pA bright constellation,honouring the daughter of Cassiopeia. Her mother's boasting aboutAndromeda's beauty angered Neptune,who ordered Andromeda's sacrifice to a sea- monster. However,the hero Perseus rescued and married Andromeda. lThis remarkably barren group has no stars as bright as magitude 4.0 and only one deep-sky object of any note. bOriginally known as Avis Indica. Not very conspicuous/but easy enough to find/close the the south pole. pZodiacal constellation/but rather ill-defined and obscure despite itslarge size. Identified with Ganymede/the cup- bearer of the gods/but not associated with anyclear-cut legends. pA prominent group/in the Milky Way. In mythology/it representsthe eagle sent by Jupiter to carry the shepherd-boy Ganymede to Olympus/on his promotion to chief cup-bearer of the gods. pA fairly distinctive group/in the southern Milky Way/close to the brilliant twins Alpha and Beta Centauri. pA Zodiacal group/but rather inconspicuous. It represents a fabled flying ram with a golden fleece/involved in the rescue of the children Phryxus and Helle. After the ram's death/its fleece was hung in a sacred grove to be removed by Jason.pA brilliant northern group/dominated by Capella. Identified with the disabled demigod Erechthonius/ son of Vulcan/who became King of Athens and invented the four- horse chariot. Auriga is in the Milky Way and hence rich. pAn important group/ dominated by Arcturus. According to one legendBoÖtes was the son of Callisto and a herdsmanwho invented the ox- plough,for which Jupiter placed him in the sky. lAs constellations go/ this group is frankly a waste of time. hA very barren northern group. It was supposed to represent the camel which carried Rebecca to Isaac/but the Latin name was corrupted and it is now a giraffe! pAn obscure Zodiacal group/remeniscent of a ghostly Orion. When Hercules was battling with the Hydra/Juno sent a sea-crab to help it. Hercules duly trod on the crab and killed it/but Juno was able to get it placed in the sky after all! hIdentified with the dogs Asterion and Chara/owned by BoÖtes. This region was called 'The Retreat of the Howling Dogs' by the early Arabs/and this might be where Heveliusgot the idea. pA brilliant group/ famous for Sirius/ visually the brightest star in the sky. Mythologically/the senior of Orion's two dogs/fittingly close to its master in the sky. pThe junior of Orion's two dogs/and less impressive than its companion. pA rather faint group in the Zodiac. It has been identified with the pastoral demigod Pan/but because of its proximity to 'watery' groups like Aquarius and Pisces/it is often depicted as a half-fishand half-goat. aThe keel of the wreckedeponymous ship/famous for the expedition of Jason and his Argonautsto capture the golden fleece of the fabulous ram(Aries). Carina is in a very rich region of the southern Milky Way. pThe vain queen of the Andromeda myth/whose boasting got her into trouble. Cassiopeia is a rich Milky Way group with a distinctive 'W' shape/supposedly delineating the Queen's chair. pA splendid southern group with two 1st. magnitude stars/with its southern part in the rich Milky Way. Represents the wise Centaur/Chiron/who was half-man and half-horseand tutor to Hercules and Jason of Argonaut fame. pThe husband of Queen Cassiopeia/but hardly as conspicuous as his wife. The southern part of the group is in the Milky Way and is fairly rich/however. pSometimes identified with the sea-monster of the Andromeda myth/ at others a harmless whale. Cetus is a very large but rather dim group/ whose fame rests on the variable star Mira. bUndistinguished little group with no star as bright as magnitude 4. lLike many Lacaille groups/hardly worthy of a separate identity. rRepresents the dove Noah released from the Ark/but it is not a conspicuous group. tLegend has it that the Egyptian queen Berenicepromised to cut her lovely hair and place it in Venus' temple if her husband returned safely from the wars. She kept her promise/ and Jupiter moved the hair to the sky. Coma is a large dim cluster.pEasy to recognise/ but rather obscure and has no stars as bright as 4.0 mag. pSmall/but distinctive/ and really does look like a 'crown'. It represents a crown given by the wine-god Bacchus to Ariadne/ daughter of King Minos of Crete. pSmall but conspicuous. Represents a crow sent by Apollo to spy on Coronis/the mother of the doctor Aesculapius when he fell in love with her! Apparently itwas a scathing report/ but Jupiter rewarded the bird with a place in the sky! pSmall and rather faint group close to Corvus. It has been identified with