Reference

The 88 constellations

Every constellation the IAU recognises, with what its name means, how big it is, its brightest star and when to look for it.

Open the sky and tap any constellation

The 88 IAU constellations
Constellation	Meaning	Area (sq deg)	Size rank	Brightest star	Best seen
Andromeda	the Chained Maiden	724	19	Alpheratz	November
Antlia	the Air Pump	241	62	HIP 51172	April
Apus	the Bird of Paradise	207	67	HIP 72370	July
Aquarius	the Water Bearer	977	10	Sadalsuud	October
Aquila	the Eagle	651	22	Altair	August
Ara	the Altar	237	63	HIP 85258	July
Aries	the Ram	440	39	Hamal	December
Auriga	the Charioteer	657	21	Capella	January
Boötes	the Herdsman	908	13	Arcturus	June
Caelum	the Engraving Tool	125	81	HIP 21770	January
Camelopardalis	the Giraffe	757	18	HIP 23522	January
Cancer	the Crab	506	31	Tarf	March
Canes Venatici	the Hunting Dogs	466	38	Cor Caroli	May
Canis Major	the Great Dog	380	43	Sirius	February
Canis Minor	the Lesser Dog	183	71	Procyon	February
Capricornus	the Sea Goat	414	40	Deneb Algedi	September
Carina	the Keel	494	34	Canopus	March
Cassiopeia	the Seated Queen	598	25	HIP 4427	November
Centaurus	the Centaur	1,059	9	Rigil Kentaurus	May
Cepheus	the King	587	27	Alderamin	October
Cetus	the Sea Monster	1,234	4	Diphda	December
Chamaeleon	the Chameleon	131	79	HIP 40702	April
Circinus	the Drawing Compass	93	85	HIP 71908	June
Columba	the Dove	270	54	Phact	January
Coma Berenices	the Bernice's Hair	389	42	HIP 64394	May
Corona Australis	the Southern Crown	128	80	HIP 94160	August
Corona Borealis	the Northern Crown	179	73	Alphecca	July
Corvus	the Crow	186	70	Gienah	May
Crater	the Cup	281	53	HIP 55282	April
Crux	the Southern Cross	69	88	Acrux	May
Cygnus	the Swan	806	16	Deneb	September
Delphinus	the Dolphin	190	69	Rotanev	September
Dorado	the Swordfish	179	72	HIP 21281	January
Draco	the Dragon	1,083	8	Eltanin	July
Equuleus	the Little Horse	71	87	Kitalpha	September
Eridanus	the River	1,138	6	Achernar	January
Fornax	the Furnace	398	41	Dalim	December
Gemini	the Twins	514	30	Pollux	February
Grus	the Crane	367	45	Alnair	October
Hercules	the Hercules	1,225	5	Kornephoros	July
Horologium	the Clock	250	58	HIP 19747	December
Hydra	the Female Water Snake	1,299	1	Alphard	April
Hydrus	the Male Water Snake	243	61	HIP 2021	December
Indus	the Indian	294	49	HIP 101772	October
Lacerta	the Lizard	200	68	HIP 111169	October
Leo	the Lion	944	12	Regulus	April
Leo Minor	the Lesser Lion	232	64	Praecipua	April
Lepus	the Hare	290	51	Arneb	January
Libra	the Scales	538	29	Zubeneschamali	June
Lupus	the Wolf	333	46	HIP 71860	June
Lynx	the Lynx	546	28	HIP 45860	March
Lyra	the Lyre	286	52	Vega	August
Mensa	the Table Mountain	154	75	HIP 29271	January
Microscopium	the Microscope	210	66	HIP 103738	September
Monoceros	the Unicorn	482	35	HIP 30867	February
Musca	the Fly	138	77	HIP 61585	May
Norma	the Carpenter's Square	165	74	HIP 80000	July
Octans	the Octant	291	50	HIP 107089	September
Ophiuchus	the Serpent Bearer	949	11	Rasalhague	July
Orion	the Hunter	594	26	Rigel	January
Pavo	the Peacock	378	44	Peacock	August
Pegasus	the Winged Horse	1,118	7	Enif	October
Perseus	the Hero	615	24	Mirfak	December
Phoenix	the Phoenix	469	37	Ankaa	November
Pictor	the Painter's Easel	247	59	HIP 32607	January
Pisces	the Fishes	891	14	Alpherg	November
Piscis Austrinus	the Southern Fish	246	60	Fomalhaut	October
Puppis	the Stern	674	20	Naos	February
Pyxis	the Mariner Compass	221	65	HIP 42828	March
Reticulum	the Reticle	114	82	HIP 19780	January
Sagitta	the Arrow	80	86	HIP 98337	September
Sagittarius	the Archer	868	15	Kaus Australis	August
Scorpius	the Scorpion	498	33	Antares	July
Sculptor	the Sculptor	475	36	HIP 4577	November
Scutum	the Shield	109	84	HIP 91117	August
Serpens	the Serpent	637	23	Unukalhai	July
Sextans	the Sextant	313	47	HIP 49641	April
Taurus	the Bull	798	17	Aldebaran	January
Telescopium	the Telescope	252	57	HIP 90422	August
Triangulum	the Triangle	131	78	HIP 10064	December
Triangulum Australe	the Southern Triangle	110	83	Atria	July
Tucana	the Toucan	295	48	HIP 110130	November
Ursa Major	the Great Bear	1,279	3	Alioth	April
Ursa Minor	the Little Bear	256	56	Polaris	June
Vela	the Sails	500	32	HIP 39953	March
Virgo	the Maiden	1,296	2	Spica	May
Volans	the Flying Fish	141	76	HIP 41312	February
Vulpecula	the Fox	269	55	Anser	September

About these numbers

The IAU's boundaries divide the whole sky, so every point of it belongs to exactly one constellation. Here the areas add up to the whole sphere, 41,253 square degrees. The best month is when a constellation's middle is highest at 9 pm. Brightest stars come from a catalogue of the 5,044 stars down to magnitude 6.

Sources

IAU: The Constellations. Names, meanings, pronunciations and boundaries
IAU Working Group on Star Names. The official names of stars
astronomy-engine. The MIT licensed library that does the calculations, run on the page's build machine and in the app