Constellations

The 88 Modern Constellations

Legend of the Constellations Maps
Originally, the constellations were informally defined by the shapes created by their star patterns, but as the pace of celestial discovery accelerated in the early 20th century, astronomers decided it would be useful to have an official set of constellation limits. One reason was to help name new variable stars, which light up and fade rather than constantly shine. These stars are named after the constellation in which they reside, so it's important to agree on the end of one constellation and the start of the next.

IAU & Eugène Delporte

Eugène Delporte originally listed the 88 modern constellations on behalf of the IAU Commission 3 (Astronomical Notations), in Délimitation scientifique des constellations. (Delporte, 1930)

QR Code of the Book
Délimitation Scientifique des Constellations

License

This 88 charts were produced in collaboration with Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg). Alan MacRobert's constellation patterns, drawn in green in the charts, were influenced by those of H. A. Rey but in many cases were adjusted to preserve earlier traditions. The images are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

The only modification made was removing the logos...

You can find the original sources here IAU