Bacchus' goblet. Crater has only one star above mag. 4.0. rThe smallest of all constellations/and was formerly a part of Centaurus. It is very rich and has more bright stars for its area than any other group. Strictly a kite rather than a cross/its long axis points to the S.Pole. pSplendid group in the richest part of the northern Milky Way. One legend associates it with Jupiter in disguise/while paying an unofficial visit to Leda,the wife of theSpartan king Tyndarus! pAn attractively compact little group. It honours a dolphin which carried Arion/ the great singer/to safety after he had been spitefully thrown overboard off the ship in which he carried home his singing trophies! bRather dim/but notable for containing most of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Actually/part ofthe Cloud extends into the constellation Mensa(The Table Mountain)/ which is a Lacaille group so faint that it has no justification for a separate chart. pA straggling northern group/identified with the dragon who guarded the golden apple-tree in the Hesperides' garden/and slain by Hercules. Another storyquotes it as the dragonslain by Cadmus and whose teeth/when sown/ produced an army. pSo insignificant that it comes as a surprise that Ptolemy listed it. pA very long and windinggroup/but mostly faint.Represents the Italian river now known as the Po. The reckless youth Phaethon/who managed tocon the Sun-god into joyriding in his Sun- chariot/was plunged in this river by Jupiter to save the world. lAn obscure group with only one star brighter than mag. 4.0. pA grand Zodiacal group/in the Milky Way. Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of the King of Sparta/and onlyPollux was immortal. Sowhen Castor died/Polluxpleaded to share his immortality with his brother/and Jupiter putthem both in the sky. bThe most distinctive of the Bayer quartet popularly known as the 'Southern Birds'. pOddly obscure as a constellation/Hercules was one of the most famous heroes in mythology. His tasks/ The Labours of Herculesfeature in several other constellations. lClose to Eridanus/and unworthy of a separate identity. Its chief star is only of mag. 3.8. pLargest constellation in the sky/extending across over a quarter of the sky/but it is decidedly barren. In mythology/it was a hundred-headed monster which lived in the Lernean marshes and was killed in one of Hercules' labours. bA far southern group with three fairly bright stars/but otherwise unremarkable. bNot very conspicuous/ but it has two stars above magnitude 4. hSmall and faint group near Cepheus. It is said that Hevelius so christened it because only a lizard could crawl through such a narrow gap in the sky! pA large and important Zodiacal constellation with a distinctive shape. Mythologically/ Leo represents the hugelion which roamed the Nemæan forests and was summarily slain by Hercules in one of his labours. hNamed after the greaterconstellation to the south. It is/however/ entirely unremarkable/ with its brightest star only of 3.8 mag. pA small but fairly distinctive group near Orion. It seems to have been placed there as quarry for the Hunter. pA Zodiacal group/but decidedly obscure. Some legends identify it to commemorate Mochis/the inventor of weights and measures. It was also once part of Scorpius as Chelae Scorpii/the Scorpion's Claws. pA bright but amorphous group near Centaurus/inthe Milky Way. Some legends associate it with the tyrannical King Lycaon of Arcadia/whom Jupiter turned into a wolf. hSaid to have been so named because it took the eyesight of a lynx to see anything in thisdecidedly barren regionto the west of Ursa Major.Lynx has only onestar above mag.4. pA small but important northern group/graced by the brilliant blue star Vega. Formerly depicted as a bird/'The Swooping Vulture'/it later was renamed and associated with the lyre of the musician Orpheus. lLacaille need not have bothered. The brightest star is only mag. 4.7. hRepresents the fabled 'horned horse'/but has no legends attached to it. Although obscure tothe naked eye/it is crossed by the Milky Way and rich in faint stars bA fairly conspicuous little group near Crux.Seems to have changed its name from Bayer's original designation- Apis/the Bee. lAn small and obscure group near Alpha Centauri/in the Milky Way,and formerly known as Quadra Euclidis or Euclid's Quadrant. No stars above mag.4. lOctans is the south polar constellation/ but thoroughly barren otherwise. Its chief star is of 3.7 mag. and Sigma/the pole staris a miserable 5.5 mag.object. pA large but rather faint and complicated group. Commemorates the first