The Southern Skies
the southern sky received the names used today only with the journeys of the famous explorers. Due to the important role that technical progress and new explorations played during that time names like »Air Pump«, »Furnace« or »Bird of Paradise« were chosen. Mapping the sky the sailors and astronomers paid little respect to the cultures of the native peoples, so most of their astronomical knowledge was lost.

Today the sky is divided up in 88 constellations that were laid down internationally in 1925 and 1928. Being some kind of map, they help orientating in the sky and break it down to smaller and more recognisable sections.
The Southern Sky holds many of the most beautiful astronomical objects that can be watched with an amateur telescope or the naked eye: Alpha Centauri, the Magellanic Clouds, the Southern Cross, 47 Tucanae, to only name a few, shine bright in front of the Milky Way that stretches like a silver band across the sky. Knowing only the northern stars so far, many constellations will be new, as they are not visible from the northern hemisphere. But also some of the familiar can be spotted, strangely rotated or upside down.

In contrast to the northern constellations and stars that got their names in classical antiquity already and therefore mainly tell of scenes and stories from ancient myths and fables,



Beauties of the Southern Sky (selection)




Constellations of the South

lat. name abbrev.
Octant

Octans

Oct

Peacock

Pavo

Pav

Phoenix

Phoenix

Phe

Reticle

Reticulum

Ret

Sails

Vela

Vel

Sculptor

Sculptor

Scl

Sextant

Sextans

Sex

Southern Cross

Crux

Cru

Southern Crown

Corona Australis

CrA

Southern Fish

Pisces Austrinus

PsA

Southern Triangle

Triangulum Australis

TrA

Square

Norma

Nor

Stern

Puppis

Pup

Table

Mensa

Men

Telescope

Telescopium

Tel

Toucan

Tucana

Tuc

Water Serpen

Hydrus

Hyd

Wolf

Lupus

Lup

     
lat. name abbrev.
Altar

Ara

Ara

Air Pump

Antila

Ant

Bird of Paradise

Apus

Aps

Centaur

Centaurus

Cen

Chameleon

Chameleon

Cha

Chisel

Caelum

Cae

Clock

Horologium

Hor

Compass

Pyxis

Pyx

Compasses

Circinus

Cir

Crane

Grus

Gru

Dove

Columba

Col

Easel

Pictor

Pic

Fly

Musca

Mus

Flying Fish

Volans

Vol

Furnace

Fornax

For

Goldfish

Dorado

Dor

Indian

Indus

Ind

Keel

Carina

Car

Microscope

Microscopium

Mic

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