The Constellations (Las Constelaciones)

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Origin of the Constellations

 Ever since people first wandered the Earth, great significance has been given to the celestial objects seen in the sky. Throughout human history and across many different cultures, names and mythical stories have been attributed to the star patterns in the night sky, thus giving birth to what we know as constellations.
When were the first constellations recorded? Archaeological studies have identified possible astronomical markings painted on the walls in the cave system at Lascaux in southern France. Our ancestors may have recorded their view of the night sky on the walls of their cave some 17 300 years ago. It is thought that the Pleiades star cluster is represented alongside the nearby cluster of the Hyades. Was the first ever depiction of a star pattern made over seventeen millennia ago? (Rappenglück 1996)
The ancient Greeks were the first to describe over half of the 88 constellations recognised by the IAU today. Forty eight of the constellations we know were recorded in the seventh and eighth books of Claudius Ptolemy’s Almagest, although the exact origin of these constellations still remains uncertain. Ptolemy’s descriptions are probably strongly influenced by the work of Eudoxus of Knidos in around 350 BC. Between the 16th and 17th century AD, European astronomers and celestial cartographers added new constellations to the 48 previously described by Ptolemy; these new constellations were mainly “new discoveries” made by the Europeans who first explored the southern hemisphere. Those who made particular contributions to the “new” constellations include the Polish-born, German astronomer Johannes Hevelius; three Dutch cartographers, Frederick de Houtman, Pieter Dirksz Keyser and Gerard Mercator; the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille; the Flemish mapmaker Petrus Plancius and the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.

IAU and the 88 Constellations 

Originally the constellations were defined informally by the shapes made by their star patterns, but, as the pace of celestial discoveries quickened in the early 20th century, astronomers decided it would be helpful to have an official set of constellation boundaries. One reason was to aid in the naming of new variable stars, which brighten and fade rather than shine steadily. Such stars are named for the constellation in which they reside, so it is important to agree where one constellation ends and the next begins.
Eugène Delporte originally listed the 88 “modern” constellations on behalf of the IAU Commission 3 (Astronomical Notations), in Délimitation scientifique des constellations. (Delporte, 1930)

Constellation Figures

In star maps it is common to mark line “patterns” that represent the shapes that give the name to the constellations. However, the IAU defines a constellation by its boundary (indicated by sky coordinates) and not by its pattern and the same constellation may have several variants in its representation.
The constellations should be differentiated from asterisms. Asterisms are patterns or shapes of stars that are not related to the known constellations, but nonetheless are widely recognised by laypeople or in the amateur astronomy community. Examples of asterisms include the seven bright stars in Ursa Major known as “the Plough” in Europe or “the Big Dipper” in America, as well as “the Summer Triangle”, a large triangle, seen in the summer night sky in the northern hemisphere and composed of the bright stars Altair, Deneb and Vega. Whilst a grouping of stars may be officially designated a constellation by the IAU, this does not mean that the stars in that constellation are necessarily grouped together in space. Sometimes stars will be physically close to each other, like the Pleiades, but constellations are generally really a matter of perspective. They are simply our Earth-based interpretation of two dimensional star patterns on the sky made up of stars of many differing brightnesses and distances from Earth.

  Constellation Names

Each Latin constellation name has two forms: the nominative, for use when talking about the constellation itself, and the genitive, or possessive, which is used in star names. For instance, Hamal, the brightest star in the constellation Aries (nominative form), is also called Alpha Arietis (genitive form), meaning literally “the alpha of Aries”.
The Latin names of all the constellations, their abbreviated names and boundaries can be found in the table below. They are a mix of the ancient Greek patterns recorded by Ptolemy as well as some more “modern” patterns observed later by more modern astronomers.
The IAU adopted three-letter abbreviations of the constellation names at its inaugural General Assembly in Rome in 1922. So, for instance, Andromeda is abbreviated to And whilst Draco is abbreviated to Dra.

