The 88 constellations

The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 constellations with official boundaries. Each has a star map, a printable version, an outline and a chart showing where to find it.

A–Z Winter Spring Summer Autumn The zodiac constellations Constellations of the northern sky Constellations of the southern sky

Constellation maps of the whole sky

Constellation map of the whole sky: all 88 constellations labeled, with stick figures, constellation boundaries, the ecliptic and the brightest stars (Sirius, Canopus, Arcturus, Vega) — The whole sky on one map: right ascension runs from right to left (east is on the left when you look up), declination from the North Celestial Pole at the top to the South Celestial Pole at the bottom. Zodiac constellations are gold; the dashed line is the ecliptic, the path of the Sun, Moon and planets.

Northern sky star map: all constellations around Polaris and the North Celestial Pole labeled, including Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Orion and the zodiac — Star map from the North Celestial Pole to 20° south

Southern sky star map: all constellations around the South Celestial Pole labeled, including Crux (the Southern Cross), Centaurus, Carina, Scorpius and Orion — Star map from the South Celestial Pole to 20° north

Constellations by season

The constellations that are highest in the evening sky (around 9 pm) in each season, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. South of the equator the seasons are reversed: the winter constellations of the north are summer constellations there.

All constellations A–Z

Andromedathe Chained Princess

Antliathe Air Pump

Apusthe Bird of Paradise

Aquariusthe Water Bearer

Camelopardalisthe Giraffe

Cancerthe Crab

Canes Venaticithe Hunting Dogs

Canis Majorthe Great Dog

Canis Minorthe Little Dog

Capricornusthe Sea Goat

Cetusthe Whale (Sea Monster)

Chamaeleonthe Chameleon

Circinusthe Compass

Columbathe Dove

Coma BerenicesBerenice's Hair

Corona Australisthe Southern Crown

Corona Borealisthe Northern Crown

Corvusthe Crow

Craterthe Cup

Cruxthe Southern Cross

Cygnusthe Swan

Delphinusthe Dolphin

Doradothe Dolphinfish

Dracothe Dragon

Equuleusthe Little Horse

Herculesthe Hero Hercules

Horologiumthe Pendulum Clock

Hydrathe Water Snake

Hydrusthe Lesser Water Snake

Industhe Indian

Lacertathe Lizard

Leothe Lion

Leo Minorthe Lesser Lion

Mensathe Table Mountain

Microscopiumthe Microscope

Monocerosthe Unicorn

Muscathe Fly

Normathe Carpenter's Square

Octansthe Octant

Ophiuchusthe Serpent Bearer

Orionthe Hunter

Pavothe Peacock

Pegasusthe Winged Horse

Perseusthe Hero Perseus

Phoenixthe Phoenix

Pictorthe Painter's Easel

Piscesthe Fishes

Piscis Austrinusthe Southern Fish

Puppisthe Stern

Pyxisthe Mariner's Compass

Reticulumthe Reticle

Sagittathe Arrow

Sagittariusthe Archer

Telescopiumthe Telescope

Triangulumthe Triangle

Triangulum Australethe Southern Triangle

Tucanathe Toucan

Ursa Majorthe Great Bear

Ursa Minorthe Little Bear

Velathe Sails

Virgothe Maiden

Volansthe Flying Fish

Vulpeculathe Little Fox

List of the 88 constellations

Click a column heading to sort.

