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In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms (which themselves are generally referred to in non-technical language as "constellations"), which are patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky. There are 88 standard constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 1922. The majority of these go back to the 48 constellations defined by Ptolemy in his Almagest (2nd century). The remaining ones were defined in the 17th and 18th century; the most recent ones are found on the southern sky, defined in Coelum australe stelliferum by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1763). There are also numerous historical constellations not recognized by the IAU, or constellations recognized in regional traditions of astronomy or astrology, such as Chinese, Hindu and Australian Aboriginal.
Contents
1 Terminology 2 History 2.1 Ancient Near East 2.2 Graeco-Roman 2.3 Classical Chinese constellations 2.4 Early Modern era 3 IAU constellations 4 Asterisms 5 Dark cloud constellations 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Further reading 8.1 Mythology, lore, history, and archaeoastronomy 8.2 Atlases and celestial maps 8.3 Catalogs 9 External links
The constellation Orion is one of the mos in the night sky.
Terminology
The Late Latin term constellātiō can be translated as "set with stars". The term was first used in astrology, of asterisms that supposedly exerted influence, attested in Ammianus (4th century). term was used from the 14th century, also in astrology, of conjunctions of planets. The modern astronomical sense of "area of the celestial sphere around a specific asterism" dates to the mid
Colloquial usage does not distinguish the senses of "asterism" and "area surrounding an asterism". The modern system of constellations used in astronomy focuses primarily on