Until that time, many star charts had been produced depicting constellations that have since simply ceased to exist. None of those were officially defined until 1922 when the International Astronomical Union determined the final list of 88 recognized constellations. Image Credit: Sidney Hall, Richard Rouse Bloxam and Adam Cuerdenįorty new constellations – such as the sextant, the compasses and, appropriately, the telescope – now became celestial companions to the original forty-eight. For example, Noctua the Owl is clearly visible to the left while Felis the Cat is over to the right. This star chart from 1825 shows several constellations that no longer exist. Just as the ancient Greeks created constellations of creatures and characters familiar to them, so the astronomers of 17th and 18th century Europe added new, contemporary constellations. There was just one problem: the further south you went, the less those star charts and constellations were relevant.Īs the curve of the Earth took explorers to new lands, those same explorers found themselves under new skies, with strange stars and no identifiable constellations. Over the course of time, as trade and travel opened up previously unexplored areas of the world, the original 48 Greek constellations became adopted internationally. No longer designed to simply record the stars as they saw them, these charts allowed others to see them too. The oldest civilizations – the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Greeks – all had star charts depicting the night sky filled with their constellations. They were simply groups of stars in the sky that people wanted to record for posterity. In fact, back then, the constellations as we know them today didn’t even exist. The earliest depictions of the stars date back tens of thousands of years and typically show constellations like Orion, Taurus or the night sky’s most famous star cluster, the Pleiades. This star chart originates from 8th century China and depicts the stars around the north celestial pole. Instead, they typically recorded their observations of the stars on cave walls. They didn’t have the luxury of smartphones and apps. Imagine trying to get from point A to point B by simply heading in the right general direction, somewhere “over there.” Imagine trying to find the Whirlpool Galaxy when you only know that it’s in the constellation of Canes Venatici. We don’t need those paper star charts, right? They’re a relic of bygone days that, like the road atlas you used to carry in your car, are simply a reminder of a time when getting lost was easy and finding your way was hard. Today we have computerized telescopes and apps that tell us where we should look. There were days when you’d go out for a drive and just explore, just to discover previously unseen sights, but how many of us do that anymore? It’s the same with the stars. It took time and it took planning and you had to know what you were doing. You had to navigate your way with the aid of a paper map. Twenty years ago, the technology was still in its infancy and thirty years ago it was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Nowadays we can travel from point A to point B by simply opening an app on our phone and following directions. Things have changed a lot over the past ten thousand years or so. Charles Messier’s star chart of 1764, showing the curved path of a comet.
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