Pronunciation of Constellation Names

Experienced astronomers, both professional and amateur, pronounce constellation names in many different ways, but have no trouble understanding each other. There is no single correct way of pronouncing a constellation name, and there are several sources that address the issue. (See also Covington (2002), Davis (1942), The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). See for instance:

• Sky&Telescope web page on constellations names and pronunciation
• Davis, G. A.; Barton, S. G. & McHugh, I. “Pronouncing Astronomical Names ” in Popular Astronomy, August 1942
• The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition
• Covington , M. A. Celestial Objects for Modern Telescopes, pages 80–84. A link to the text “Latin Pronunciation Demystified “ is available on http://www.ai.uga.edu/mc/latinpro.pdf

Charts and tables

The charts below were produced in collaboration with Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg). Alan MacRobert's constellation patterns, drawn in green in the charts, were influenced by those of H. A. Rey but in many cases were adjusted to preserve earlier traditions.
Quick links : And , Ant, Aps, Aqr, Aql, Ara, Ari, Aur, Boo, Cae, Cam, Cnc, CVn, CMa, CMi, Cap, Car, Cas, Cen, Cep, Cet, Cha, Cir, Col, Com, CrA, CrB, Crv, Crt, Cru, Cyg, Del, Dor, Dra, Equ, Eri, For, Gem, Gru, Her, Hor, Hya, Hyi, Ind, Lac, Leo, LMi, Lep, Lib, Lup, Lyn, Lyr, Men, Mic, Mon, Mus, Nor, Oct, Oph, Ori, Pav, Peg, Per, Phe, Pic, Psc, PsA, Pup, Pyx, Ret, Sge, Sgr, Sco, Scl, Sct, Ser, Sex, Tau, Tel, Tri, TrA, Tuc, UMa, UMi, Vel, Vir, Vol, Vul , Chart text legend
Charts Graphical Legend



