Stargazing 101: The Ultimate Comprehensive Guide to the Stars and Constellations
For thousands of years, humans have looked up at the night sky and seen more than just random pinpricks of light. Our ancestors traced shapes in the darkness, spinning epic mythologies, mapping out the changing seasons, and carving out navigational pathways across trackless oceans.
Today, astronomy has evolved from ancient lore into a precise science, but the maps we use remain deeply rooted in history. Whether you are a beginner taking your first steps into backyard astronomy or a seasoned observer looking for a deep-sky reference manual, this complete, all-inclusive guide covers everything you need to know about the stars, the mechanics of the night sky, and the 88 official constellations.
Part 1: The Anatomy of the Night Sky
Before heading out into the dark with a telescope or binoculars, it is essential to understand the coordinate system and mechanics that govern the celestial sphere. The sky appears to us as a giant, hollow dome enclosing the Earth, and astronomers use specific terms to map this canvas.
[ Zenith (Directly Overhead) ]
|
|
H O R I Z O N ----------------+---------------- H O R I Z O N
/ \
/ \
/ \
[ Celestial Equator ] <-- --> [ Meridian (North-South Line) ]
The Celestial Sphere and Celestial Equator
Imagine the Earth suspended inside a much larger, imaginary sphere. If you project Earth’s equator out into space, you get the Celestial Equator. This imaginary line divides the night sky into the Northern Celestial Hemisphere and the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Stars located near the celestial equator can often be seen from both hemispheres, while stars near the celestial poles are strictly regional.
Zenith, Horizon, and the Meridian
- The Horizon: The line where the sky meets the Earth. Your local horizon dictates exactly how much of the sky you can see at any given moment. Light pollution and physical obstructions like trees or buildings alter your practical horizon.
- The Zenith: The point in the sky directly above your head, pointing at a 90-degree angle from the horizon. Objects at the zenith suffer from the least amount of atmospheric distortion, making this the ideal target zone for telescopes.
- The Meridian: An imaginary line running from due North on the horizon, straight through the zenith, down to due South on the horizon. When a star or planet crosses this line, it reaches its highest point in the sky for that night, an event called "culmination."
Apparent Magnitude: Measuring Star Brightness
Not all stars burn with the same intensity. Astronomers use a scale called Apparent Magnitude to describe how bright an object looks from Earth.
- This scale works backward: the lower the number, the brighter the star.
- A magnitude 1.0 star is bright, a magnitude 6.0 star is the absolute limit of what human eyes can see under a perfectly dark sky, and negative numbers (like -1.46 for Sirius) represent the brightest celestial powerhouses.
- Each step on the magnitude scale represents a brightness change of roughly 2.5 times. Therefore, a magnitude 1 star is about 100 times brighter than a magnitude 6 star.
Part 2: Constellations vs. Asterisms
A common misconception among beginner stargazers is confusing a constellation with an asterism. While they look similar to the naked eye, they serve entirely different functions in modern astronomy.
The Official Definition of a Constellation
In ancient times, a constellation was simply a recognized pattern of stars. However, in 1922 and 1930, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) completely revolutionized this concept. They divided the entire sky into 88 official regions with definitive, jagged boundaries, much like states or countries on a world map.
A modern constellation is not just the connect-the-dots drawing; it is the entire geographic territory inside those boundaries. Every single star, nebula, galaxy, and black hole located within that specific block of space belongs to that constellation, whether it forms part of the visual stick-figure drawing or not. Because of this system, every point in the night sky belongs to exactly one constellation, leaving no gaps on the celestial map.
Understanding Asterisms
An asterism is an informal, easily recognizable pattern of stars that has not been designated as an official IAU constellation. Asterisms are often popular nicknames used by amateur astronomers to hop around the sky quickly.
- Intra-constellation asterisms: Patterns found entirely within a single constellation. The Big Dipper is an asterism made up of the seven brightest stars within the larger constellation Ursa Major. The Teapot is an asterism forming the core of Sagittarius.
- Cross-constellation asterisms: Patterns that use bright stars from entirely different constellations. The Summer Triangle is a massive trio of stars (Vega, Deneb, and Altair) that belong to three distinct constellations (Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila).
