Historical constellations

The former constellation Argo Navis after Ptolemy, on the right the Charles Oak

The list of historical constellations contains a selection of asterisms from the European astronomical tradition. These constellations do not belong to the 88 binding constellations established by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that are explicitly called constellations today.

See list of constellations

Explanation of the table below

• Name: gives the name of the constellation.
• Latin: gives the Latin name of the constellation.
• Alternatively: Give the German and Latin names under which it was also published.
• Hem .: states the position of the constellation within the celestial sphere . N stands for the northern and S for the southern hemisphere. Constellations marked with N / S or S / N are visible in both hemispheres.
• Author: Names the author who first introduced or named the constellation or published it in maps.
• Year: Indicates the year in which the constellation can be introduced or proven.
• Position: Position of today's IAU constellations

Asterisms

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

for the "Toucan already at Bayer". At lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/astro_atlas/id/118, which is referred to in Johann Bayer (Astronomer) #Weblinks , it is (Latin) "Toucan".

Surname	Latin	Alternatively	Hem.	author	year	position	comment	image
Antinous	Antinous		N	Hadrian	132	Adler , southern part	Hadrian's lover
Ship Argo	Argo Navis		S.	Ptolemy	150	Back deck , keel , sails of the ship	the Argo of Jason and the Argonauts; split because of its size by Lacaille, the only one of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations that does not belong to the IAU images
Mast (of the ship)	Malus		S.	J. Herschel	1844	between compass and sail of the ship	Mast of the ship Argo ; old, assigned to the compass by Lacaille
Guardian of the South Pole	Polophylax		S.	Plancius	1592	between crane and toucan	on the world map Terrarum Tabula ; Plancius did not leave his reasons for introducing this constellation
Northern fly (Musca borealis)	Apes	Wasp (Vespa), bee	N / S	Plancius	1612	Aries , northern part	Vespa at Bartsch 1624, Musca , later Musca Borealis at Hevelius 1690 (published, first record 1664); according to Bartsch an insect at Samson , Plancius himself did not leave his reasons for introducing this constellation; after Bode end of the 16th century out of use
Rooster	Gallus		S.	Plancius	1612	Quarter deck , north part, in the Milky Way	Alector Gallus Dio at Bartsch 1624, interpreted as Peter's cock, Plancius himself did not leave his reasons for introducing this constellation; see also Officina Typographica at Bode
Jordan	Jordanus		N	Plancius	1612	Hunting dogs , southern part of the big bear , little lion , lynx	probably to Ptolemy Eridanus (Keyser's Nile ) and Plancius' Tigris
Little cancer	Cancer Minor		N	Plancius	1612	between cancer and twins	Plancius did not leave his reasons for introducing this constellation
Southern arrow	Sagitta Australis		S.	Plancius	1612	between the southern crown and the scorpion	Plancius did not leave his reasons for introducing this constellation
Tigris	Tigris		N	Plancius	1612	Fuchs , western part of Pegasus , eastern part of Serpent Bearer and Hercules	probably to Ptolemy Eridanus (Keyser's Nile ) and Plancius' Jordan , presumably as one of the four paradise rivers
Charles Oak	Robur Carolinum		S.	Halley	1678	between air pump , chameleon and centaur	the oak where Charles II hid after the lost battle of Worcester