http://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/

Charts

Name / Pronunciation	Abbr.	English Name	Genitive / Pronunciation	Downloads
Andromeda an-DRAH-mih-duh	And	the Chained Maiden	Andromedae an-DRAH-mih-dee	Constellation charts GIF (117 KB) PDF (829 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Antlia ANT-lee-uh	Ant	the Air Pump	Antliae ANT-lee-ee	Constellation charts GIF (111 KB) PDF (815 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Apus APE-us, APP-us  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Aps	the Bird of Paradise	Apodis APP-oh-diss	Constellation charts GIF (155 KB) PDF (836 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Aquarius uh-QUAIR-ee-us Constellation of the zodiac	Aqr	the Water Bearer	Aquarii uh-QUAIR-ee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (124 KB) PDF (879 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Aquila ACK-will-uh, uh-QUILL-uh	Aql	the Eagle	Aquilae ACK-will-ee, uh-QUILL-ee	Constellation charts GIF (108 KB) PDF (820KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Ara AIR-uh, AR-uh	Ara	the Altar	Arae AIR-ee, AR-ee	Constellation charts GIF (114 KB) PDF (807 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Aries AIR-eez, AIR-ee-yeez	Ari	the Ram	Arietis uh-RYE-ih-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (118 KB) PDF (805 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Auriga aw-RYE-guh	Aur	the Charioteer	Aurigae aw-RYE-ghee	Constellation charts GIF (115 KB) PDF (839 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Boötes bo-OH-teez	Boo	the Herdsman	Boötis bo-OH-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (147 KB) PDF (823KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Caelum SEE-lum  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Cae	the Engraving Tool	Caeli SEE-lye	Constellation charts GIF (97 KB) PDF (780 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Camelopardalis cuh-MEL-oh- PAR-duh-liss  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius	Cam	the Giraffe	Camelopardalis cuh-MEL-oh- PAR-duh-liss CANE-um (CAN-um) ve-nat-ih-COR-um	Constellation charts GIF (156 KB) PDF (888 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Cancer CAN-ser  Constellation of the zodiac	Cnc	the Crab	Cancri CANG-cry	Constellation charts GIF (108 KB) PDF (814 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Canes Venatici CANE-eez (CAN-eez) ve-NAT-iss-eye  Devised in the 17th century by Johannes Hevelius	CVn	the Hunting Dogs	Canum Venaticorum	Constellation charts GIF (106 KB) PDF (790 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Canis Major CANE-iss (CAN-iss) MAY-jer	CMa	the Great Dog	Canis Majoris CANE-iss (CAN-iss) muh-JOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (134 KB) PDF (849 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Canis Minor CANE-iss (CAN-iss) MY-ner	CMi	the Lesser Dog	Canis Minoris CANE-iss (CAN-iss) mih-NOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (83 KB) PDF (766 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Capricornus CAP-rih-CORN-us  Constellation of the zodiac	Cap	the Sea Goat	Capricorni CAP-rih-CORN-eye	Constellation charts GIF (98 KB) PDF (818 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Carina cuh-RYE-nuh, cuh-REE-nuh  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille when he split up the ancient constellation of Argo Navis	Car	the Keel	Carinae cuh-RYE-nee, cuh-REE-nee	Constellation charts GIF (143 KB) PDF (882 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Cassiopeia CASS-ee-uh-PEE-uh	Cas	the Seated Queen	Cassiopeiae CASS-ee-uh-PEE-ye	Constellation charts GIF (139 KB) PDF (846 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Centaurus	Cen	the Centaur	Centauri	Constellation charts GIF (178 KB) PDF (549 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Cepheus	Cep	the King	Cephei	Constellation charts GIF (200 KB) PDF (873 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Cetus SEE-tus	Cet	the Sea Monster	Ceti SEE-tie	Constellation charts GIF (122 KB) PDF (873 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Chamaeleon cuh-MEAL-yun, cuh-MEAL-ee-un  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Cha	the Chameleon	Chamaeleontis cuh-MEAL-ee-ON-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (183 KB) PDF (834 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Circinus SER-sin-us  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Cir	the Compass	Circini SER-sin-eye	Constellation charts GIF (131 KB) PDF (818 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Columba cuh-LUM-buh  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius	Col	the Dove	Columbae cuh-LUM-bee	Constellation charts GIF (99 KB) PDF (797 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Coma Berenices COE-muh BER-uh-NICE-eez  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch cartographer Gerardus Mercator	Com	the Bernice's Hair	Comae Berenices COE-mee BER-uh-NICE-eez	Constellation charts GIF (101 KB) PDF (788 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Corona Australis cuh-ROE-nuh aw-STRAL-iss3	CrA	the Southern Crown	Coronae Australis cuh-ROE-nee aw-STRAL-iss3	Constellation charts GIF (107 KB) PDF (787 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Corona Borealis cuh-ROE-nuh bor-ee-AL-iss3	CrB	the Northern Crown	cuh-ROE-nee bor-ee-AL-iss3	Constellation charts GIF (89 KB) PDF (771 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Corvus COR-vus	Crv	the Crow	Corvi COR-vye	Constellation charts GIF (74 KB) PDF (763 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Crater CRAY-ter	Crt	the Cup	Crateris cruh-TEE-riss	Constellation charts GIF (75 KB) PDF (787 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Crux CRUCKS, CROOKS  Originally part of Centaurus but separated into a distinct asterism in the 16th century by European explorers to the southern hemisphere	Cru	the Southern Cross	Crucis CROO-siss	Constellation charts GIF (119 KB) PDF (811 