Constellations are patterns of stars in the night sky that have been grouped and named by cultures throughout history, often resembling mythological figures, animals, or objects. These star patterns are not physically connected in space—many of the stars within a constellation are located at vastly different distances from Earth—but they appear close together from our perspective.
Ancient civilizations used constellations as a way to navigate, tell stories, and mark the changing seasons. The primary ancient civilizations responsible for naming and defining many of the constellations we recognize today are the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans, with contributions also coming from ancient Egyptians and Chinese astronomers.
Today, astronomers officially recognize 88 constellations, which divide the entire celestial sphere into defined regions, helping to map the sky and locate celestial objects. While modern astronomy relies more on precise coordinates than on star patterns, constellations remain a valuable and familiar way for stargazers to explore and connect with the night sky.
All of the images on this page were taken using a 35mm Nikon FM camera mounted on a tripod with a 28-85mm lens, cable release and exposures from 30 seconds to several minutes. Click on an image below to go to the gallery.
Orion (The Hunter)
This is a thirty second exposure of Orion. The Great Orion Nebula (M42) is the bright orange patch located just below the three belt stars.
Orion (The Hunter)
This is a thirty second exposure of Orion. The Great Orion Nebula (M42) is the bright orange patch located just below the three belt stars.
Dawn Conjunction of Venus, Jupiter & the Moon
Located above a giant Texas oak tree, a celestial smiley face greets early risers one summer morning in 1998. Venus is to the upper left with Jupiter to it's right and the cresent Moon hangs below. The sunlit crescent is over-exposed revealing earthshine, sunlight reflected from the Earth to the Moon.
Dawn Conjunction of Venus, Jupiter & the Moon
Located above a giant Texas oak tree, a celestial smiley face greets early risers one summer morning in 1998. Venus is to the upper left with Jupiter to it's right and the cresent Moon hangs below. The sunlit crescent is over-exposed revealing earthshine, sunlight reflected from the Earth to the Moon.
Sagittarius and the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy
This thirty second exposure is looking back toward the center of our galaxy. Sagittarius is the teapot shaped constellation of stars just to the left of center. The tail of Scorpius the scorpion can be seen through and above the trees at lower right. The open star clusters M6 and M7 are visible between the constellations. M23 can be seen near the top center on the picture. M7 is the brighter open cluster just southeast of center. The red patch just north of center is the Lagoon Nebula. The much smaller Trifid Nebula is just above the Lagoon and the bright red spot at the very top of the picture is M17 the Omega Nebula. The bright diffuse area in the center of the picture is caused by the millions of stars we see looking into the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Finally, the darker areas are the vast dust lanes of our galaxy viewed edge on. Also visible in this picture are the globular star clusters M22 and M28.
Sagittarius and the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy
This thirty second exposure is looking back toward the center of our galaxy. Sagittarius is the teapot shaped constellation of stars just to the left of center. The tail of Scorpius the scorpion can be seen through and above the trees at lower right. The open star clusters M6 and M7 are visible between the constellations. M23 can be seen near the top center on the picture. M7 is the brighter open cluster just southeast of center. The red patch just north of center is the Lagoon Nebula. The much smaller Trifid Nebula is just above the Lagoon and the bright red spot at the very top of the picture is M17 the Omega Nebula. The bright diffuse area in the center of the picture is caused by the millions of stars we see looking into the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Finally, the darker areas are the vast dust lanes of our galaxy viewed edge on. Also visible in this picture are the globular star clusters M22 and M28.
Jupiter & Saturn in Taurus
Jupiter & Saturn in Taurus - Jupiter is brighter than Saturn and lower in the sky. The V shaped stars close to Jupiter are known as the Hyades open star cluster. The more compact open cluster above Saturn is the Pleiades or M45 the 45th entry in Charles Messier's famous list. The Pleiades are sometimes refered to as the seven sisters from Greek mythology for the seven daughters of Atlas.
