Bildunterschriften: Auszeichnung beim IAU OAE Astrofoto-Wettbewerb 2022, Kategorie Weitwinkelaufnahmen von Himmelsmustern. Dieses Bild, das im Januar 2022 in der Slowakei aufgenommen wurde, zeigt Teile der Milchstraße und eine große Vielfalt an Sternbildern. Die Sommersternbilder der Nordhalbkugel stehen unten rechts tief über dem Horizont. Die hellen Sterne des Schwans (lat. Cygnus) und der Leier (lat. Lyra) leuchten durch das künstliche Licht am Horizont. Die zahlreichen nördlichen Winter- und Herbststernbilder mit ihren vielen hellen Sternen sind mit verschiedenen kulturellen Geschichten verbunden. Für die Lakota in Nordamerika stellt der Gürtel des Sternbilds Orion die Wirbelsäule eines Bisons dar ("Tayamnicankh"). Orion, der Jäger der griechischen Mythologie, wird manchmal nachgesagt, den Sieben Schwestern (die Plejaden) nachzustellen. Die Araber wandelten diese Sichtweise ab, indem sie den Verfolger der Plejaden als einen Stern und nicht als ganzes Sternbild betrachteten. Aldebaran, der Stern im rechten Auge des Stiers (lat. Taurus), entstammt dieser Interpretation, denn der Name Aldebaran leitet sich von al-dabaran (der Verfolger) ab. Unten rechts am Horizont sehen wir den milchigen Lichtkegel des Zodiakalllichts, der sich vom Sternbild Fische (lat. Pisces) über den Widder (lat. Aries) bis fast zu den Plejaden erstreckt und den Weg der Planeten und des Mondes in diesem Gebiet anzeigt. Die Plejaden und die Hyaden bilden zusammen ein Tor auf diesem Weg, an dem die Himmelskörper gelegentlich vorbeikommen, bevor sie in die Milchstraße eintreten. Im alten Babylon galten die Planeten als Schafe, und das moderne Sternbild Orion galt als der "Wahre Hirte" des Himmels, dessen Hirtenstab bis zur Ekliptik reicht. In der römischen Tradition wird der helle weiße Stern über den Plejaden und der Milchstraße Capella (die Ziege) genannt, was auf ein ägyptisches Sternbild in dieser Gegend zurückgeht. Über der Baumkrone in der rechten Bildmitte sehen wir das Herbstviereck, die Andromedagalaxie und das W-förmige Muster der Kassiopeia. Links von dieser Gruppe, im zentralen Teil der sichtbaren Milchstraße, befindet sich das Sternbild Perseus. Cepheus im dunklen Bereich über der Kassiopeia vervollständigt die Himmelsfamilie. Die Andromeda-Sage ist eine griechische Geschichte aus der Region, in der das heutige Israel liegt, und hat ihre Wurzeln in syrischen Traditionen. An der Position der Andromeda am Himmel stand bei den alten Babyloniern die Göttin der sexuellen Liebe und bei den Syrern die Göttin der Fruchtbarkeit. Der Sage nach wurde Andromeda an einen Felsen an der Küste von Jaffa (Tel Aviv) gekettet, um ihr Land vor einem Seeungeheuer zu schützen. Der Name des Helden, der sie rettete, ist Perseus, was wahrscheinlich "aus Persien" (dem heutigen Iran) bedeutet. Im Tal sind die Lichter der Städte zu sehen. Das gelbe Licht über dem Horizont deutet auf größere Städte hin, die sich durch ihre Lichtverschmutzung verraten.
Bildnachweis: Robert Barsa/IAU OAE