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Cygnus SIG- SIG-nu	Cyg	the Swan	Cygni SIG-nye	Constellation charts GIF (174 KB) PDF (866 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Delphinus del-FINE-us, del-FIN-us	Del	the Dolphin	Delphini del-FINE-eye, del-FIN-eye	Constellation charts GIF (81 KB) PDF (767 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Dorado duh-RAH-do  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Dor	the Swordfish	Doradus duh-RAH-dus	Constellation charts GIF (108 KB) PDF (795 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Draco DRAY-co	Dra	the Dragon	Draconis druh-CONE-iss	Constellation charts GIF (153 KB) PDF (898 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Equuleus eh-QUOO-lee-us	Equ	the Little Horse	Equulei eh-QUOO-lee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (69 KB) PDF (749 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Eridanus ih-RID-un-us	Eri	the River	Eridani ih-RID-un-eye	Constellation charts GIF (167 KB) PDF (941 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Fornax FOR-naks  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	For	the Furnace	Fornacis for-NAY-siss	Constellation charts GIF (108 KB) PDF (811 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Gemini JEM-uh-nye, JEM-uh-nee  Constellation of the zodiac	Gem	the Twins	Geminorum JEM-uh-NOR-um	Constellation charts GIF (122 KB) PDF (832 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Grus GRUSS, GROOS  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Gru	the Crane	Gruis GROO-iss	Constellation charts GIF (127 KB) PDF (829 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Hercules HER-kyuh-leez	Her	the Hercules	Herculis HER-kyuh-liss	Constellation charts GIF (156 KB) PDF (829 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Horologium hor-uh-LOE-jee-um  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Hor	the Clock	Horologii hor-uh-LOE-jee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (107 KB) PDF (788 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Hydra HIGH-druh	Hya	the Female Water Snake	Hydrae HIGH-dree	Constellation charts GIF (127 KB) PDF (929 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Hydrus HIGH-drus   Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Hyi	the Male Water Snake	Hydri HIGH-dry	Constellation charts GIF (143 KB) PDF (821 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Indus IN-dus  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Ind	the Indian	Indi IN-dye	Constellation charts GIF (131 KB) PDF (834 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Lacerta luh-SER-tuh  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius	Lac	the Lizard	Lacertae luh-SER-tee	Constellation charts GIF (124 KB) PDF (812 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Leo LEE-oh  Constellation of the zodiac	Leo	the Lion	Leonis lee-OH-niss	Constellation charts GIF (142 KB) PDF (820 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Leo Minor LEE-oh MY-ner  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius	LMi	the Lesser Lion	Leonis Minoris lee-OH-niss mih-NOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (103 KB) PDF (799 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Lepus LEEP-us, LEP-us	Lep	the Hare	Leporis LEP-or-iss	Constellation charts GIF (94 KB) PDF (787 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Libra LEE-bruh, LYE-bruh  Constellation of the zodiac	Lib	the Scales	Librae LEE-bree, LYE-bree	Constellation charts GIF (111 KB) PDF (819 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Lupus LOOP-us	Lup	the Wolf	Lupi LOOP-eye	Constellation charts GIF (137 KB) PDF (857 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Lynx LINKS  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius	Lyn	the Lynx	Lyncis LIN-siss	Constellation charts GIF (111 KB) PDF (796 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Lyra LYE-ruh	Lyr	the Lyre	Lyrae LYE-ree	Constellation charts GIF (91 KB) PDF (776 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Mensa MEN-suh  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Men	the Table Mountain	Mensae MEN-see	Constellation charts GIF (161 KB) PDF (827 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Microscopium my-cruh-SCOPE-ee-um  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Mic	the Microscope	Microscopii my-cruh-SCOPE-ee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (87 KB) PDF (776 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Monoceros muh-NAH-ser-us   Devised in the 17th century by Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius	Mon	the Unicorn	Monocerotis muh-NAH-ser-OH-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (110 KB) PDF (821 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Musca MUSS-cuh  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Mus	the Fly	Muscae MUSS-see, MUSS-kee	Constellation charts GIF (134 KB) PDF (828 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Norma NOR-muh  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Nor	the Carpenter's Square	Normae NOR-mee	Constellation charts GIF (118 KB) PDF (803 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Octans OCK-tanz  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Oct	the Octant	Octantis ock-TAN-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (140 KB) PDF (821 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Ophiuchus OFF-ee-YOO-kus, OAF-ee-YOO-kus  Although not a member of the zodiac, the ecliptic does runs through the southern part of this constellation	Oph	the Serpent Bearer	Ophiuchi OFF-ee-YOO-kye, OAF-ee-YOO-kye	Constellation charts GIF (175 KB) PDF (854 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Orion oh-RYE-un, uh-RYE-un	Ori	the Hunter	Orionis or-eye-OH-niss	Constellation charts GIF (181 KB) PDF (873 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Pavo PAY-vo  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Pav	the Peacock	Pavonis puh-VOE-niss	Constellation charts GIF (143 KB) PDF (859 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Pegasus PEG-us-us	Peg	the Winged Horse	Pegasi PEG-us-eye	Constellation charts GIF (136 KB) PDF (868 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (2 KB)
