Every Major Constellation Name, From Andromeda to Virgo

• Over half of the 88 official constellation names are attributed to the ancient Greeks.

• The International Astronomical Union governs the naming of these star-formed “patterns.”

• The first known depiction of a constellation, Taurus, is believed to be 17,000 years old.

Thank the ancient Greeks for giving us the majority of our official 88 constellation names recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). But that doesn’t mean plenty of other astronomy-loving folks haven’t contributed to the naming of the “patterns” lighting up our night sky.

The concept of a constellation, a grouping of stars forming a pattern, has likely been in place ever since humans first gazed up into the night. The first depiction of a constellation that we know of—what we now call Taurus, the bull—comes from astronomical markings painted on the walls in the Lascaux cave system in Southern France, believed to be more than 17,000 years old.

Civilizations across the globe had been marking constellations for centuries and the Greeks worked to consolidate works from ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, and Assyrian astronomers. The Greek-based Claudius Ptolemy’s Almagest compiles the first 48 “modern” constellations together for us. But let’s not get too carried away in crediting all the constellation naming to the Greeks. Ptolemy worked to unite names that already existed and then European astronomers and celestial cartographers added to the recognized list, starting in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

As the listings grew—some being considered recent discoveries because their locations meant they were only seen from certain parts of Earth—each of the official 88 constellation received its own set of boundaries to better help identify individual stars.

The names themselves all come from Latin (during an IAU meeting in Rome in 1922, each constellation also gained a three-letter abbreviation). The constellation names usually came from the astronomers who identified the patterns based on what the shape reminded them of, typically a Greek or Roman mythical god, hero, or animal.

While many of the constellation names were tied, at least loosely, to the form of their namesake, others have a more layered meaning. For example, Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius says he named a constellation after a lynx because he wanted a cat-like animal and without bright stars in the constellation, he opted for a cat with keen eyesight.

Some of the original well-known early constellations, many of the ones chronicled by Ptolemy, followed the mythology and animal worlds. Within the non-mythology-animal category, a few of the key names feature items related to telescopes and astronomy, while a few others highlight inventions.

Mythology

The Greek constellation names don’t stray far from ancient Greek mythology. No less than 20 of the 88 names have a strong tie to mythology and even many of the animals also tie in mythology. Some of the most well-known constellations fall under this category, such as Hercules, Orion (the hunter), and the water-bearer constellation Aquarius. Of course, a few others straddle the mythology-animal line, such as Pegasus—you know, the winged horse—and Draco the dragon. There are also three constellations tied directly to the mythical ship Argo Navis.

• Andromeda (the chained maiden)

• Aquarius, the water bearer

• Ara, the altar

• Auriga, the charioteer

• Bootes, the herdsman

• Carina, the keel of the ship Argo Navis

• Cassiopeia, the queen

• Centaurus, the centaur

• Cepheus, the king

• Coma Berenices, Berenice’s hair

• Corona Australis, the southern crown

• Corona Borealis, the northern crown

• Draco, the dragon

• Gemini, the twins

• Hercules

• Hydra, the water serpent

• Hydrus, the water snake

• Monoceros, the unicorn

• Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer

• Orion, the hunter

• Pegasus, the winged horse

• Perseus

• Phoenix, the firebird

• Puppis, the stern of Argo Navis ship

• Sagittarius, the archer

• Vela, the sails of Argo Navis

• Virgo, the maiden

Animals

Easily the most common category for constellation names, you can expect to find a little bit of everything here, from Lacerta (the lizard) to Camelopardalis (the giraffe) and the more basic Delphinus (the dolphin) and Canis Major (the great dog). Taurus (the bull) is considered the oldest constellation name thanks to those French caves.

Animals were a key part of the original group of ancient names because so many tie back to mythology. They were also prominently used by Dutch-Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius in the 1590s and Hevelius in the 17^th century. While you can get dolphins and flying fish, great and small dogs, a whale, swan, crane, crab, and even a bird of paradise, there’s no shortage of dogs and cat-like creatures, too.

• Apus, the bird of paradise

• Aquila, the eagle

• Aries, the ram

• Camelopardalis, the giraffe

• Cancer, the crab

• Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs

• Canis Major, the great dog

• Canis Minor, the small dog

• Capricornus, the horned goat

• Cetus, the whale

• Chamaeleon, the chameleon

• Columba, the dove

• Corvus, the crow

• Cygnus, the swan

• Delphinus, the dolphin

• Dorado, the dolphinfish

• Equuleus, the little horse

• Grus, the crane

• Lacerta, the lizard

• Leo, the lion

• Leo Minor, the little lion

• Lepus, the hare

• Lupus, the wolf

• Lynx, the lynx

• Musca, the fly

• Pavo, the peacock

• Pisces, the fish

• Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish

• Scorpius, the scorpion

• Serpens, the serpent

• Taurus, the bull

• Tucana, the toucan

• Ursa Major, the great bear

• Ursa Minor, the small bear

• Volans, the flying fish

• Vulpecula, the little fox

Other Sources

From ties to scientific instruments to a bit of nature—we’ve got a river and a mountain, of course—the catch-all category has a little bit of extra intrigue. Some of the more interesting names in this group, such as Antlia (the air pump), Fornax (the furnace) and Horologium (the pendulum clock) come from French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 18^thcentury and his fascination with science. Of course, there’s also a painter’s easel, a chisel, and a microscope.

• Antlia, named after the French air pump

• Caelum, the chisel

• Circinus, the drafting compass

• Crater, the cup (chalice)

• Crux, the Southern Cross

• Eridanus, the river

• Fornax, the furnace

• Horologium, the pendulum clock

• Indus, the Indian

• Libra, the scales

• Lyra, the harp

• Mensa, table mountain

• Microscopium, the microscope

• Norma, the level

• Octans, the octant

• Pictor, the painter’s easel

• Pyxis, the compass

• Reticulum, the reticle (from a telescope)

• Sagitta, the arrow

• Sculptor, the sculptor and his studio

• Scutum, the shield

• Sextans, the sextant

• Telescopium, the telescope

• Triangulum, the triangle

• Triangulum Australe, the southern triangle

You Might Also Like

• This Device Can Send Messages Without Cell Service

• The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere

• The Best Video Game the Year You Were Born