Constellation	Meaning	Abbr.	Area (sq°)	Size rank	Brightest star	Hemisphere	Best month
Andromeda	the Chained Princess	And	722	19	Alpheratz	Northern	November
Antlia	the Air Pump	Ant	239	62	α Antliae	Southern	April
Apus	the Bird of Paradise	Aps	206	67	α Apodis	Southern	July
Aquarius	the Water Bearer	Aqr	980	10	Sadalsuud	Southern	October
Aquila	the Eagle	Aql	653	22	Altair	Equator	August
Ara	the Altar	Ara	237	63	β Arae	Southern	July
Aries	the Ram	Ari	441	39	Hamal	Northern	December
Auriga	the Charioteer	Aur	657	21	Capella	Northern	February
Boötes	the Herdsman	Boo	907	13	Arcturus	Northern	June
Caelum	the Chisel	Cae	125	81	α Caeli	Southern	January
Camelopardalis	the Giraffe	Cam	757	18	β Camelopardalis	Northern	February
Cancer	the Crab	Cnc	506	31	Tarf	Northern	March
Canes Venatici	the Hunting Dogs	CVn	465	38	Cor Caroli	Northern	May
Canis Major	the Great Dog	CMa	380	43	Sirius	Southern	February
Canis Minor	the Little Dog	CMi	183	71	Procyon	Equator	February
Capricornus	the Sea Goat	Cap	414	40	Deneb Algedi	Southern	September
Carina	the Keel	Car	494	34	Canopus	Southern	March
Cassiopeia	the Queen	Cas	598	25	Schedar	Northern	November
Centaurus	the Centaur	Cen	1,060	9	Rigil Kentaurus	Southern	May
Cepheus	the King	Cep	589	27	Alderamin	Northern	October
Cetus	the Whale (Sea Monster)	Cet	1,231	4	Diphda	Equator	December
Chamaeleon	the Chameleon	Cha	132	78	α Chamaeleontis	Southern	April
Circinus	the Compass	Cir	93	85	α Circini	Southern	June
Columba	the Dove	Col	270	54	Phact	Southern	February
Coma Berenices	Berenice's Hair	Com	387	42	β Comae Berenices	Northern	May
Corona Australis	the Southern Crown	CrA	128	80	β Coronae Australis	Southern	August
Corona Borealis	the Northern Crown	CrB	179	72	Alphecca	Northern	July
Corvus	the Crow	Crv	184	70	Gienah	Southern	May
Crater	the Cup	Crt	282	53	δ Crateris	Southern	April
Crux	the Southern Cross	Cru	68	88	Acrux	Southern	May
Cygnus	the Swan	Cyg	804	16	Deneb	Northern	September
Delphinus	the Dolphin	Del	189	69	Rotanev	Northern	September
Dorado	the Dolphinfish	Dor	179	73	α Doradus	Southern	January
Draco	the Dragon	Dra	1,083	8	Eltanin	Northern	July
Equuleus	the Little Horse	Equ	72	87	Kitalpha	Northern	September
Eridanus	the River	Eri	1,138	6	Achernar	Southern	December
Fornax	the Furnace	For	398	41	Dalim	Southern	December
Gemini	the Twins	Gem	514	30	Pollux	Northern	February
Grus	the Crane	Gru	366	45	Alnair	Southern	October
Hercules	the Hero Hercules	Her	1,225	5	Kornephoros	Northern	July
Horologium	the Pendulum Clock	Hor	249	58	α Horologii	Southern	December
Hydra	the Water Snake	Hya	1,303	1	Alphard	Southern	April
Hydrus	the Lesser Water Snake	Hyi	243	61	β Hydri	Southern	December
Indus	the Indian	Ind	294	49	α Indi	Southern	September
Lacerta	the Lizard	Lac	201	68	α Lacertae	Northern	October
Leo	the Lion	Leo	947	12	Regulus	Northern	April
Leo Minor	the Lesser Lion	LMi	232	64	Praecipua	Northern	April
Lepus	the Hare	Lep	290	51	Arneb	Southern	January
Libra	the Scales	Lib	538	29	Zubeneschamali	Southern	June
Lupus	the Wolf	Lup	334	46	α Lupi	Southern	June
Lynx	the Lynx	Lyn	545	28	α Lyncis	Northern	March
Lyra	the Lyre	Lyr	287	52	Vega	Northern	August
Mensa	the Table Mountain	Men	153	75	α Mensae	Southern	January
Microscopium	the Microscope	Mic	210	66	γ Microscopii	Southern	September
Monoceros	the Unicorn	Mon	482	35	α Monocerotis	Equator	February