Perseus PER-see-us, PER-syoos	Per	the Hero	Persei PER-see-eye	Constellation charts GIF (127 KB) PDF (836 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Phoenix FEE-nix  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Phe	the Phoenix	Phoenicis fuh-NICE-iss	Constellation charts GIF (119 KB) PDF (828 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Pictor PICK-ter  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Pic	the Painter's Easel	Pictoris pick-TOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (108 KB) PDF (794 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Pisces PICE-eez, PISS-eez  Constellation of the zodiac	Psc	the Fishes	Piscium PICE-ee-um, PISH-ee-um	Constellation charts GIF (87 KB) PDF (859 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Piscis Austrinus PICE-iss (PISS-iss) aw-STRY-nus	PsA	the Southern Fish	Piscis Austrini PICE-iss (PISS-iss) aw-STRY-nye	Constellation charts GIF (87 KB) PDF (778 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Puppis PUP-iss  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille when he split up the ancient constellation of Argo Navis	Pup	the Stern	Puppis PUP-iss	Constellation charts GIF (185 KB) PDF (868 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Pyxis PIX-iss  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Pyx	the Compass	Pyxidis PIX-ih-diss	Constellation charts GIF (84 KB) PDF (775 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Reticulum rih-TICK-yuh-lum  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Ret	the Reticle	Reticuli rih-TICK-yuh-lye	Constellation charts GIF (107 KB) PDF (786 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Sagitta suh-JIT-uh	Sge	the Arrow	Sagittae suh-JIT-ee	Constellation charts GIF (90 KB) PDF (773 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Sagittarius SAJ-ih-TARE-ee-us  Constellation of the zodiac	Sgr	the Archer	Sagittarii SAJ-ih-TARE-ee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (163 KB) PDF (878 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Scorpius SCOR-pee-us  Constellation of the zodiac	Sco	the Scorpion	Scorpii SCOR-pee-eye	Constellation charts GIF (194 KB) PDF (874 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Sculptor SCULP-ter   Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Scl	the Sculptor	Sculptoris sculp-TOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (119 KB) PDF (810 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Scutum SCOOT-um, SCYOOT-um  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius	Sct	the Shield	Scuti SCOOT-eye, SCYOOT-eye	Constellation charts GIF (120 KB) PDF (784 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Serpens SER-punz  Split into two separate areas, Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail), with the constellation Ophiuchus in between	Ser	the Serpent	Serpentis ser-PEN-tiss	Constellation charts (Serpens Caput) GIF (112 KB) PDF (780 KB) Constellation boundary (Serpens Caput) TXT (1 KB) Constellation charts (Serpens Cauda) GIF (126 KB) PDF (791 KB) Constellation boundary (Serpens Cauda) TXT (1 KB)
Sextans SEX-tunz  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius	Sex	the Sextant	Sextantis sex-TAN-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (83 KB) PDF (782 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Taurus TOR-us  Constellation of the zodiac	Tau	the Bull	Tauri TOR-eye	Constellation charts GIF (115 KB) PDF (832 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Telescopium  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille	Tel	the Telescope	Telescopii	Constellation charts GIF (148 KB) PDF (834 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Triangulum try-ANG-gyuh-lum	Tri	the Triangle	Trianguli try-ANG-gyuh-lye	Constellation charts GIF (89 KB) PDF (764 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Triangulum Australe try-ANG-gyuh-lum aw-STRAL-ee   Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	TrA	the Southern Triangle	Trianguli Australis try-ANG-gyuh-lye aw-STRAL-iss	Constellation charts GIF (124 KB) PDF (815 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Tucana too-KAY-nuh, too-KAH-nuh  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Tuc	the Toucan	Tucanae too-KAY-nee, too-KAH-nee	Constellation charts GIF (127 KB) PDF (806 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Ursa Major ER-suh MAY-jur	UMa	the Great Bear	Ursae Majoris ER-suh muh-JOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (174 KB) PDF (885 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Ursa Minor ER-suh MY-ner	UMi	the Little Bear	Ursae Minoris ER-suh mih-NOR-iss	Constellation charts GIF (135 KB) PDF (800 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Vela VEE-luh, VAY-luh  Devised in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille when he split up the ancient constellation of Argo Navis	Vel	the Sails	Velorum vee-LOR-um, vuh-LOR-um	Constellation charts GIF (131 KB) PDF (850 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Virgo VER-go  Constellation of the zodiac	Vir	the Maiden	Virginis VER-jin-iss	Constellation charts GIF (98 KB) PDF (831 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Volans VOH-lanz  Devised in the 16th century by Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman	Vol	the Flying Fish	Volantis vo-LAN-tiss	Constellation charts GIF (123 KB) PDF (812 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)
Vulpecula vul-PECK-yuh-luh  Devised in the 17th century by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius and originally called Vulpecula cum Anser, the "Fox and Goose"	Vul	the Fox	Vulpeculae vul-PECK-yuh-lee	Constellation charts GIF (124 KB) PDF (805 KB) Constellation boundary TXT (1 KB)

