What is the origin of the constellation?

The well-documented constellations originated in Babylon, and the Babylonians put forward 30 constellations around 1000 BC.

After the culture of the two river basins (Babylon) spread to Greece, ancient Greek astronomers supplemented and developed the Babylonian constellation and compiled the ancient Greek constellation table. Ptolemy, an ancient Greek astronomer, synthesized the astronomical achievements at that time and sorted out 48 constellations.

After the Middle Ages, European capitalism rose and needed to expand outward, and the navigation industry was greatly developed. Ships sailing at sea need navigation at any time, and stars are the best street lamps. Among the stars, this constellation has a special shape and is the easiest to observe. Therefore, constellations have aroused widespread concern. 16 when Magellan actually sailed around the world, he not only used constellations to navigate and orient, but also studied constellations.

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 and 47 in the southern hemisphere, near the ecliptic 12.

And the constellation we usually say is the 12 constellation on the ecliptic. Each of them has some myths and legends about himself.

In ancient times, in order to facilitate navigation and observe astronomical phenomena, people connected the scattered stars in the sky through imagination. Half of them were named in ancient times, and the naming method was based on the myths and forms of ancient civilizations (including the myths and epics of Mesopotamia, Babylon, Egypt and Greece). The other half (mostly in the night sky in the southern hemisphere) was named only in modern times, and is often named after navigation instruments.

In ancient times, because of different regions, the way to see the starry sky was different! Now the world divides the sky into 88 regions and 88 constellations according to the constellation map.

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.

More than 2000 years ago, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (190 ~ 120 BC) divided the ecliptic into twelve segments, with spring divided into zero, and every 30 degrees from the vernal equinox (that is, the zero degree of the ecliptic) as a palace, taking the main constellations contained in each palace at that time. Babies born when the earth moves to every bisector (constellation) will always have some similar characteristics when they grow up, including behavioral characteristics and personality characteristics. Connect these associations (rich imagination and creativity) in series to make the humanity of these constellations concrete; It also adds the color of myth and becomes an important part of culture (mainly Greek and Roman mythology).

This set of numerology has been developed and circulated for at least five thousand years, represented by these twelve constellations respectively. But these constellations do not represent a certain "star", but can only be regarded as "representative symbols of the same name".