Part 3: The 15 Essential Anchor Constellations
If you try to memorize all 88 constellations at once, you will quickly become overwhelmed. Instead, experienced stargazers master a handful of "anchor constellations." These are large, bright, unmistakable patterns that serve as cosmic signposts. Once you locate an anchor, you can use a technique called star-hopping to find smaller, fainter surrounding constellations.
1. Ursa Major (The Great Bear)
⭐ (Dubhe)
/ \
⭐---⭐ ⭐ (Merak)
| |
⭐---⭐
(Big Dipper Asterism)
- Hemisphere: Northern (Circumpolar)
- Primary Asterism: The Big Dipper
- Key Stars: Alioth, Dubhe, Merak, Mizar
- Navigational Use: Finding the North Star and Arcturus
Ursa Major is arguably the most famous constellation in the northern sky. While the entire constellation covers a massive area representing a bear, its most visible feature is the seven-star Big Dipper asterism.
To use Ursa Major as a navigation tool, look at the outer two stars of the dipper's bowl: Merak and Dubhe. Draw an imaginary line straight through these two "Pointer Stars" and extend it out about five times the distance between them. This line points directly to Polaris, the North Star. Furthermore, if you follow the natural curve or "arc" of the Big Dipper’s handle outward, you can follow the famous astronomical phrase "Arc to Arcturus" to find the brilliant orange star Arcturus in the constellation Boötes.
2. Ursa Minor (The Little Bear)
- Hemisphere: Northern (Circumpolar)
- Primary Asterism: The Little Dipper
- Key Stars: Polaris, Kochab, Pherkad
- Navigational Use: Finding true geographic North
Ursa Minor is smaller and significantly fainter than its larger neighbor, making it difficult to see from light-polluted suburban backyards. However, it holds the most critical navigational star in human history: Polaris.
Polaris is located at the very tip of the Little Bear’s long tail (or the handle of the Little Dipper). Because Earth's northern rotational axis points almost perfectly at Polaris, it remains stationary in our sky. While all other stars, constellations, and planets appear to rise, set, and rotate counter-clockwise over the course of the night, Polaris stays fixed in place, due North, matching the exact latitude of the observer.
3. Orion (The Hunter)
(Betelgeuse) ⭐ ⭐ (Bellatrix)
\ /
⭐-⭐-⭐ (Orion's Belt)
/ \
(Saiph) ⭐ ⭐ (Rigel)
- Hemisphere: Celestial Equator (Visible globally)
- Primary Asterism: Orion's Belt
- Key Stars: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, Alnilam
- Navigational Use: Locating Sirius, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades
Orion is the undisputed king of the winter sky in the Northern Hemisphere (and the summer sky in the Southern Hemisphere). Its signature feature is Orion’s Belt, an incredibly precise, straight row of three bright stars: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
Orion is a treasure trove for deep-sky observation. Hanging down from the belt is Orion's Sword, which houses the spectacular Orion Nebula (M42), a massive star-forming region visible to the naked eye as a faint, fuzzy patch. Orion also showcases stellar evolution through two contrasting supergiants: Betelgeuse, a volatile, aging red supergiant marking his right shoulder, and Rigel, a blistering, young blue-white supergiant marking his left foot.
Following Orion's Belt to the left leads your eyes directly to Sirius, while following the belt to the right points to the red eye of Taurus (Aldebaran) and the Pleiades star cluster.
4. Cassiopeia (The Queen)
- Hemisphere: Northern (Circumpolar)
- Primary Asterism: The Celestial "W" or "M"
- Key Stars: Segin, Ksora, Gamma Cassiopeiae, Schedar, Caph
- Navigational Use: Locating the Andromeda Galaxy
Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations to identify because its five brightest stars form a striking, geometric "W" or "M" shape depending on the time of night. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a vain queen boasted of her beauty, condemned by Poseidon to rotate around the celestial pole forever, spending half her time hanging upside down as punishment.
Cassiopeia sits directly across the North Star from the Big Dipper. When the Big Dipper is too low to the horizon to see clearly, Cassiopeia is usually high overhead, making it an excellent alternative anchor for finding the North Star. The deepest valley of the "W" shape acts as an arrow that points across space toward the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the closest spiral galaxy to our own.
