Changes

The random arrangement of the stars visible to the naked eye has remained essentially unchanged since the time of the first written records. One of the earliest complete lists we have was compiled in about 120 BC by the [[Greek]] astronomer [[Hipparchus]], and all the stars that he described can be found, with the same brightness and in practically the same place, in our skies today.

'''Constellations''' are the random arrangement of the stars visible to the naked eye has remained essentially unchanged since the time of the first written records. One of the earliest complete lists we have was compiled in about 120 BC by the [[Greek]] astronomer [[Hipparchus]], and all the stars that he described can be found, with the same brightness and in practically the same place, in our skies today.

The whole sky has been arbitrarily divided into eighty-eight areas, which differ greatly in size and shape. Each area is a "constellation," or group of stars, and was thought to represent a mythical or semi-mythical being. Over half the constellations were recognized and mentioned by [[Hipparchus]] (and by [[Ptolemy]], whose star catalogue came down to us through the [[Muslim]] scholars as the "[[Almagest]]"). The remaining constellations lie in the [[Southern Hemisphere]] and were not named until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The whole sky has been arbitrarily divided into eighty-eight areas, which differ greatly in size and shape. Each area is a "constellation," or group of stars, and was thought to represent a mythical or semi-mythical being. Over half the constellations were recognized and mentioned by [[Hipparchus]] (and by [[Ptolemy]], whose star catalogue came down to us through the [[Muslim]] scholars as the "[[Almagest]]"). The remaining constellations lie in the [[Southern Hemisphere]] and were not named until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.