Bildunterschriften: The constellation Aquarius along with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Aquarius is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top) Pegasus, Equuleus, Aquila, Capricornus, Piscis Austrinus, Sculptor, Cetus and Pisces. Aquarius lies on the ecliptic (shown here as a blue line), this is the path the Sun appears to take across the sky over the course of a year. The Sun is in Aquarius from mid February to mid March. The other planets of the Solar System can often be found in Aquarius. Aquarius spans the celestial equator and is thus visible at some time in the year from all of planet Earth. In the most arctic or antarctic regions of the world, some parts of the constellation may not be visible. Aquarius is most visible in the evenings in the northern hemisphere autumn and southern hemisphere spring. The yellow circles with plus symbols superimposed on them mark the globular clusters M2 and M72. The green circles superimposed on plus symbols mark the planetary nebulae NGC 7293 (the Helix Nebula) and NGC 7002 (the Saturn Nebula). M73 (marked with an x symbol) is a coincident grouping of stars previously erroneously classified as an open cluster. The y-axis of this diagram is in degrees of declination with north as up and the x-axis is in hours of right ascension with east to the left. The sizes of the stars marked here relate to the star's apparent magnitude, a measure of its apparent brightness. The larger dots represent brighter stars. The Greek letters mark the brightest stars in the constellation. These are ranked by brightness with the brightest star being labeled alpha, the second brightest beta, etc., although this ordering is not always followed exactly. The dotted boundary lines mark the IAU's boundaries of the constellations and the solid green lines mark one of the common forms used to represent the figures of the constellations. Neither the constellation boundaries, nor the lines joining the stars appear on the sky.
Bildnachweis: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by IAU/Sky & Telescope

Bildunterschriften: The constellation Pisces along with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Pisces is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top) Andromeda, Pegasus, Aquarius, Cetus, Aries and Triangulum. Pisces lies on the ecliptic (shown here as a blue line), this is the path the Sun appears to take across the sky over the course of a year. The Sun is in Pisces from mid March to mid April. Thus the Sun is in Pisces at the March equinox. At this point the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator. The Sun’s location at the spring equinox is used to set the zero point of the Right Ascension positional coordinate. The other planets of the Solar System can often be found in Pisces. Pisces spans the celestial equator and is thus visible at some time in the year from all of planet Earth. In the most arctic or antarctic regions of the world, some parts of the constellation may not be visible. Pisces is most visible in the evenings in the northern hemisphere autumn and southern hemisphere spring The grand design spiral galaxy M74 is marked on this diagram with a small red circle. The y-axis of this diagram is in degrees of declination with north as up and the x-axis is in hours of right ascension with east to the left. The sizes of the stars marked here relate to the star's apparent magnitude, a measure of its apparent brightness. The larger dots represent brighter stars. The Greek letters mark the brightest stars in the constellation. These are ranked by brightness with the brightest star being labeled alpha, the second brightest beta, etc., although this ordering is not always followed exactly. The dotted boundary lines mark the IAU's boundaries of the constellations and the solid green lines mark one of the common forms used to represent the figures of the constellations. Neither the constellation boundaries, nor the lines joining the stars appear on the sky.
Bildnachweis: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by IAU/Sky & Telescope

Bildunterschriften: The constellation Aries along with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Aries is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top) Triangulum, Pisces, Cetus, Taurus and Perseus. Aries lies on the ecliptic (shown here as a blue line), this is the path the Sun appears to take across the sky over the course of a year. The Sun is in Aries from mid April to mid May. The other planets of the Solar System can often be found in Aries. Aries lies just north of the celestial equator and is thus visible at some time in the year from all of planet Earth except for the most antarctic regions of the world. Aries is most visible in the evenings in the northern hemisphere winter and southern hemisphere summer. The y-axis of this diagram is in degrees of declination with north as up and the x-axis is in hours of right ascension with east to the left. The sizes of the stars marked here relate to the star's apparent magnitude, a measure of its apparent brightness. The larger dots represent brighter stars. The Greek letters mark the brightest stars in the constellation. These are ranked by brightness with the brightest star being labeled alpha, the second brightest beta, etc., although this ordering is not always followed exactly. The dotted boundary lines mark the IAU's boundaries of the constellations and the solid green lines mark one of the common forms used to represent the figures of the constellations. Neither the constellation boundaries, nor the lines joining the stars appear on the sky.
Bildnachweis: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by IAU/Sky & Telescope