Constellation

Constellation Names

In 1928, the International Astronomical Union sanctioned the official constellation boundaries that defined the 88 constellations and abbreviations listed below. The new constellation boundaries were first drawn in a publication by Eugene Delporte of Belgium in 1930 and these are the boundaries that exist today. They are based on an 1875 epoch, so the boundaries have moved a little on the 2000 epoch star charts of today.

Over the years I have used many different pronunciations for the constellations. It seems like each constellation has several ways to pronounce it. There is an excellent article in Sky & Telescope about constellation names that you can view here. In 2007 I changed most of my pronunciations to match their's to go with the flow better. The chart below is primarily for my own reference use, but you are welcome to use and learn from it too - Bruce Perrault

Nominative	Genitive	Abbr.	Pronunciation	Translation
Andromeda	Andromedae	And	an-DRAM-mih-duh	Chained Maiden
Antlia	Antliae	Ant	ANT-lee-uh	Air Pump
Apus	Apodis	Aps	APE-us	Bird of Paradise
Aquarius (z)	Aquarii	Aqr	uh-QWAIR-ee-us	Water Bearer
Aquila	Aquilae	Aql	ACK-will-uh	Eagle
Ara	Arae	Ara	AIR-uh	Altar
Aries (z)	Arietis	Ari	AIR-ease	Ram
Auriga	Aurigae	Aur	aw-RYE-guh	Charioteer
Bootes	Bootis	Boo	bo-OH-teez	Herdsman
Caelum	Caeli	Cae	SEE-lum	Engraving Tool
Camelopardalis	Camelopardalis	Cam	cuh-MEL-oh-PAR-duh-liss	Giraffe
Cancer (z)	Cancri	Cnc	CAN-ser	Crab
Canes Venatici	Canum Venaticorum	CVn	CAN-eez ve-NAT-iss-eye	Hunting Dogs
Canis Major	Canis Majoris	CMa	CAN-iss MAY-jer	Great Dog
Canis Minor	Canis Minoris	CMi	CAN-iss MY-ner	Lesser Dog
Capricornus (z)	Capricorni	Cap	CAP-rih-CORN-us	Sea Goat
Carina **	Carinae	Car	cuh-RYE-nuh	Keel
Cassiopeia	Cassiopeiae	Cas	CASS-ee-uh-PEE-uh	Seated Queen
Centaurus	Centauri	Cen	sen-TOR-us	Centaur
Cepheus	Cephei	Cep	SEE-fee-us	King
Cetus	Ceti	Cet	SEE-tus	Sea Monster
Chamaeleon	Charmaeleontis	Cha	cuh-MEAL-yun	Chameleon
Circinus	Circini	Cir	SUR-sin-us	Compass
Columba	Columbae	Col	cuh-LUM-buh	Dove
Coma Berenices	Comae Berenices	Com	COE-muh BER-uh-NICE-eez	Bernice's Hair
Corona Australis	Coronae Australis	CrA	cuh-ROE-nuh aw-STRAL-iss	Southern Crown
Corona Borealis	Coronae Borealis	CrB	cuh-ROE-nyh bor-ee AL-iss	Northern Crown
Corvus	Corvi	Crv	COR-vus	Crow
Crater	Crateris	Crt	CRAY-ter	Cup
Crux	Crucis	Cru	CRUCKS	Southern Cross
Cygnus	Cygni	Cyg	SIG-nus	Swan
Delphinus	Delphini	Del	del-FIN-us	Dolphin
Dorado	Doradus	Dor	duh-RAH-do	Dolphinfish
