Former Constellations In The Night Sky

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Courtesy of NASA

Every culture sees the night differently and throughout the ages, astronomers have kept creating their own constellations. There are 88 modern recognizable constellations, but that hasn’t always been the case, In order to ensure that everyone is using the same constellations, the IAU standardized the constellations in the sky in 1930. This meant that many constellations ceased to exist, which we will look at a few notable ones below.

Argo Narvis

Argo Navis has the distinction of being the only constellation from Ptolemy’s original list of 48 that is no longer officially recognized. Remnants of Argo Narvis exist today in 3 separate constellations: Carina, Puppis, and Vela. These were introduced in 1763 and broke up Argo Narvis due to its massive size in the sky.

Quadrans Muralis

Originally created in 1795, Quadrans Muralis was placed in the northern skies between Boötes and Draco, both of which still remain. Although it no longer exists, a remnant of Quadrans Muralis remains in the sky with Quadrantids meteor shower bein named after this former constellation

Common Themes

Many astronomers created their own constellations in the sky with unique names. Many of these created relate to people, mythology, and plants or animals. This can be seen with names such as Apes (Bees) or rose.

However some of the more interesting and different names were like one off names. This was like Bust Of Colombus and Battery.

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