physician/ Aesculaupius/who was so skilled in restoringthe dying to life that Jupiter reluctantly killed him/because of Pluto's alarm about Underworld depopulationpThe most magnificent constellation of all. Orion was a mighty hunter whose prowess upset Juno/who sent a scorpion to fatally sting him in the foot. Orion and the scorpion are now on opposite sides of the sky to avoid further trouble! bOne of the 'Southern Birds'. pImportant constellationand one of the most famous in mythology. Pegasus was a flying horse whose riders included Perseus on his rescue of Andromedaand Bellerophon in his conquest of the hideousdragon-like Chimaera. pA fine constellation in the Milky Way/and named after the hero ofthe Andromeda story. Perseus' other mission involved the execution of Medusa/the Gorgon/ who had the ability to turn any onlooker to stone by her snake- infested hair. bOne of the 'Southern Birds'. lAn inconspicuous littlegroup near Canopus. Formerly called Equuleus Pictoris. pLarge but dim Zodiacal constellation. Sometimes associated with Venus and Cupid who/according to one legend/transformed themselves into fishes to escape from the malevolent giant/ Typhon. pFomalhaut is the only bright star in this group. The 'wet' natureof many constellations in this region (Pisces/Aquarius etc) probably gave rise to the Fish figure. aThe poop of the wreckedship. Puppis lies in the Milky Way and the area is decidedly rich. lUnremarkable group withonly two stars above mag.4. lSometimes attributed to Habrecht/a German astronomer. It looks rather like a southern version of the group Delphinus. pOne of the smallest of all constellations/ but easy to identify because of its arrow- like shape. Sometimes identified with Cupid's bow. pA bright constellation in the most glorious part of the Milky Way. Like Centaurus/often identified with Chiron/the chief centaur. It is also said Chiron invented Sagittarius asa navigational aid to the Argonautic expedition. pMagnificent Zodiacal group/in the Milky Way/which really looks likea scorpion. Identified with the scorpion whichstung Orion to death for his boasting/but tactfully now placed opposite Orion in the sky to avoid further unpleasantness! lBarren group/with no stars above magnitude 4. Originally named Apparatus Sculptoris. hA small constellation near Aquila. Only one star above magnitude 4/ but it lies in a rich part of the Milky Way. pSprawling and curious group because of its division into two parts-Caput(head) and Cauda (tail). Represents the serpent with which Ophiuchus is strugglingand seems to have had the worst of it! hThere is nothing to justify its identity/ since it is extremely barren and obscure. Its chief star is only of 4.5 mag. pSplendid Zodiacal groupfamous for the Pleiadesand Hyades clusters. Mythologically/Taurus represents Jupiter/who transformed himself into a white bull to abduct Europa/the Princess of Crete/ by suggesting she rode on his back! lUnlike the instrument it purports to signify/this minor group is of little significance to the astronomer/with only one star above 4thmagnitude. pSmall but fairly conspicuous/and its chief stars really do form a triangle! bLarger and brighter than its northern namesake/this group is also triangular in shape. It is also partly in the Milky Way. bThe faintest of the 'Southern Birds'/but graced by the globular 47 Tucanæ and the presence of most of theSmall Magellanic Cloud/one of the Galaxy's satellites/at 185/000 light-years' distance. pThe most famous of all northern groups/of which the Plough is only a part. Represents a nymph/ Callisto/whose beauty led Juno to one of her infamous fits of rage. Juno decided to ill- naturedly transform Callisto into a bear! pThe northern polar constellation/shaped not unlike Ursa Major/ but fainter. Identifiedwith Callisto's son/ Arcas,who saw a bear while hunting/without recognising it as his mother/Callisto.Jupiterthus transformed him into a bear as well! aThe sails of the eponymous Ship. Delta and Kappa/ together with Epsilon and Iota Carinæ/form a group nicknamed the False Cross because of its vague resemblance to the smaller and brighter Crux. pVery large Zodiacal constellation. Said to represent Astræa/the goddess of justice and daughter of Jupiter andThemis. Virgo is important for containing many faint and distant galaxies/ as is Coma Berenices to the north of it. bSmall constellation/ intruding into Carina and originally called Piscis Volans. hSmall and very faint/ in the Milky Way. Originally called Vulpecula et Anser/ the Fox and Goose/but nowadays the goose has disppeared(perhaps the fox had eaten it!).