5. Cygnus (The Swan)
- Hemisphere: Northern
- Primary Asterism: The Northern Cross
- Key Stars: Deneb, Albireo, Sadr
- Navigational Use: Anchor for the Summer Triangle
Cygnus represents a majestic swan flying down the dense lane of the Milky Way galaxy. Its main body and wings form a highly symmetrical asterism known as the Northern Cross.
The tail of the swan is marked by Deneb, a blue-white supergiant star that is one of the most distant stars you can easily see with the naked eye, located roughly 2,600 light-years away. Deneb forms the top corner of the Summer Triangle asterism, along with Vega and Altair. At the opposite end of Cygnus, forming the swan’s head, lies Albireo. Through a small telescope, Albireo splits into a stunning binary star system, featuring one bright amber-gold star and a companion sapphire-blue star resting right next to each other.
6. Scorpius (The Scorpion)
- Hemisphere: Southern
- Primary Asterism: The Fishhook
- Key Stars: Antares, Shaula, Lesath
- Navigational Use: Locating the Galactic Center
Scorpius is one of the rare constellations that looks exactly like its namesake. It forms a striking, sweeping "J" or hook shape that traces out the claws, body, and long, curved stinger of a scorpion.
The heart of the scorpion is dominated by Antares, a colossal red supergiant star. The name Antares originates from ancient Greek, meaning "Rival of Mars," because its deep orange-red coloration and brightness often cause casual observers to confuse it with the Red Planet. Because Scorpius sits right across the dense core of our galaxy, panning across its tail with binoculars reveals countless rich star clusters, including the Butterfly Cluster (M6) and Ptolemy's Cluster (M7).
7. Crux (The Southern Cross)
⭐ (Gacrux)
|
⭐------+------⭐ (Mimosa)
(Acrux) |
⭐
- Hemisphere: Southern (Circumpolar)
- Primary Asterism: The Southern Cross
- Key Stars: Acrux, Mimosa, Gacrux, Imai
- Navigational Use: Locating the South Celestial Pole
Crux holds the title of the smallest of all 88 constellations, but it is also one of the most culturally significant. Featured prominently on the national flags of Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea, it acts as the primary navigational anchor for the southern hemisphere.
Because there is no bright "South Star" analogous to Polaris, southern travelers must use Crux to find their way. By drawing an imaginary line down the long axis of the cross (from Gacrux through Acrux) and extending it out 4.5 times its length, you can pinpoint the South Celestial Pole, allowing you to drop a vertical line straight down to find true geographic South. Right next to the cross lies the Coalsack Nebula, a massive dark nebula that looks like a pitch-black ink blot cutting through the bright band of the Milky Way.
8. Leo (The Lion)
- Hemisphere: Northern / Celestial Equator
- Primary Asterism: The Sickle (Backward Question Mark)
- Key Stars: Regulus, Denebola, Algieba
- Navigational Use: Spring indicator for northern stargazers
Leo is a prominent spring constellation that is highly recognizable due to its front half forming an asterism known as The Sickle, which looks like a distinct, backward question mark. This curve traces out the majestic mane and head of the lion.
At the base of the Sickle sits Regulus, the brightest star in Leo and historically known as the "Little King." Regulus sits almost directly on the ecliptic path, meaning it is frequently visited and occasionally blocked (occulted) by our Moon and planets. The rear of the lion is anchored by a right triangle of stars terminating at Denebola, which translates from Arabic as "The Lion's Tail."
9. Taurus (The Bull)
- Hemisphere: Northern / Celestial Equator
- Primary Asterism: The "V" of the Bull's Face
- Key Stars: Aldebaran, Elnath
- Navigational Use: Finding the Pleiades and Crab Nebula
Taurus is an ancient, charging constellation that features a distinct V-shaped cluster of stars tracing out the face and horns of a bull. This V-shape is formed by a real cosmic family called the Hyades, the closest open star cluster to Earth.
The glaring, blood-red eye of the bull is marked by Aldebaran, an orange giant star that actually sits much closer to Earth than the Hyades cluster behind it, appearing in the formation by pure line-of-sight coincidence. Just past the bull's shoulder lies the Pleiades (The Seven Sisters), a dazzling, compact cluster of hot blue stars that looks like a tiny, shimmering version of the Little Dipper. Taurus also hosts the Crab Nebula (M1), the expanding, ghostly remnant of a colossal supernova explosion observed by astronomers on Earth in the year 1054.
