom of which is the bright star Regulus. This is the lion that is slain by the hero Hercules as the first of his 12 labours.

Another inconspicuous constellation sandwiched between Cygnus and Andromeda, introduced to the sky by Johannes Hevelius in 1687.

Sometime around 500 a British monk was born he was known as Gildas Sapiens or Gildas the Wise, no one is quite sure where he was born some say the north of England which could have been part of the more northern area of Yorkshire. He was a very well educated person, however some of the things he would describe were believed to have been of a biblical fire and brimstone nature, making him appear as...

This constellation was proposed by the Dutch navigator /astronomer Peter Keyser in honour of the natives of America at the end of the 16th century. It was introduced to stellar maps by Johan Bayer in 1603.

It was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman and it first appeared on a 35-cm (14 in) diameter celestial globe published in late 1597 (or early 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius. The first depiction of this constellation in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.

Hydra is the largest constellation in the sky but is by no means easy to find on account of its faintness. Hydra winds its way from the head in the northern hemisphere on the borders of Cancer to the tip of its tail south of the celestial equator near Libra and Centaurus. Hydra has only one readily identified star alpha or Alphard which marks the heart of the snake. Hydra is usually identified wit...

A faint constellation in the southern sky invented by La Caille in 1752, it is a shame that a constellation trying to represent something so important as the clock should be represented by such a faint and obscure constellation.

Hercules represents a Greek mythological hero famous for his 12 labours, Hercules is the 5th largest constellation and because of the legends associated with Hercules it should be a very prominent constellation sadly its not.

Grus is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the Crane, a type of bird. It is one of twelve constellations conceived by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. It was depicted in Johann Bayer's star atlas Uranometria of 1603.

An ancient constellation, Gemini a winter group represents a pair of twins holding hands. They are Castor and Pollux members of the crew of the ship Argo with Jason in search of the golden fleece. Castor and Pollux were of mixed parentage although both sons of Leda, Castor’s father was king Tyndareus of Sparta while the father of Pollux was the god Zeus. When Castor died, because he was mortal, Po...

Near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire a line of stones were placed about 4,000 years ago, these are the Devil's Arrows.

Fornax is a constellation in the southern sky, Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. It was originally called Fornax Chemica the Chemical Furnace and was originally part of Eridanus the River.

Eridanus, the 6th largest constellation meanders from Taurus in the north to Hydrus in the south. In mythology, Eridanus was the river into which Phaethon fell after trying to drive the chariot of his father, the Sun god.