The Rambling Astronomer

The constellation that contains Sirius the brightest star in the night sky.

Just a piece of coincidence but two bright fireballs were seen over Manchester on the 14th September, one in 1875 the other in 1901.

Canes Venatici represents the dogs Asterion and Chara, held on a leash by Bootis as they chase the Big Bear around the pole.

Another faint zodiac constellation which is only saved from obscurity because it contains the Beehive star cluster.

A large and barren northern circumpolar constellation as seen from Britain.

An obscure and irrelevant constellation in the southern hemisphere introduced in the 1750s by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille.

A large constellation found in the spring which contains the bright orange star Arcturus. The rest of the constellation formed of fainter stars.

The Crab Nebula indicates the remains of a supernova, a star that destroys itself in a massive explosion. This particular event happened in the year 1054, it was widely reported by astronomers in China, but there are no reports from the west. This podcast looks at why there were no reports from Europe.

A large and prominent winter constellation which contains one of the brightest stars in the sky, Auriga which can be found in the over head point during winter evenings.

In mythology Aries was the golden fleece sought b y Jason and the Argonauts. Despite its faintness Aries was important because 2,000 years ago it contained the point where the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north, the vernal equinox or First Point of Aries

A small constellation seen by the Greeks as the altar on which Centaurus the Centaur was about to sacrifice Lupus the Wolf.

Aquila, contains the star Altair the southern most star that forms the summer triangle.

One of the moist ancient constellations, It is usually seen as a man pouring water from a jug.

Another of the small faint constellations found in the southern hemisphere. Apus can be found near the south pole star.

A faint obscure constellation introduced by Nicolas De Lacaille in the 1750s to honour the invention of the Air Pump.

In mythology Andromeda is the princess rescued from the Kraken by Perseus. The constellation which can be seen in the autumn contains the mot distant you can see with your eye without using binoculars or telescopes. This is the Andromeda Galaxy

Here is a simple introduction to pieces of information and terms that will be met frequently as I look at the 88 different constellations in the night sky

Halley's comet is probably the best known of all comets.

Comet Hale Bopp was seen by so many people over such a ling time. At its brightest it was seen during the whole night from Europe.

In 1910 the world was awaiting the return of Halley's Comet but suddenly a new comet that would be brighter the Halley's Comet burst onto the scene and stole the show.

The great comet of 1882 was estimated to be as bright as -17 the brightest of modern times.

Comet Tebbutt, discovered by an Australian amateur astronomer, it was so bright that according to some reports it cast shadows.

No comet seems to have been depicted more frequently in art. Donati's comet of 1858 unleashed a wave of comet romanticism. No more beautiful comet appeared in the sky in the 19th century.

The great comet of 1843 was so bright that it was seen in the day time by people around the world.

Napoleon's rule over Europe reached its peak when the great comet of 1811 appeared in the sky. It would be visible to the naked eye for nine months.