At one of the meetings of the astronomical union, it was agreed that the total number of constellations reaches 88. Moreover, about 47 of them got their names in ancient times. From these groups of celestial bodies, we can distinguish the constellation Virgo, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Aquarius, Swan, Triangle, Wolf, Hydra and many others.
If someone does not know what constellations are, then this is a group of stars, which in most cases has names from
Greek mythology. Their studies began in the second century
BC by the astronomer Hipparchus. He also compiled a special star catalog. In addition, in addition to Hipparchus, Ptolemy also studied stars in the second century. His works were preserved under the name Almagest. It was he who gave the names to all of the above groups, which also include the
constellation Taurus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda and the Charioteer.
After a certain time, namely in 1603, a scientist from Germany I. Bayer published his atlas of stars. In it, to the previously discovered constellations, he added another eleven new ones. These included Crane, Phoenix, Chameleon, Native American, etc.
Around 1690, the astronomer J. Hevelius, wondering what constellations are, added another eleven groups of stars to the general list. Among them were Giraffe, Unicorn, Chanterelle, Lynx and Shield. Moreover, issuing names to the stars, the astronomer was guided by very interesting considerations. For example, the constellation Lynx was named because of its faint glow. As Hevelius noted, it is necessary to have a true vision of a lynx in order to see this group of stars.
After some time, namely after sixty years, scientists began to work more carefully on the question of what constellations are. It was in 1752 that they began to study the southern part of the sky. At the same time, about fourteen other constellations were discovered, among which one can distinguish the Furnace, Sculptor, Compass, Octant, Pump, etc.
To date, about 88 star groups are known. Among them, there is even the union of several constellations into one common group called the Ship. This large constellation personified the mythical feat of the Argonauts, who were able to get the golden fleece.
Among all groups, one constellation is located immediately in two celestial regions. This group of stars is called Snakes. We can say that it is divided into two halves by the constellation Ophiuchus. In ancient atlases, this combination looks very interesting.
If you give an answer to the question of what constellations are, then you should understand that they usually mean not the structure that is created with the help of especially bright stars, but some part of the celestial sphere containing certain figures. These figures are just formed with the help of bright stars. In addition, all celestial bodies that are located in a certain area of the sky participate in the creation of the constellation. Not all of them can be seen with the naked eye. Usually, for this purpose, special monitoring devices are used.
Times go, progress does not stand still. And who knows how many constellations will be, say, in a few decades.