10. Canis Major (The Greater Dog)
- Hemisphere: Southern / Celestial Equator
- Primary Asterism: The Great Celestial Dog
- Key Stars: Sirius, Adhara, Wezen
- Navigational Use: Deep winter anchor star
Canis Major is famous because it serves as the home territory for Sirius (The Dog Star), the single brightest star in the night sky. Sirius shines at an impressive apparent magnitude of -1.46, blazing with a piercing blue-white light.
Sirius looks exceptionally bright not because it is a gargantuan star, but because it is incredibly close, sitting a mere 8.6 light-years away from our solar system. Because it rests at a low latitude, atmospheric turbulence often causes Sirius to flash rapidly with vivid rainbow colors when it sits low on the horizon, an effect called scintillation. The rest of the constellation maps out a distinct dog shape tailing closely behind its master, Orion.
11. Pegasus (The Winged Horse)
- Hemisphere: Northern
- Primary Asterism: The Great Square of Pegasus
- Key Stars: Scheat, Alpheratz, Markab, Algenib
- Navigational Use: Mapping the autumn sky
Pegasus is a sprawling constellation dominated by The Great Square of Pegasus, a vast, highly symmetrical square formed by four stars of nearly equal brightness. This stark geometry makes it highly visible even under mediocre suburban skies during autumn nights.
The Great Square represents the main body of the mythical winged horse, with its long neck, head, and front legs extending outward from the corners of the square. Interestingly, the star marking the top-right corner of the horse's square, Alpheratz, technically belongs to the neighboring constellation Andromeda, acting as a shared border wall connecting the two vast star patterns.
12. Centaurus (The Centaur)
- Hemisphere: Southern
- Primary Asterism: The Southern Pointers
- Key Stars: Alpha Centauri, Hadar, Menkent
- Navigational Use: Finding Crux via the Pointers
Centaurus is a large, bright constellation that represents a half-man, half-horse creature from antiquity. It contains some of the most critical celestial objects for southern hemisphere observers, chief among them being Alpha Centauri.
Alpha Centauri is not a single star, but a triple-star system that represents the closest stellar system to our Sun, resting at a distance of just 4.37 light-years. One of its faint components, Proxima Centauri, is the exact closest individual star to Earth. Alpha Centauri pairs up beautifully with the neighboring bright star Hadar to create "The Southern Pointers." Drawing a line through these two bright stars shoots directly toward Crux, helping stargazers confirm they are looking at the true Southern Cross rather than a nearby lookalike pattern known as the "False Cross."
13. Boötes (The Herdsman)
- Hemisphere: Northern
- Primary Asterism: The Celestial Kite
- Key Stars: Arcturus, Izar, Muphrid
- Navigational Use: Late spring / early summer guide
Boötes is easily recognized by its primary asterism, which looks exactly like a large flying kite or an elongated ice cream cone extending out into deep space.
At the very bottom point of the kite, where you would attach a tail, sits Arcturus. Arcturus is the fourth-brightest star in the sky and the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is an aging orange giant star roughly 25 times wider than our Sun. Because it has a very high "proper motion," Arcturus is moving through space at an immense speed relative to our solar system, meaning its position on the star maps shifts noticeably over thousands of years.
14. Aquila (The Eagle)
- Hemisphere: Celestial Equator
- Primary Asterism: The Flying Bird
- Key Stars: Altair, Tarazed, Alshain
- Navigational Use: Anchor for the Summer Triangle
Aquila represents the majestic eagle that carried the lightning bolts of Zeus in classical mythology. The constellation looks like a wide-winged bird in mid-flight, cutting directly across the faint, glowing bands of the Milky Way.
The heart of the eagle is marked by Altair, a brilliant white star that forms the southern crown of the Summer Triangle. Altair is an interesting star because it rotates on its axis at an extreme speed, completing a full rotation in just 9 hours (compared to our Sun's sluggish 25-day rotation). This rapid spinning generates massive centrifugal force, flattening Altair out into an oval, pumpkin-like shape rather than a perfect sphere.