Charts Text Legend
Each constellation comes with the following basic information:

1. Name
   
2. Pronunciation of the name
3. Abbreviation
4. English Name
5. Genitive
6. Pronunciation of the genitive
7. Chart for screen view (GIF)
8. Chart for printing (PDF in A4 format)
9. Boundary coordinates (TXT)

Explanation of the fields:

1. The name is the Latin name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1930.
2.  Pronunciation as described above.
3.  Abbreviation, the standard three-letter form of the Latin name.
4. The popular name in English.
5. The genitive is the possessive form of the constellation’s name in Latin. For example, alpha Orionis is the alpha star in the constellation of Orion.
6. Pronunciation as described above.
7. Chart in GIF format, 1000 pixels wide.
8. Chart in PDF format, to be printed in A4 format.
9.  A text file containing a set of coordinates that defines the boundaries of the constellations in the sky. The format is: HH MM SS.SSSS| DD.DDDDDDD|XXX
   
   Where:
   HH MM SS.SSSS defines the right ascension hour, minute and second with J2000 coordinates  DD.DDDDDDD defines the declination with J2000 coordinates  XXX is the abbreviation of the constellation name | is the separator of the fields
   Example:  22 57 51.6729| 35.1682358|AND

References

• COVINGTON, M. A. Celestial Objects for Modern Telescopes .Cambridge University Press, 2002. pp. 80-84.
  
• DAVENHALL, A. C.; LEGGETT, S. K. Constellation Boundary Data (Davenhall+ 1989). VizieR On-line Data Catalog: VI/49, 1997 (Online data: http://vizier.cfa.harvard.edu/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=VI/49 )
• DELPORTE, E.  Délimitation scientifique des constellation s. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
  
• FLANDERS, T. Constellation Names and Abbreviations . Sky & Telescope, link: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/letsgo/helpdesk/Constellation_Names.html
• RAPPENGLÜCK, M. A. The Pleiades in the “Salle des Taureaux”, Grotte de Lascaux (France). Does a Rock Picture in the Cave of Lascaux Show the Open Star Cluster of the Pleiades at the Magdalénien Era, ca. 15.300 B.C.? Actas del IV Congreso de la SEAC/Proceedings of the IVth SEAC Meeting "Astronomy and Culture". C. Jaschek and F. Atrio Barandela (eds.). Salamanca, 1996, pp. 217-225.
• RIDPATH, I. The IAU list of constellations webpage:  http://www.ianridpath.com/iaulist1.htm