How many constellations are there in total?

Constellation originated in Babylon, one of the four ancient civilizations. About 5000 years ago, a group of Babylonian shepherds lived a nomadic life in Mesopotamia. In their wandering life as shepherds, they still don't forget to observe the twinkling stars in the night sky every day. Over time, they can see the regular changes of time and season from the dynamics of the stars. Every night, they look at the sheep, observe all kinds of stars, connect the brighter stars with each other, associate all kinds of animals, utensils and even gods they believe in from the connected shapes, and name them, creating the so-called constellation.

1922, the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided to divide the sky into 88 constellations, and their names basically followed the historical names. 1928, the international astronomical union officially announced the names of 88 constellations. These 88 constellations are divided into three celestial regions, 29 in the northern hemisphere, 47 in the southern hemisphere, and near the equator and ecliptic 12.

88 constellation

(1) Polaris constellations: Ursa minor, Dragon Constellation, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Panthera, Ursa major, Aries, Beiguan Constellation, Five Immortals, Lyra, Cygnus, Scorpio, Andromeda, Perseus, Auriga, Tmall Constellation, Little Lion Constellation and Houpai Constellation.

(2) Southern constellations: Cetacea, Bojiang, Orion, Unicorn, Canine, Hydra, Grand Earl, Raven, Wolverine, Southern Crown, Temple of Heaven, Crane, Phoenix, Clock, Painting, Canvas, Compass, Southern Pisces and Peacock. Antarctic Constellation, Tian Yan Constellation, Aquarius Constellation, Mountain Constellation, Moth Constellation, Sextant Constellation, Microscope Constellation, Telescope Constellation, Southern Cross Constellation, Southern Triangle Constellation, Centauri Constellation and Indian Constellation;

Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

The "constellation" we usually say refers to the "sun constellation"; That is, people on the earth are the center, and at the same time we can see which constellation the sun is in orbit (Greek zodiac: the circle made by animals, also known as the "zodiac"), so we can say what constellation that person is.

So the constellation we often say now is "12 zodiac". Including Aries → Taurus → Gemini → Cancer → Leo → Virgo → Libra → Scorpio → Sagittarius → Capricorn → Aquarius → Pisces.