constellation

Everyday

1. A constellation is a group of stars that people see as a pattern or picture in the night sky and give a name to. tree →
2. A constellation can mean a group of related things or people. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on space, pupils learn about constellations like the Big Dipper (the Plough), Orion and the Southern Cross. People in the past used constellations to find their way and tell the seasons. The Southern Cross appears on the flags of Australia and New Zealand. Phrases: the constellation of Orion, find a constellation, star patterns.

Examples

• Orion is a constellation that looks like a hunter. tree →
• The Plough is part of a constellation called the Great Bear. tree →
• In Australia you can see the Southern Cross constellation. tree →
• Sailors used constellations to find their way. tree →
• We looked for constellations on the camping trip. tree →
• There are 88 official constellations. tree →
• Stars in a constellation may be very far from each other. tree →
• After her death she was placed by Zeus among the stars as a constellation, under the name of Arctos, or the bear. tree →

Note

Countable noun. Spelling: con-stel-la-tion, double l. The stars in a constellation only look close from Earth. Myth: star signs (astrology) are not science; astronomy is the science of stars.

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah the twelve constellations are the zodiac signs, set in the world along with the twelve simple letters and the twelve months. In Isaiah, the stars and their constellations stand for the heavens, which will go dark on God's day of judgment.

Interpretation. Tradition links each of the twelve simple letters to a sign and a month, as a sign of how God ordered time and the heavens. The prophets use the dark stars as a picture of God's judgment.

Examples

• The twelve constellations in the world are: Aries, (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• He fixed these as testimonies of the Triad, the Heptad, and the Dodecad; the twelve constellations rulers of the world, the Dragon (THELE) Tali which environs the universe, and the microcosm, man. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
• astronomers signified by the word Tali, not the constellation Draco, but the line which joins together the two points in which the orbit of the moon intercepts the ecliptic (Dragon's head and tail). (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. (Prophets ISA.13.10, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable noun. Spelling: con-stel-la-tion, double l. The stars in a constellation only look close from Earth. Myth: star signs (astrology) are not science; astronomy is the science of stars.