All 88 Constellation Names: Stories, Stars, and How to Find Them
There are exactly 88 constellations in the sky. Not 87, not 100. Eighty-eight. The International Astronomical Union locked that number down in 1922, and nobody gets to add new ones. Each constellation has a Latin name, a story behind it, and a patch of sky it calls home. Some are ancient. Some were invented in the 1700s by European astronomers who needed to fill gaps in southern sky maps. Here's your complete guide to every single one.
Why Are There Exactly 88 Constellations?
The ancient Greeks recognized about 48 constellations, mostly based on mythology. Ptolemy cataloged them around 150 AD in his book the Almagest, and that list held up for over a thousand years. But when European explorers started sailing south of the equator in the 1500s and 1600s, they saw stars that no Greek astronomer had ever mapped. Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman added 12 new constellations in the 1590s, including Tucana (the toucan) and Pavo (the peacock). French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille added 14 more in the 1750s after observing from South Africa. He named most of his after scientific instruments: Telescopium, Microscopium, Horologium (the clock). By 1922, the sky was a mess of overlapping star patterns. The IAU stepped in and standardized everything into 88 official constellations with clear boundaries. Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte drew those boundaries in 1930, making sure every point in the sky belongs to exactly one constellation.
The 12 Zodiac Constellation Names
You probably know these already, even if you've never looked through a telescope. The zodiac constellations sit along the ecliptic, the path the Sun appears to follow across the sky throughout the year. Aries (the ram), Taurus (the bull), Gemini (the twins), Cancer (the crab), Leo (the lion), Virgo (the maiden), Libra (the scales), Scorpius (the scorpion), Sagittarius (the archer), Capricornus (the sea-goat), Aquarius (the water-bearer), and Pisces (the fish). Fun fact: there's actually a 13th constellation along the ecliptic called Ophiuchus (the serpent-bearer), but astrology ignores it. The Sun spends more time passing through Ophiuchus than it does through Scorpius. Astronomers find this pretty amusing.
Northern Sky Constellation Names You Can Spot Tonight
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, some constellations are visible all year round because they never dip below the horizon. These are called circumpolar constellations. Ursa Major (the great bear) is the most famous one. Its seven brightest stars form the Big Dipper, which isn't technically a constellation itself but an asterism (a recognizable pattern within a constellation). Ursa Minor (the little bear) contains Polaris, the North Star. Cassiopeia looks like a W or M depending on the time of year. Draco (the dragon) winds between the two bears. Cepheus (the king) sits next to his wife Cassiopeia. Other northern favorites include Orion (visible in winter, probably the most recognizable constellation in the sky), Lyra (home to Vega, the fifth brightest star), Cygnus (the swan, whose brightest star Deneb forms part of the Summer Triangle), and Perseus (named after the Greek hero who slew Medusa).
Southern Sky Constellation Names Worth Knowing
People in the Southern Hemisphere get some of the most spectacular constellations. Crux (the Southern Cross) is the smallest constellation by area but one of the most iconic. It appears on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa. Centaurus (the centaur) contains Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our Sun at just 4.37 light-years away. Carina (the keel) holds Canopus, the second brightest star in the entire sky. Then there's Dorado (the swordfish), which contains the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way visible to the naked eye. Vela (the sails) and Puppis (the stern) used to be part of a single giant constellation called Argo Navis (the ship Argo), but Lacaille broke it into three pieces because it was too big to manage.
Constellation Names from Greek Mythology
The Greeks turned the sky into a storybook. Orion the hunter chases Taurus the bull across the sky every winter. His two hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, follow behind him. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which the ancient Egyptians used to predict the flooding of the Nile. Andromeda was a princess chained to a rock as a sacrifice to the sea monster Cetus. Perseus rescued her, and both ended up as constellations, along with her parents Cassiopeia and Cepheus. Hercules (Heracles in Greek) is one of the largest constellations but surprisingly hard to spot because none of its stars are particularly bright. Pegasus, the winged horse, is best found by looking for the Great Square of Pegasus in autumn. And Aquila (the eagle) carried Zeus's thunderbolts, with its brightest star Altair forming another corner of the Summer Triangle.