15. Lyra (The Lyre)
- Hemisphere: Northern
- Primary Asterism: The Jewel Box / Parallelogram
- Key Stars: Vega, Sheliak, Sulafat
- Navigational Use: Core anchor for the Summer Triangle
Lyra is a tiny, compact constellation shaped like an ancient stringed musical instrument, composed of a small triangle connected to a neat parallelogram of stars. Despite its small size, it is impossible to miss due to its anchor star, Vega.
Vega is the fifth-brightest star in the entire sky and serves as a fundamental benchmark star for modern astrophysics; historically, its brightness was used as the zero-point reference for the entire apparent magnitude scale. Nestled between the bottom two stars of Lyra's parallelogram lies the famous Ring Nebula (M57). Through a telescope, this planetary nebula looks like a ghostly, glowing cosmic smoke ring—the expanding shell of gas cast off by a dying star thousands of years ago.
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Part 4: The 12 Constellations of the Zodiac
The Zodiac is a special band of 12 ancient constellations that lie directly along the Ecliptic—the apparent flat pathway that the Sun, Moon, and all the major planets of our solar system travel across over the course of a year. Because of this orbital alignment, you will never see a planet inside Ursa Major or Orion; they will always be found traversing through one of these twelve specific constellations.
[ Leo ] [ Virgo ] [ Libra ]
\ | /
\ | /
[ Cancer ]---\-------------+------------/---[ Scorpius ]
\ E C L I P T I C /
\ /
[ Gemini ]------+ ( SUN ) +------[ Sagittarius ]
/ \
/ P A T H W A Y \
[ Taurus ]---/-------------+------------\---[ Capricornus ]
/ | \
/ | \
[ Aries ] [ Pisces ] [ Aquarius ]
♈ 1. Aries (The Ram)
- Best Visibility: Winter (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Hamal
- Characteristics: Aries is a small, compact constellation marked by a simple, bent line of three main stars. Despite its modest appearance, it holds massive historic importance. Thousands of years ago, the sun crossed the celestial equator into Aries during the spring equinox, an alignment known as the "First Point of Aries."
♉ 2. Taurus (The Bull)
- Best Visibility: Winter (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Aldebaran
- Characteristics: As detailed in our anchor section, Taurus is a powerhouse constellation. It marks the sun's pathway through the high winter skies, framed by the Hyades open cluster and the unmistakable glittering blue pocket of the Pleiades star cluster.
♊ 3. Gemini (The Twins)
- Best Visibility: Winter (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Stars: Castor and Pollux
- Characteristics: Gemini looks like two nearly identical, parallel stick figures standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the sky. The heads of the twins are marked by two brilliant stars: Castor (a complex system actually composed of six individual stars bound together by gravity) and Pollux (an orange giant star known to host a massive exoplanet).
♋ 4. Cancer (The Crab)
- Best Visibility: Spring (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Tarf
- Characteristics: Cancer is the faintest of all the zodiac constellations, and its stars are virtually invisible from light-polluted urban areas. However, if you find yourself under a dark sky between Gemini and Leo, look for a faint, upside-down "Y" shape. At its center lies the Beehive Cluster (M44), a spectacular swarm of hundreds of young stars that looks like a cloud of glowing insects through binoculars.
♌ 5. Leo (The Lion)
- Best Visibility: Spring (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Regulus
- Characteristics: Leo serves as a dominant marker of the spring sky. Its sickle shape and bright anchor star, Regulus, make it highly identifiable as it moves along the ecliptic path ahead of Virgo.
♍ 6. Virgo (The Virgin)
- Best Visibility: Spring (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Spica
- Characteristics: Virgo is the largest constellation of the Zodiac and the second-largest constellation overall. Its signature star is Spica, a dazzlingly pure blue-white binary star system. Deep within Virgo lies the Virgo Cluster, a massive collection of over 1,300 galaxies located 54 million light-years away, making this region a prime target for deep-sky astrophotography.
♎ 7. Libra (The Scales)
- Best Visibility: Summer (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Stars: Zubeneschamali and Zubenelgenubi
- Characteristics: Libra is a faint, diamond-shaped constellation that represents the scales of justice held by Virgo. Its two brightest stars have highly unusual, rhythmic Arabic names: Zubenelgenubi (meaning "The Southern Claw") and Zubeneschamali (meaning "The Northern Claw"), reflecting an ancient era when Libra was treated as the extended claws of the neighboring scorpion.
