Home >> Science & Nature >> Astronomy

Most Common Constellations in January

In 150 A.D., Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, identified and created a list of 21 constellations. As of 2011, Ptolemy's list of constellations is still being used and has grown to 88. Of these 88 constellations, five are circumpolar, meaning they are visible from the Northern Hemisphere throughout the year. During January, however, there are six that are most commonly visible from the Northern Hemisphere, including Orion, Taurus, Dorado and Caelum.

Orion
- Constellations are named after characters from Greek mythology and are comprised of star patterns that abstractly resemble the characters for whom they are named. Orion, the hunter, is the most visible of the January constellations and contains several nebulas and star clusters, including the Orion Nebula, which is located in Orion's sword. Orion's shoulders are represented by the stars Bellatrix and Betelgeuse while the star Rigel is located in his leg. Bellatrix is located about 500 light years from Earth and Betelgeuse is approximately 425 light years away. Betelgeuse is 630 times bigger than our sun and burns 60,000 times brighter.
Taurus
- Taurus the bull contains a group of stars that is almost as famous with astronomers as the constellation itself. This group of seven stars, called the Pleiades, is located in Taurus's shoulder. According to Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Pleione and Atlas. Only six of the Pleiades stars are visible without a telescope, a fact the Greeks believed was due to one of the daughters leaving her sisters because she was ashamed of her mortal husband. Aldebaran is the brightest star in Taurus and is an orange giant star located 72 light years from Earth. Aldebaran is 50 times the size of our sun and burns 360 times brighter.
Dorado
- Dorado, the swordfish, is home of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the two Clouds of Magellan, named after the Portuguese explorer. With its partner cloud, the Small Magellanic Cloud in the Tucana constellation, the Large Magellanic Cloud is an elliptical satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way galaxy. Another feature of the Dorado constellation is the Tarantula Nebula, a widespread region of ionized gas that surrounds a group of newly forming stars at the eastern end of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Caelum
- Caelum, the Chisel, was discovered in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. This constellation is one of the dimmest of the 88. Its brightest star, Alpha Caeli, is about 66 light years away from Earth and burns about five times brighter than our sun. Caelum belongs to the Lacaille family of constellations, which includes Norma, Mensa and Reticulum.

Astronomy