Constellation Names Based on Animals
More than 40 constellations are named after animals, making them the largest category. Some are obvious: Leo (lion), Aquila (eagle), Cygnus (swan), Corvus (crow), Columba (dove), Lepus (hare), Lupus (wolf), Vulpecula (little fox). Others are more exotic. Chamaeleon is, yes, a chameleon. Musca is a fly. Apus is a bird of paradise. Lacerta is a lizard. Piscis Austrinus (the southern fish) is separate from Pisces and contains Fomalhaut, one of the brightest stars in the sky. The water creatures are well represented too: Delphinus (dolphin), Dorado (swordfish), Volans (flying fish), and Hydra, the largest constellation by area. Hydra stretches across more than 3% of the entire sky, taking up about 1,303 square degrees.
Constellation Names from Scientific Instruments
Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille was a practical guy. When he mapped the southern sky from Cape Town in the 1750s, he didn't bother with mythology. Instead, he named his new constellations after tools and instruments. Telescopium (telescope), Microscopium (microscope), Horologium (pendulum clock), Antlia (air pump), Fornax (chemical furnace), Caelum (chisel), Pyxis (compass), Norma (carpenter's square), Circinus (drafting compass), Reticulum (eyepiece grid), Pictor (painter's easel), Sculptor, and Mensa (table mountain, after Table Mountain in Cape Town). These constellations are mostly faint and hard to spot, which is probably why nobody had bothered to name them before.
The Biggest and Smallest Constellations
Hydra is the giant of the sky, covering 1,303 square degrees. It stretches so far that its head is visible in the Northern Hemisphere while its tail dips into the south. Virgo comes second at 1,294 square degrees. Ursa Major takes third place at 1,280 square degrees. On the tiny end, Crux (the Southern Cross) covers just 68 square degrees but punches way above its weight in terms of cultural importance. Equuleus (the little horse) is the second smallest at 72 square degrees, and Sagitta (the arrow) is third at 80 square degrees. There's an interesting pattern: many of the smallest constellations are ancient (Greeks drew them tight around specific star patterns), while the biggest ones tend to be modern additions that filled in whatever empty space was left.
How Constellation Names Connect to Star Names
Every star belongs to a constellation, and that relationship shapes how stars get named. The Bayer system (invented in 1603) combines a Greek letter with the constellation's Latin genitive form. Alpha Centauri means the brightest star in Centaurus. Beta Orionis means the second-brightest star in Orion (though it's actually called Rigel). Gamma Cassiopeiae is the middle star of Cassiopeia's W shape. The Flamsteed system uses numbers instead: 61 Cygni, 51 Pegasi. When you look up any star in a catalog, its constellation tells you roughly where in the sky to point your telescope. That's why constellation names matter beyond just storytelling. They're the sky's address system.
How to Start Learning the Constellation Names
Don't try to memorize all 88 at once. Start with the five easiest ones for your hemisphere. In the north: Orion (winter), Ursa Major (year-round), Cassiopeia (year-round), Leo (spring), and Scorpius (summer). In the south: Crux (year-round), Centaurus (year-round), Scorpius (winter), Orion (summer), and Carina (year-round). Use the Big Dipper as your anchor in the north. The two stars at the edge of the cup point to Polaris. Follow the arc of the handle to Arcturus in Boötes. Spike down from Arcturus to Spica in Virgo. That trick alone connects four constellations. A free app like Stellarium can overlay constellation lines on your phone's camera, which makes identifying them much faster.
Give Someone Their Own Star in a Constellation
Every star on BuyMyPlanet is a real star mapped to a real constellation. When you name a star, you get its exact astronomical coordinates, which constellation it belongs to, and its magnitude (brightness). The certificate includes all that data plus the name you choose. It's $24.99 for the standard package, or $29.99 for premium with a personalized web page and QR code. The coordinates are sourced from NASA databases, so you can actually look up your star in sky-mapping apps. It's a pretty solid gift for anyone who's ever stared up at the sky and wondered which star is theirs.