♏ 8. Scorpius (The Scorpion)
- Best Visibility: Summer (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Antares
- Characteristics: Scorpius brings a dramatic presence to the summer ecliptic sky. Its brilliant red heart star, Antares, and long fishhook-shaped tail make it a favorite target for stargazers worldwide.
♐ 9. Sagittarius (The Archer)
- Best Visibility: Summer (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Kaus Australis
- Characteristics: While officially representing a centaur drawing a bow, almost all amateur astronomers identify Sagittarius by its core asterism: The Teapot. Complete with a handle, lid, spout, and a faint stream of cosmic steam escaping from the spout, it marks a critical location: looking directly past the spout of the teapot points you straight toward the Galactic Center, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy.
♑ 10. Capricornus (The Sea-Goat)
- Best Visibility: Autumn (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Deneb Algedi
- Characteristics: Capricornus is a faint constellation whose stars trace out a massive, gentle arrowhead or an old, weathered smile shape in the southern autumn sky. It represents an ancient, mythical creature that is half-goat and half-fish.
♒ 11. Aquarius (The Water Bearer)
- Best Visibility: Autumn (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Sadalsuud
- Characteristics: Aquarius is a vast but relatively faint constellation spreading across a region of the sky historically referred to as "The Sea," because it resides near other water-themed constellations like Cetus (the whale), Pisces (the fish), and Eridanus (the river). It features a small, tight asterism called the Water Jar, which looks like a small inverted "Y" pouring a cascading stream of faint stars southward.
Pisces (The Fishes)
- Best Visibility: Autumn (Northern Hemisphere)
- Key Star: Alpherg
- Characteristics: Pisces consists of two fish swimming at right angles to one another, tied together by a long, V-shaped cord of faint stars that meet at an anchor star called Alrescha. It is a subtle constellation that requires dark skies and careful star-hopping to fully map out.
Part 5: The Master Reference Checklist of All 88 Constellations
For reference, here is the complete, official directory of all 88 astronomical constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union, sorted alphabetically along with their English translations and structural abbreviations.
| # | Constellation Name | Genitive Form | Abbreviation | Meaning / Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andromeda | Andromedae | And | The Chained Maiden |
| 2 | Antlia | Antliae | Ant | The Air Pump |
| 3 | Apus | Apodis | Apr | The Bird of Paradise |
| 4 | Aquarius | Aquarii | Aqr | The Water Bearer |
| 5 | Aquila | Aquilae | Aql | The Eagle |
| 6 | Ara | Arae | Ara | The Altar |
| 7 | Aries | Arietis | Ari | The Ram |
| 8 | Auriga | Aurigae | Aur | The Charioteer |
| 9 | Boötes | Boötis | Boo | The Herdsman |
| 10 | Caelum | Caeli | Cae | The Engraving Tool |
| 11 | Camelopardalis | Camelopardalis | Cam | The Giraffe |
| 12 | Cancer | Cancri | Cnc | The Crab |
| 13 | Canes Venatici | Canum Venaticorum | CVn | The Hunting Dogs |
| 14 | Canis Major | Canis Majoris | CMa | The Greater Dog |
| 15 | Canis Minor | Canis Minoris | CMi | The Lesser Dog |
| 16 | Capricornus | Capricorni | Cap | The Sea-Goat |
| 17 | Carina | Carinae | Car | The Keel of Argo's Ship |
