The origin of the constellation?

Constellation refers to a group of similar stars projected on the celestial sphere. Different civilizations and historical periods may divide constellations differently. Most modern constellations evolved from the traditional constellations of ancient Greece, and the International Astronomical Union accurately divided the whole day into 88 constellations.

Western ancient constellations

Western constellations originated in Babylon, one of the four ancient civilizations. It is said that the so-called zodiac 12 constellation has more than 20 constellation names, and Mesopotamia was born about 5000 years ago. Since then, the Babylonians have continued to divide the sky into many regions and put forward new constellations. Around 1000 BC, 30 constellations have been proposed. Ancient Greek astronomers supplemented and developed the Babylonian constellation and compiled the ancient Greek constellation table. In the 2nd century A.D., Ptolemy, an ancient Greek astronomer, synthesized the astronomical achievements at that time and sorted out 48 constellations. Connect the main bright stars in the constellation with imaginary lines, imagine them as images of animals or characters, and give them appropriate names in combination with fairy tales. This is the origin of the constellation name. Most of the 48 constellations in Greek mythology live in the northern sky and north and south of the equator.

China Ancient Constellation

In order to facilitate research, people divide the starry sky into several regions, which are called constellations. China has long divided the sky into three walls and twenty-eight nights. Historical records and official records are quite detailed.

Sanyuan is the three areas around the north celestial pole, namely Ziweiyuan, Taiweiyuan and Tianshiyuan.

Twenty-eight branches are located in 28 areas near the ecliptic and the white road, namely, seven branches in the east, seven branches in the south, seven branches in the west and seven branches in the north.

The seven lodgings of Oriental Dragon are: horn, health, edge, room, heart, tail and dustpan.

Medieval ancient constellation map

The seven nights in South Suzaku are: well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and bird.

The seven accommodations of Xibaihu are: Kui, Lou, Wei, Chang, Bi, Gou and Shen.

The seven nights in Xuanwu in the north are: fighting, cattle, women, air, danger, houses and walls.