Jupiter & Saturn in Taurus
Jupiter & Saturn in Taurus - Jupiter is brighter than Saturn and lower in the sky. The V shaped stars close to Jupiter are known as the Hyades open star cluster. The more compact open cluster above Saturn is the Pleiades or M45 the 45th entry in Charles Messier's famous list. The Pleiades are sometimes refered to as the seven sisters from Greek mythology for the seven daughters of Atlas.
Cygnus
The Constellation Cygnus (The Swan) - Also known as the Northern Cross, Cygnus dominates the summer sky and is a favorite of many skywatchers. It's easy to get lost in this beautiful starcloud! The North America Nebula can be seen at lower left. Cygnus' brightest star Deneb, located just above the North America nebula, is one of the three stars that make up the famous summer triangle. The other two stars completing the triangle are Vega in Lyra and Altair in the constellation Aquila, the eagle. The nebular region in the center of the picture is the Gamma Cygni region. This is a thirty-five second exposure.
Cygnus
The Constellation Cygnus (The Swan) - Also known as the Northern Cross, Cygnus dominates the summer sky and is a favorite of many skywatchers. It's easy to get lost in this beautiful starcloud! The North America Nebula can be seen at lower left. Cygnus' brightest star Deneb, located just above the North America nebula, is one of the three stars that make up the famous summer triangle. The other two stars completing the triangle are Vega in Lyra and Altair in the constellation Aquila, the eagle. The nebular region in the center of the picture is the Gamma Cygni region. This is a thirty-five second exposure.
The Great Galaxy in Andromeda
The fuzzy star in the middle of this 35 second exposure is actually a spiral galaxy composed of 2 to 4 billion stars. The Andromeda Galaxy or M31 appears as a hazy star in this shot because of the lack of magnification. Even though it's 2.2 million light years away, astronomically speaking, it's still close to us. In fact, it's the closest large galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers like to say it's in the neighborhood or a part of the "local group" of galaxies. The Andromeda Galaxy is also said to be the farthest object visible with the naked eye, and under a suburban sky it's pretty easy to spot this galaxy. There is another galaxy in this picture. Have you spotted it yet? It is tough to see I admit but it's there none the less. It's the Triangulum Galaxy or M33 and it's located in the upper left of the picture. M33 is a little farther out than M31 at about 3 million light years. It's a face-on spiral galaxy and the second brightest galaxy in the northern sky next to M31.
The Great Galaxy in Andromeda
The fuzzy star in the middle of this 35 second exposure is actually a spiral galaxy composed of 2 to 4 billion stars. The Andromeda Galaxy or M31 appears as a hazy star in this shot because of the lack of magnification. Even though it's 2.2 million light years away, astronomically speaking, it's still close to us. In fact, it's the closest large galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers like to say it's in the neighborhood or a part of the "local group" of galaxies. The Andromeda Galaxy is also said to be the farthest object visible with the naked eye, and under a suburban sky it's pretty easy to spot this galaxy. There is another galaxy in this picture. Have you spotted it yet? It is tough to see I admit but it's there none the less. It's the Triangulum Galaxy or M33 and it's located in the upper left of the picture. M33 is a little farther out than M31 at about 3 million light years. It's a face-on spiral galaxy and the second brightest galaxy in the northern sky next to M31.
Venus in Taurus with the open clusters The Hyades (left) and The Pleiades (M45) just to the right of the planet Venus in April 2023.
Venus was nicely placed in Taurus after sunset on April 11, 2023. I took this shot of the Hyades open cluster directly above the tree on the left, a satellite passing above bright Venus and the Pleiades (M45) or the Seven Sisters just to Venus' right. This was taken with a Nikon D5100 ISO 1600 at 55mm, f/5.6 and a 4 second exposure.
North Celestial Pole
North Celestial Pole
You can get some stunning pictures of the night sky like the ones above without going to very much trouble. See my Basic Astrophotography Tips page for more details.
I have found the following books to be very helpful and informative.
Astrophotography for the Amateur – Michael A. Covington
Digital SLR Astrophotography (Practical Amateur Astronomy) – Michael A. Covington
Beginner’s Guide to DSLR Astrophotography – Jerry Lodriguss