Articles by Mike R

Aquila

Aquila

Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator, with a Latin name meaning ‘Eagle’. Aquila represents the bird that carried Zeus/Jupiter’s thunderbolts in Greek-Roman mythology. Its brightest star, Altair, is one vertex of the Summer…


Pictor

Pictor

Pictor is a constellation located in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, which can be found between the star Canopus and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The name of the constellation means Painter in Latin and is an abbreviation of the older name of the…


Chamaeleon

Chamaeleon

Chamaeleon is a small constellation in the southern sky, and is is named after the chameleon. First created in the 16th century, chamaeleon was one of many constellations created by European explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries out…


Dorado

Dorado

Located on the South Ecliptic pole in the Southern Hemisphere, the constellation Dorado is often depicted as a swordfish or a dolphinfish. Created in the late 16th century, Dorado is not visible in the Pacific…


Volans

Volans

Volans is a constellation in the southern sky that is not visible from the Pacific Northwest. The name Volans is a shortened form of the origin anew of Piscis Volans. Volans was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from…