Scepter of Brandenburg	Sceptrum Brandenburgicum		S.	Church	1688	Eridanus , east part, west of the hare	in honor of the Electors of Brandenburg , whose court astronomer Kirch was. The constellation was ignored for almost 100 years until Bode published it in his atlas
Cerberus, three-headed hellhound	Cerberus		N	Hevelius	1690	Hercules , eastern part, next to the lyre	Kerberos , the guardian of the gate to the realm of the dead in ancient Greece
Mount Mannalus	Mons Maenalus		N	Hevelius	1690	between bear keeper and virgin	a sacred mountain of ancient Greece
Small triangle	Triangulum Minor		N	Hevelius	1690	between triangle and aries	Besides the actual triangle , also, jointly the Triangula recorded
reindeer	Rangifer, Tarandus		N	Lemonnier	1743	between giraffe and cepheus	the reindeer , Monnier led the constellation as Reene after an observation trip to Lapland a
Hermit bird	Turdus Solitarius	Owl (Noctua)	S.	Lemonnier	1761	Water snake , towards Libra and Centaur	a bird, in memory of the French expedition to observe the transit of Venus in 1761; von Burritt renamed the owl in his star atlas in 1835 , the originator and justification are unknown
Royal bull by Poniatowski	Taurus Poniatovii		N / S	Poczobut	1777	Snake bearer , eastern part on the border with the eagle	the heraldic animal of the then Polish king Poniatowski
Psalter of George, George's harp	Psalterium Georgianum, Harpa Georgii		S.	Bright	1789	between Eridanus , bull and whale	should Georg III. honor whose court astronomer Herschel was
Harvester	Custos messium		N	Lalande	1775	between Cassiopeia , Giraffe and Cepheus	Is supposed to symbolize the farmer during the harvest , but the name also alludes to Messier , who observed a comet in this area of ​​the sky; Known in France as the "constellation Messier", Erndtehüter near Bode
Wall quadrant	Quadrans Muralis		N	Lalande	1795	between big bear and bear keeper	symbolizes the wall quadrant , the most important astronomical instrument before the invention of the telescope; the meteor stream of the Quadrantids is named after it
Hot air balloon	Globus aerostaticus		N / S	Lalande	1798	between southern fish , microscope , capricorn , and Aquarius	the Montgolfière , the first manned aircraft
cat	Felis		N	Lalande	1799	Water snake , north of the air pump	"I like cats "
Frederick's honor	Honores Friderici, Gloria Frederici		N	Bode	1787	between Andromeda and Lizard	in memory of Frederick the Great, who died the year before
log	Lochium Funis		S.	Bode	1801	Ship compass , minor stars	the log line as a nautical instrument for the Argo's compass
Herschel's telescope	Telescopium Herschelii	Herschel's large telescope (Tubus Herschelii Major), Herschel's small telescope (Tubus Herschelii Minor)	N	Bode	1801	Fuhrmann , eastern part, borders on Gemini and Lynx	introduced as Tubi Herschelii by Hell on the occasion of Herschel's discovery of Uranus ; summarized by Bode to the Telescopium Herschelii
Electrifying machine	Machina Electrica		S.	Bode	1801	between sculptor and chemical furnace	Use of electricity , an invention of its time
Printer's workshop	Officina Typographica		S.	Bode	1801	Aft deck , north part	Invention of printing with movable type on the 350th anniversary of the invention by Gutenberg ; also contains the cock after Plancius
turtle	Testudo		N / S	unknown	?	between the fish and whale	could be from William Henry Smyth's Cycle of Celestial Objects 1844
Charles Heart	Cor Caroli		N	unknown	?	Hunting dogs , collar	In honor of the English kings Charles I and Charles II.