Draco	Draconis	Dra	DRAY-co	Dragon
Equuleus	Equulei	Equ	eh-QUOO-lee-us	Little Horse
Eridanus	Eridani	Eri	ih-RID-un-us	River
Fornax	Fornacis	For	FOR-naks	Furnace
Gemini (z)	Geminorum	Gem	JEM-uh-nye	Twins
Grus	Gruis	Gru	GROOS	Crane
Hercules	Herculis	Her	HER-kyuh-leez	Hercules
Horologium	Horologii	Hor	hor-uh-LOE-jee-um	Clock
Hydra	Hydrae	Hya	HIGH-druh	Female Water Snake
Hydrus	Hydi	Hyi	HIGH-drus	Male Water Snake
Indus	Indi	Ind	IN-dus	Indian
Lacerta	Lacertae	Lac	luh-SER-tuh	Lizard
Leo (z)	Leonis	Leo	LEE-oh	Lion
Leo Minor	Leonis Minoris	LMi	LEE-oh MY-ner	Lesser Lion
Lepus	Leporis	Lep	LEP-us	Hare
Libra (z)	Librae	Lib	LYE-bruh	Scales
Lupus	Lupi	Lup	LOOP-us	Wolf
Lynx	Lyncis	Lyn	LINKS	Lynx
Lyra	Lyrae	Lyr	LYE-ruh	Lyre
Mensa	Mensae	Men	MEN-suh	Table Mountain
Microscopium	Microsopii	Mic	MY-cruh-SCOPE-ee-um	Microscope
Monoceros	Monocerotis	Mon	muh-NAH-ser-us	Unicorn
Musca	Muscae	Mus	MUSS-cuh	Fly
Norma	Normae	Nor	NOR-muh	Carpenter's Square
Octans	Octantis	Oct	OCK-tanz	Octant
Ophiuchus	Ophiuchi	Oph	OFF-ee-YOO-kus	Serpent Bearer
Orion	Orionis	Ori	oh-RYE-un	Hunter
Pavo	Pavonis	Pav	PAY-vo	Peacock
Pegasus	Pegasi	Peg	PEG-us-us	Winged Horse
Perseus	Persei	Per	PER-see-us	Hero
Phoenix	Phoenicis	Phe	FEE-nix	Phoenix
Pictor	Pictoris	Pic	PICK-ter	Painter's Easel
Pisces (z)	Piscium	Pse	PICE-eez	Fishes
Piscis Austrinus	Piscis Austrini	PsA	PICE-iss as-STRY-nus	Southern Fish
Puppis **	Puppis	Pup	PUP-is	Stern
Pyxis **	Pyxidis	Pyx	PIX-iss	Compass
Reticulum	Reticulii	Ret	rih-TICK-yuh-lum	Reticle
Sagitta	Sagittae	Sge	suh-JIT-uh	Arrow
Sagittarius (z)	Sagittarii	Sgr	SAJ-ih-TARE-ee-us	Archer
Scorpius (z)	Scorpii	Sco	SCOR-pee-us	Scorpion
Sculptor	Sculptoris	Scl	SCULP-ter	Sculptor
Scutum	Scuti	Sct	SCOOT-um	Shield
Serpens *	Serpentis	Ser	SER-punz	Serpent
Sextans	Sextantis	Sex	SEX-tunz	Sextant
Taurus (z)	Tauri	Tau	TOR-us	Bull
Telescopium	Telescopii	Tel	tel-ih-SCOPE-ee-um	Telescope
Triangulum	Trianguli	Tri	try-ANG-gyuh-lum	Triangle
Triangulum Australe	Trianguli Australis	TrA	try-ANG-gyuh-lum aw-STRAL-ee	Southern Triangle
Tucana	Tucanae	Tuc	too-KAY-nuh	Toucan
Ursa Major	Ursae Majoris	UMa	ER-suh MAY-jur	Great Bear
Ursa Minor	Ursae Minoris	UMi	ER-suh MY-ner	Lesser Bear
Vela **	Velorum	Vel	VEE-luh	Sails
Virgo (z)	Virginis	Vir	VER-go	Maiden
Volans	Vplantis	Vol	VOH-lanz	Flying Fish
Vulpecula	Vulpeculae	Vul	vul-PECK-yuh-luh	Fox

(z)  Constellations of the Zodiac.
*    Serpens is divided into Serpens Caput (head) and Serpens Cauda (tail).
**   Carina, Puppis, Pyxis and Vela may be called Argo on older maps.