Editing Constellation (section)

==Terminology==

The word ''constellation'' comes from the [[Late Latin]] term {{lang|la|cōnstellātiō}}, which can be translated as "set of stars"; it came into use in [[Middle English]] during the 14th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/constellation|title=constellation &#124; Origin and meaning of constellation by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref> The [[Ancient Greek]] word for constellation is [[wikt:ἄστρον|ἄστρον]] ({{Transliteration|grc|astron}}). These terms historically referred to any recognisable pattern of stars whose appearance was associated with mythological characters or creatures, earthbound animals, or objects.<ref name="oxforddic2"/> Over time, among European astronomers, the constellations became clearly defined and widely recognised. In the 20th century, the [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU) recognized [[IAU designated constellations|88&nbsp;constellations]].<ref name="oxforddicastro">{{cite journal |url= https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095633860 |title=Constellation |journal=Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy |access-date=26 July 2019}}</ref>

A constellation or star that never sets below the [[horizon]] when viewed from a particular [[latitude]] on Earth is termed [[circumpolar star|circumpolar]]. From the [[North Pole]] or [[South Pole]], all constellations south or north of the [[celestial equator]] are [[circumpolar constellation|circumpolar]]. Depending on the definition, equatorial constellations may include those that lie between declinations 45° north and 45° south,<ref name=harbord_goodwin1897/> or those that pass through the declination range of the [[ecliptic]] (or [[zodiac]]) ranging between [[Tropic of Cancer|23.5°&nbsp;north]] and [[Tropic of Capricorn|23.5°&nbsp;south]].<ref name="Norton14th" /><ref name=steele1884 />

Stars in constellations can appear near each other in the sky, but they usually lie at a variety of distances away from the Earth. Since each star has its own independent motion, all constellations will change slowly over time. After tens to hundreds of thousands of years, familiar outlines will become unrecognizable.<ref name="marc">{{cite web|url=http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/dr-marc-space/constellations.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013075228/http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/dr-marc-space/constellations.html|archive-date=13 October 2011|title=Do Constellations Ever Break Apart or Change?|publisher=NASA|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref> Astronomers can predict the past or future constellation outlines by measuring [[common proper motion]]s of individual stars<ref name="Koupelis2007">{{cite book |author=Koupelis |first1=Theo |url=https://archive.org/details/inquestofunivers00koup/page/369 |title=In Quest of the Universe |last2=Kuhn |first2=Karl F. |date=2007 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers |isbn=978-0-7637-4387-1 |page=369 |url-access=registration}}</ref> by accurate [[astrometry]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kovalevsky |first1=Jean |title=Fundamentals of Astrometry |last2=Seidelmann |first2=P. Kenneth |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-64216-3}}</ref><ref name="c1">{{cite journal |last1=Soffel |first1=M |last2=Klioner |first2=S. A |last3=Petit |first3=G |last4=Wolf |first4=P |last5=Kopeikin |first5=S. M |last6=Bretagnon |first6=P |last7=Brumberg |first7=V. A |last8=Capitaine |first8=N |author-link8=Nicole Capitaine |last9=Damour |first9=T |last10=Fukushima |first10=T |last11=Guinot |first11=B |last12=Huang |first12=T.-Y |last13=Lindegren |first13=L |last14=Ma |first14=C |last15=Nordtvedt |first15=K |year=2003 |title=The IAU 2000 Resolutions for Astrometry, Celestial Mechanics, and Metrology in the Relativistic Framework: Explanatory Supplement |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=126 |issue=6 |pages=2687–706 |arxiv=astro-ph/0303376 |bibcode=2003AJ....126.2687S |doi=10.1086/378162 |s2cid=32887246 |last16=Ries |first16=J. C |last17=Seidelmann |first17=P. K |last18=Vokrouhlický |first18=D |last19=Will |first19=C. M |last20=Xu |first20=C}}</ref> and their [[radial velocity|radial velocities]] by [[astronomical spectroscopy]].<ref name="IAUInfBull91_c1">{{cite web|title=Resolution C1 on the Definition of a Spectroscopic "Barycentric Radial-Velocity Measure". Special Issue: Preliminary Program of the XXVth GA in Sydney, July 13–26, 2003 Information Bulletin n° 91. |page=50 |publisher=IAU Secretariat |date=July 2002 |url=https://www.iau.org/static/publications/IB91.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.iau.org/static/publications/IB91.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=28 September 2017}}</ref>

The 88 constellations recognized by the IAU as well as those by cultures throughout history are imagined figures and shapes derived from the patterns of stars in the observable sky.<ref>''What Are the Constellations?'', University of Wisconsin, http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html</ref> Many officially recognized constellations are based on the imaginations of ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean mythologies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nautil.us/blog/forest-for-the-treeswhy-we-recognize-faces--constellations |title=Forest for the Trees – Why We Recognize Faces & Constellations|date=19 May 2014|publisher=Nautilus Magazine |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rey |first=H. A. |author-link=H. A. Rey |title=The Stars: A New Way to See Them |date=1954 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing |isbn=978-0547132808}}</ref> Some of these stories seem to relate to the appearance of the constellations, e.g. the assassination of [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]] by Scorpius, their constellations appearing at opposite times of year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-22 |title=Best Constellations Season-by-Season: Southern Hemisphere |url=https://starwalk.space/en/news/constellations-southern-hemisphere |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=Star Walk |language=en}}</ref>