Other names for recognized constellations

The constellations in the table below are merely alternative names for constellations recognized today.

Explanation of the line headings:

• Name: gives the name of the constellation.
• Latin: gives the Latin name of the constellation.
• Alternatively: Mention the German and Latin name under which it was also published
• Hem .: states the position of the constellation within the celestial sphere . N stands for the northern and S for the southern hemisphere. Constellations marked with N / S or S / N are visible in both hemispheres.
• Author: Names the author who first introduced or named the name or published it in cards.
• Year: Indicates the year in which the name can be introduced or proven.
• Current name: gives the name under which it is recognized today by the IAU
• Comment: Provides further background information

Surname	Latin	Alternatively	Hem.	author	year	Today's name	comment	image
Goldfish	Dorado		S.	Keyser	1597	Swordfish	the German name emerges later
Indian magpie	-		S.	Keyser	1597	Toucan	Indiaenschen Exster , with the note "also called Indies Lang ", Tukan already at Bayer
Nile	nilus		S.	Keyser	1597	Eridanus	The Nyli , presumably as one of the four paradise rivers
heron		Flamingo (Phoenicopterus)	S.	Keyser and Houtman	1595/97	crane	The reygher ; Flamingo in Plancius and Hondius 1598/1600, 1602/03 also in Blaeu ; at Bayer already Kranich
bee	Apis	Southern fly (Musca australis)	S.	Bayer	1603	Fly	renamed by Lacaille to Musca Australis in 1752 ( La Mouche ), Latinized in 1763; shortened today because the northern fly is obsolete
Sculpture workshop	Apparatus Sculptoris		S.	Lacaille	1756	sculptor	l´ Atelier de Sculpteur , Latinized 1763, today short
Painter easel (and color palette)	Equuleus Pictoris		S.	Lacaille	1756	painter	le Chevalet et la Palette , Latinized 1763, short today
sundial	solarium		S.	Burritt	1835	Network *	in his star atlas, the author is unknown; represents a sundial as a complement to the Lacailles pendulum clock
Scepter and the hand of justice	Sceptrum et Manus Iustitiae		N	Royer	1679	lizard	honors Louis XIV of France
The Tyrants		Innocent children	N	Alan Patrick Herbert	1944	Dragon	From Herbert's book “A better sky”, in which he suggested more contemporary names for the constellations: The individual stars should be named after Attila , Hitler , Mussolini , Robespierre and Kublai Khan . In Coelum Stellatum Christianum of Julius Schiller says Innocent children after the Massacre of the Innocents .
Saint Joseph		The Sailor	N	Julius Schiller	1627	Orion	From Alan Patrick Herbert's book “A better sky”, in which he suggested more contemporary names for the constellations: The individual stars should be named after sailors like James Cook . In the Coelum Stellatum Christianum by Julius Schiller it is called Saint Joseph.
archangel Michael		Hesperides , "The Phoenician", Little Chariot , Wings of the Dragon	N	Julius Schiller	1627	Little Bear	In ancient Greece, the constellation was considered part of the dragon. Thales of Miletus first described it as a separate constellation. “The Phoenician ” comes from the fact that Phoenician seafarers used it for navigation. The name "Little Car" comes from the shape. In the Coelum Stellatum Christianum by Julius Schiller it is called Archangel Michael.
Twelve Apostles			N / S	Julius Schiller	1627	Ecliptic constellations , signs of the zodiac	Published in Schiller's Coelum Stellatum Christianum . The previous constellations should be replaced by biblical-Christian figures.
Boat of Saint Peter		Apples of the Hesperides	N	Julius Schiller	1627	Big Bear	Published in Schiller's Coelum Stellatum Christianum . The previous constellations should be replaced by biblical-Christian figures. In ancient Greece the constellation originally represented the apples of the Hesperides, which are said to give eternal youth.
Handkerchief of Christ			N / S	Anton Maria Schyrleus de Rheita	1643	sextant	First introduced as a constellation by de Rheita, it could not prevail against Hevelius' sextants.
vulture			N	unknown	?	lyre	On older star maps the lyre appears as a bird, mostly as a vulture. As such, he is said to be one of the stymphalic birds.
Stymphalic birds			N	unknown	?	Summer triangle ( eagle , lyre , swan )	In Greek mythology, the Stymphalids are birds with iron beaks, claws and wings, which inhabited the Stymphalos swamp before they were driven from there by Heracles .

literature

• Ian Ridpath: Startales. Obsolete Constellations. Web document  - with images
• Darryl Stanford: Historic constellations list. Web document  - without images (English)
• Gary D. Thompson: Modern Western Constellations. 28: The constellating of the southern sky. Web Document 2007 - adapted from T. MacKenzie: The Story of the Southern constellations. In: Journal of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 1/1925; D. Warner: History of Southern Constellations. In: Sky and Telescope 60/1980
• Shane Horvatin: Obsolete Constellations. Web document , Michigan State University - partially with images (English)

Web links

Commons : Historical Asterisms  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Schiller's Atlas of the Christian Constellations from 1627

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Ridpath, Star Tales
2. ↑ ^{a b c} The German name is not a historical translation
3. ↑ Gustav Adolph Jahn: Dictionary of applied mathematics: a manual for use. Volume 1, Reichenbach'sche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1855, p. 367
4. ↑ “I am very fond of cats. I will let this figure scratch on the chart. The starry sky has worried me quite enough in my life, so that now I can have my joke with it. " according to RH Allen: Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning , quoted. to Ridpath, Startales
5. ↑ Constellations and zodiac signs in the Astrodicticum simplex by Florian Freistetter on ScienceBlogs (including star map on page 2)
6. ↑ Constellations and zodiac signs in the Astrodicticum simplex by Florian Freistetter on ScienceBlogs (including star map on page 2)