Constellations
The International Astronomical Union divides the whole sky into 88 constellations with fixed borders, so every point of the sky belongs to exactly one of them. A star's Bayer designation joins a Greek letter to the genitive of its constellation's Latin name, so Sirius is α Canis Majoris, and atlases often shorten the genitive to the three-letter abbreviation, as in α CMa.
The brightest star of each constellation is taken from the HYG catalogue, by visual magnitude. Chapter O1 teaches 63 of these constellations, and each of them links to its section. The 55 constellations of the core list of Name the constellation, which hold a star brighter than magnitude 3.0 or belong to the zodiac, are marked in the last column.
The 88 constellations63 taught in Chapter O1
| Constellation | Abbr. | Genitive | Brightest star | Mag. | Taught in | Core list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda | And | Andromedae | Alpheratz | 2.07 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Antlia | Ant | Antliae | α Antliae | 4.28 | ||
| Apus | Aps | Apodis | α Apodis | 3.83 | ||
| Aquarius | Aqr | Aquarii | Sadalsuud | 2.90 | Section O1.7 | Yes |
| Aquila | Aql | Aquilae | Altair | 0.76 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Ara | Ara | Arae | β Arae | 2.84 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Aries | Ari | Arietis | Hamal | 2.01 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Auriga | Aur | Aurigae | Capella | 0.08 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Boötes | Boo | Boötis | Arcturus | −0.05 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Caelum | Cae | Caeli | α Caeli | 4.44 | ||
| Camelopardalis | Cam | Camelopardalis | β Camelopardalis | 4.03 | ||
| Cancer | Cnc | Cancri | Tarf | 3.53 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Canes Venatici | CVn | Canum Venaticorum | Cor Caroli | 2.89 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Canis Major | CMa | Canis Majoris | Sirius | −1.44 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Canis Minor | CMi | Canis Minoris | Procyon | 0.40 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Capricornus | Cap | Capricorni | Deneb Algedi | 2.85 | Section O1.7 | Yes |
| Carina | Car | Carinae | Canopus | −0.62 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Cassiopeia | Cas | Cassiopeiae | Cih | 2.15 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Centaurus | Cen | Centauri | Rigil Kentaurus | −0.01 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Cepheus | Cep | Cephei | Alderamin | 2.45 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Cetus | Cet | Ceti | Diphda | 2.04 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Chamaeleon | Cha | Chamaeleontis | α Chamaeleontis | 4.05 | ||
| Circinus | Cir | Circini | α Circini | 3.18 | ||
| Columba | Col | Columbae | Phact | 2.65 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Coma Berenices | Com | Comae Berenices | β Comae Berenices | 4.23 | Section O1.3 | |
| Corona Australis | CrA | Coronae Australis | β Coronae Australis | 4.10 | ||
| Corona Borealis | CrB | Coronae Borealis | Alphecca | 2.22 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Corvus | Crv | Corvi | Gienah | 2.58 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Crater | Crt | Crateris | δ Crateris | 3.56 | ||
| Crux | Cru | Crucis | Acrux | 0.77 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Cygnus | Cyg | Cygni | Deneb | 1.25 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Delphinus | Del | Delphini | Rotanev | 3.64 | Section O1.4 | |
| Dorado | Dor | Doradus | α Doradus | 3.30 | Section O1.6 | |
| Draco | Dra | Draconis | Eltanin | 2.24 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Equuleus | Equ | Equulei | Kitalpha | 3.92 | ||
| Eridanus | Eri | Eridani | Achernar | 0.45 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Fornax | For | Fornacis | Dalim | 3.80 | ||
| Gemini | Gem | Geminorum | Pollux | 1.16 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Grus | Gru | Gruis | Alnair | 1.73 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Hercules | Her | Herculis | Kornephoros | 2.78 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Horologium | Hor | Horologii | α Horologii | 3.85 | ||
| Hydra | Hya | Hydrae | Alphard | 1.99 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Hydrus | Hyi | Hydri | β Hydri | 2.82 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Indus | Ind | Indi | α Indi | 3.11 | ||
| Lacerta | Lac | Lacertae | α Lacertae | 3.76 | ||
| Leo | Leo | Leonis | Regulus | 1.36 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Leo Minor | LMi | Leonis Minoris | Praecipua | 3.79 | ||
| Lepus | Lep | Leporis | Arneb | 2.58 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Libra | Lib | Librae | Zubeneschamali | 2.61 | Section O1.7 | Yes |
| Lupus | Lup | Lupi | α Lupi | 2.30 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Lynx | Lyn | Lyncis | α Lyncis | 3.14 | ||
| Lyra | Lyr | Lyrae | Vega | 0.03 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Mensa | Men | Mensae | γ Mensae | 5.18 | ||
| Microscopium | Mic | Microscopii | γ Microscopii | 4.67 | ||
| Monoceros | Mon | Monocerotis | β Monocerotis | 3.76 | Section O1.2 | |
| Musca | Mus | Muscae | α Muscae | 2.69 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Norma | Nor | Normae | γ² Normae | 4.01 | ||
| Octans | Oct | Octantis | ν Octantis | 3.73 | Section O1.6 | |
| Ophiuchus | Oph | Ophiuchi | Rasalhague | 2.08 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Orion | Ori | Orionis | Rigel | 0.18 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Pavo | Pav | Pavonis | Peacock | 1.94 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Pegasus | Peg | Pegasi | Enif | 2.38 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Perseus | Per | Persei | Mirfak | 1.79 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Phoenix | Phe | Phoenicis | Ankaa | 2.40 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Pictor | Pic | Pictoris | α Pictoris | 3.24 | ||
| Pisces | Psc | Piscium | Alpherg | 3.62 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Piscis Austrinus | PsA | Piscis Austrini | Fomalhaut | 1.17 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Puppis | Pup | Puppis | Naos | 2.21 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Pyxis | Pyx | Pyxidis | α Pyxidis | 3.68 | ||
| Reticulum | Ret | Reticuli | α Reticuli | 3.33 | ||
| Sagitta | Sge | Sagittae | γ Sagittae | 3.51 | Section O1.4 | |
| Sagittarius | Sgr | Sagittarii | Kaus Australis | 1.79 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Scorpius | Sco | Scorpii | Antares | 1.06 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Sculptor | Scl | Sculptoris | α Sculptoris | 4.30 | ||
| Scutum | Sct | Scuti | α Scuti | 3.85 | Section O1.8 | |
| Serpens | Ser | Serpentis | Unukalhai | 2.63 | Section O1.4 | Yes |
| Sextans | Sex | Sextantis | α Sextantis | 4.48 | ||
| Taurus | Tau | Tauri | Aldebaran | 0.87 | Section O1.2 | Yes |
| Telescopium | Tel | Telescopii | α Telescopii | 3.49 | ||
| Triangulum | Tri | Trianguli | β Trianguli | 3.00 | Section O1.5 | Yes |
| Triangulum Australe | TrA | Trianguli Australis | Atria | 1.91 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Tucana | Tuc | Tucanae | α Tucanae | 2.87 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Ursa Major | UMa | Ursae Majoris | Alioth | 1.76 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Ursa Minor | UMi | Ursae Minoris | Polaris | 1.97 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Vela | Vel | Velorum | γ² Velorum | 1.75 | Section O1.6 | Yes |
| Virgo | Vir | Virginis | Spica | 0.98 | Section O1.3 | Yes |
| Volans | Vol | Volantis | β Volantis | 3.77 | ||
| Vulpecula | Vul | Vulpeculae | α Vulpeculae | 4.44 | Section O1.8 |