| 18 | Cassiopeia | Cassiopeiae | Cas | The Queen |
| 19 | Centaurus | Centauri | Cen | The Centaur |
| 20 | Cepheus | Cephei | Cep | The King |
| 21 | Cetus | Ceti | Cet | The Whale / Sea Monster |
| 22 | Chamaeleon | Chamaeleontis | Cha | The Chameleon |
| 23 | Circinus | Circini | Cir | The Drafting Compasses |
| 24 | Columba | Columbae | Col | The Dove |
| 25 | Coma Berenices | Comae Berenices | Com | Berenice's Hair |
| 26 | Corona Australis | Coronae Australis | CrA | The Southern Crown |
| 27 | Corona Borealis | Coronae Borealis | CrB | The Northern Crown |
| 28 | Corvus | Corvi | Crv | The Crow |
| 29 | Crater | Crateris | Crt | The Cup |
| 30 | Crux | Crucis | Cru | The Southern Cross |
| 31 | Cygnus | Cygni | Cyg | The Swan / Northern Cross |
| 32 | Delphinus | Delphini | Del | The Dolphin |
| 33 | Dorado | Doradus | Dor | The Dolphin-fish |
| 34 | Draco | Draconis | Dra | The Dragon |
| 35 | Equuleus | Equulei | Equ | The Little Horse |
| 36 | Eridanus | Eridani | Eri | The Celestial River |
| 37 | Fornax | Fornacis | For | The Laboratory Furnace |
| 38 | Gemini | Geminorum | Gem | The Twins |
| 39 | Grus | Gruis | Gru | The Crane |
| 40 | Hercules | Herculis | Her | The Mythological Hero |
| 41 | Horologium | Horologii | Hor | The Pendulum Clock |
| 42 | Hydra | Hydrae | Hya | The Water Snake (Female) |
| 43 | Hydrus | Hydri | Hyi | The Water Snake (Male) |
| 44 | Indus | Indi | Ind | The Indian |
| 45 | Lacerta | Lacertae | Lac | The Lizard |
| 46 | Leo | Leonis | Leo | The Lion |
| 47 | Leo Minor | Leonis Minoris | LMi | The Lesser Lion |
| 48 | Lepus | Leporis | Lep | The Hare |
| 49 | Libra | Librae | Lib | The Scales |
| 50 | Lupus | Lupi | Lup | The Wolf |
| 51 | Lynx | Lyncis | Lyn | The Lynx |
| 52 | Lyra | Lyrae | Lyr | The Lyre / Harp |
| 53 | Mensa | Mensae | Men | The Table Mountain |
| 54 | Microscopium | Microscopii | Mic | The Microscope |
| 55 | Monoceros | Monocerotis | Mon | The Unicorn |
| 56 | Musca | Muscae | Mus | The Fly |
| 57 | Norma | Normae | Nor | The Carpenter's Level |
| 58 | Octans | Octantis | Oct | The Octant |
| 59 | Ophiuchus | Ophiuchi | Oph | The Serpent Bearer |
| 60 | Orion | Orionis | Ori | The Hunter |
| 61 | Pavo | Pavonis | Pav | The Peacock |
| 62 | Pegasus | Pegasi | Peg | The Winged Horse |
| 63 | Perseus | Persei | Per | The Hero / Rescuer |
| 64 | Phoenix | Phoenicis | Phe | The Firebird |
| 65 | Pictor | Pictoris | Pic | The Painter's Easel |
| 66 | Pisces | Piscium | Psc | The Fishes |
| 67 | Piscis Austrinus | Piscis Austrini | PsA | The Southern Fish |
| 68 | Puppis | Puppis | Pup | The Stern of Argo's Ship |
| 69 | Pyxis | Pyxidis | Pyx | The Ship's Compass |
| 70 | Reticulum | Reticuli | Ret | The Reticle / Eyepiece Net |
| 71 | Sagitta | Sagittae | Sge | The Arrow |
| 72 | Sagittarius | Sagittarii | Sgr | The Archer |
| 73 | Scorpius | Scorpii | Sco | The Scorpion |
| 74 | Sculptor | Sculptoris | Scl | The Sculptor's Studio |
| 75 | Scutum | Scuti | Sct | The Shield |
| 76 | Serpens | Serpentis | Ser | The Serpent (Split into Caput & Cauda) |
| 77 | Sextans | Sextantis | Sex | The Astronomical Sextant |
| 78 | Taurus | Tauri | Tau | The Bull |
| 79 | Telescopium | Telescopii | Tel | The Telescope |
| 80 | Triangulum | Trianguli | Tri | The Triangle |
| 81 | Triangulum Australe | Trianguli Australis | TrA | The Southern Triangle |
| 82 | Tucana | Tucanae | Tuc | The Toucan |
| 83 | Ursa Major | Ursae Majoris | UMa | The Great Bear |
| 84 | Ursa Minor | Ursae Minoris |