Famous stars to explore
Sirius
The brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is a dazzling blue-white star just 8.6 light-years away. Ancient Egyptians built their calendar around it.
Polaris
The North Star. For centuries, sailors and explorers used Polaris to find their way. It sits almost perfectly above Earth's north pole.
Vega
One of the brightest stars you can see from Earth. Vega was the first star ever photographed (back in 1850) and the first to have its spectrum recorded.
Betelgeuse
A red supergiant that could explode as a supernova any day now. Betelgeuse is so massive that if it replaced our Sun, it would swallow Mars.
Related articles & guides
Want to learn more? Read about how stars are named. Explore our planets catalog. You can also buy a star as a gift. Check out the brightest stars in the sky. For any questions, visit our FAQ.
Name Your Own Star in a Constellation
Pick a real star with real coordinates in any constellation. Your chosen name gets recorded with the star's astronomical data. $24.99 for a certificate with NASA-sourced coordinates.
Name a starFrequently asked questions
How many constellations are there?
There are exactly 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This number was fixed in 1922 and includes 48 ancient constellations from Ptolemy's list plus 40 modern additions.
What is the biggest constellation?
Hydra is the largest constellation, covering 1,303 square degrees of sky. It's so long that it stretches across more than a quarter of the sky from head to tail.
What is the smallest constellation?
Crux (the Southern Cross) is the smallest at just 68 square degrees. Despite its tiny size, it's one of the most culturally significant constellations and appears on several national flags.
Can you see all 88 constellations from one place?
No. Some constellations are only visible from the Northern Hemisphere and others only from the Southern Hemisphere. From about 30 degrees north latitude, you can see roughly 60-65 constellations throughout the year.
What's the difference between a constellation and an asterism?
A constellation is an officially defined area of sky recognized by the IAU. An asterism is a recognizable pattern of stars that may be part of one or more constellations. The Big Dipper is an asterism within the constellation Ursa Major.
Got Questions?
Here's everything you need to know about buying a planet
Here's the deal: this is symbolic ownership. Nobody can legally own a planet (there's actually a UN treaty about it). But what you DO get is a gorgeous personalized certificate with real astronomical data and a unique registration number. Think of it as the most original gift you can possibly give someone.
The planet's real name, your personalized owner name, a custom message if you want one, a unique registration number, and the date. It's designed to look premium enough to frame and hang on a wall.
It shows up in your email as a PDF within a few minutes of buying. You can print it at home, take it to a print shop for a nicer version, or just share it digitally. Simple.
People go crazy for it. We've sold over 3,247 planets so far and we get messages all the time from people saying it's the best gift they've ever received. It works for birthdays, Valentine's Day, Christmas, weddings, new babies... pretty much any occasion.
100%. Every planet in our catalog is a real celestial body discovered by NASA, ESA, or other space agencies. We don't make anything up. The data on your certificate comes from confirmed scientific discoveries.
No problem. You've got 30 days to change your mind. Just email us at ethan@buymyplanet.com and we'll sort it out.
Yes! We sell both planets and stars. Stars are beautiful and classic. Planets are full worlds with their own characteristics, categories, and stories. Both come with a personalized certificate and real astronomical data. Pick what fits best, or get both.
Yep! Each certificate gets its own unique registration number. It's like naming a star. The ownership is personal to you, and your certificate is one of a kind.
Right now we do instant digital PDF certificates. You can print them at home or at any print shop. We're working on framed physical versions that'll ship to your door. Stay tuned.
Totally. Symbolic planet ownership is a novelty gift, kind of like star naming services. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty says no country can claim a planet, but personalized certificates are perfectly fine. It's a beloved gift worldwide.
BuyMyPlanet offers symbolic star naming certificates. Names are not recognized by the IAU. Coordinates are sourced from publicly available NASA databases.