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The constellations are
totally imaginary things that poets, farmers and astronomers have
made up over the past 6,000 years (and probably even more!). The
real purpose for the constellations is to help us tell which stars
are which, nothing more. On a really dark night, you can see about
1000 to 1500 stars. Trying to tell which is which is hard. The constellations
help by breaking up the sky into more managable bits. They are used
as mnemonics , or memory aids. For example, if you spot three bright
stars in a row in the winter evening, you might realize, "Oh!
That's part of Orion!" Suddenly, the rest of the constellation
falls into place and you can declare: "There's Betelgeuse in
Orion's left shoulder and Rigel is his foot." And once you
recognize Orion, you can remember that Orion's Hunting Dogs are
always nearby. Then you might recognize the two bright stars in
the upper and lower left of the photograph as Procyon in Canis Minor
and Sirius in Canis Major, respectively. |