Musca	the Fly	Mus	138	77	α Muscae	Southern	May
Norma	the Carpenter's Square	Nor	165	74	γ2 Normae	Southern	July
Octans	the Octant	Oct	291	50	ν Octantis	Southern	September
Ophiuchus	the Serpent Bearer	Oph	948	11	Rasalhague	Equator	July
Orion	the Hunter	Ori	594	26	Rigel	Equator	January
Pavo	the Peacock	Pav	378	44	Peacock	Southern	August
Pegasus	the Winged Horse	Peg	1,121	7	Enif	Northern	October
Perseus	the Hero Perseus	Per	615	24	Mirfak	Northern	December
Phoenix	the Phoenix	Phe	469	37	Ankaa	Southern	November
Pictor	the Painter's Easel	Pic	247	59	α Pictoris	Southern	January
Pisces	the Fishes	Psc	889	14	Alpherg	Northern	November
Piscis Austrinus	the Southern Fish	PsA	245	60	Fomalhaut	Southern	October
Puppis	the Stern	Pup	673	20	Naos	Southern	February
Pyxis	the Mariner's Compass	Pyx	221	65	α Pyxidis	Southern	March
Reticulum	the Reticle	Ret	114	82	α Reticuli	Southern	January
Sagitta	the Arrow	Sge	80	86	γ Sagittae	Northern	September
Sagittarius	the Archer	Sgr	867	15	Kaus Australis	Southern	August
Scorpius	the Scorpion	Sco	497	33	Antares	Southern	July
Sculptor	the Sculptor	Scl	475	36	α Sculptoris	Southern	November
Scutum	the Shield	Sct	109	84	α Scuti	Southern	August
Serpens	the Serpent	Ser	637	23	Unukalhai	Equator	July
Sextans	the Sextant	Sex	314	47	α Sextantis	Equator	April
Taurus	the Bull	Tau	797	17	Aldebaran	Northern	January
Telescopium	the Telescope	Tel	252	57	α Telescopii	Southern	August
Triangulum	the Triangle	Tri	132	79	β Trianguli	Northern	December
Triangulum Australe	the Southern Triangle	TrA	110	83	Atria	Southern	July
Tucana	the Toucan	Tuc	295	48	α Tucanae	Southern	November
Ursa Major	the Great Bear	UMa	1,280	3	Alioth	Northern	April
Ursa Minor	the Little Bear	UMi	256	56	Polaris	Northern	June
Vela	the Sails	Vel	500	32	γ2 Velorum	Southern	March
Virgo	the Maiden	Vir	1,294	2	Spica	Equator	May
Volans	the Flying Fish	Vol	141	76	β Volantis	Southern	March
Vulpecula	the Little Fox	Vul	268	55	Anser	Northern	September

Frequently asked questions

How many constellations are there?

There are 88 constellations, officially defined by the International Astronomical Union. 48 of them go back to the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy; most of the others were added between the 16th and 18th centuries to fill the southern sky.

Which is the largest and which the smallest constellation?

The largest is Hydra (1,303 square degrees), the smallest Crux (68 square degrees).

How many constellations can I see?

From 40° N (the USA, southern Europe, Japan) 74 of the 88 constellations rise at least partly above the horizon in the course of a year; from 35° S (Australia, South Africa, Argentina) 87 do.

What is the difference between a constellation and an asterism?

A constellation is one of the 88 official areas of the sky. An asterism is an easy-to-see star pattern that is not a constellation, such as the Big Dipper (part of Ursa Major) or the Summer Triangle (three stars of three constellations).

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The 88 constellations

Constellation maps of the whole sky

Constellations by season

Winter Dec–Feb

Spring Mar–May

Summer Jun–Aug

Autumn Sep–Nov

All constellations A–Z

List of the 88 constellations

Frequently asked questions

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