Caption: 国际天文学联合会 OAE 天文摄影比赛星轨类第二名。 天文学即使不是最古老的科学，也是其中之一，因此千百年来与各种文化都有着千丝万缕的联系。这张图片以巨石阵为背景，在某种程度上传达了这种联系。关于天文学家所说的考古天文学遗址，以及它们与天空的联系（如季节、月相等），有很多研究。古今中外的文明对天空中的景象都有自己的看法和解释，这不仅与文化有关，也与人们的日常活动和季节活动有关。通常被称为 "星轨 "的 "同心圆 "是天空视运动的结果，实际上是地球自转的结果。图像中心上方出现的小点是Polaris--北极星。只有北半球的观测者才能看到北极星。北极星的高度可以用来推断观测者的实际纬度。巨石阵位于北纬 51°左右。这张照片摄于世界上最著名的古代遗址之一，它把我们带回了过去，让我们对千年前生活在那里的人们所讲述的故事产生了好奇。
Credit: Till Credner/IAU OAE

Caption: 国际天文学联合会教育办公室天文摄影比赛星轨类第一名。 这张星轨图展示了夜空中恒星的视运动，这种现象是由地球围绕其极轴自转所导致的。前景中的树木为画面提供了一个固定的参照点，使我们在地球自转的过程中能够感受到运动的相对性。图像中央那条明亮的半圆形轨迹是北极星，它位于北天极附近。可以想象地球位于一个中空的水晶球中心，恒星则镶嵌在这个球面上。当地球绕轴自转时，地球上的观察者看到恒星沿着弧线升起和落下。然而，由于地平线的遮挡，那些离天极较远的恒星无法完整地展现出整个弧形轨迹。北天极（及其对应的南天极）实际上是地球自转轴的延长线在天空中的投影。拍摄这张照片需要摄影师使用长曝光技术，将相机固定在三脚架上，并对准北极星（在北半球）。在南半球，并没有像北极星这样接近天极的恒星，因此要确定南天极的位置，需要借助南十字星座以及指引星（半人马座的α星和β星）。尽管整张照片呈现出淡蓝色调，但它仍然很好地捕捉到了恒星的不同颜色，使我们能够区分不同温度的恒星。高温恒星通常呈现蓝色，而较低温的恒星呈现白色甚至红色。这种颜色变化的原因在于，温度较高的恒星会发出更多短波长（偏蓝）的光，而温度较低的恒星主要辐射长波长（偏红）的光。
Credit: 法布里齐奥-梅兰德里/国际天文学联合会教育办公室

Caption: 2022年国际天文学联合会天文教育办公室天文摄影大赛获奖作品，类别：天体图案静态图像。 这张壮观的图片展示了2019年8月拍摄的内蒙古沙漠上空夜空中可见的一系列显著星座。左下角的黄色恒星是大角星，它是夜空中最亮的恒星之一，也是牧夫座中最亮的恒星。北斗七星的斗柄指向这颗明亮的恒星，北斗七星也位于牧夫座上方。北斗是中国传统的星座，被视为载有贵族审判者的战车。大角星被视为一个单星星群，名为“角”，它是中国春季超级星座——东方青龙的一部分。北斗的斗柄指向照片顶部的恒星，现在称为北极星。在古代中国，北极附近没有明亮的恒星，因此北极附近的恒星被认为属于紫禁宫星座中的皇帝及其家族。至少在中世纪时期，北极星就被认为是天帝星座的一部分。 这张图片的右上角也可以看到北冕座，尽管并不完整。它在中国被称为 "蟠龙"。它具有独特的半圆形，是现代88个星座中较小的一个，但它的历史可以追溯到至少三四千年前，通过罗马的“皇冠”、希腊的婚礼“花环”和巴比伦的“尊严星群”得以追溯。现代名称在拉丁语中字面意思是“北冕”。 在图片的右上边缘，我们发现了现代仙后座的一部分，在中国古代被认为是“飞廊”和“辅路”。仙后座的W形状被照片的边缘切断了，但其南部和东南部的星座——仙女座和英仙座——清晰可见。我们特别看到了仙女座星系，这是肉眼可见的最远天体。它位于银河系带的最外层边缘，这可能解释了为什么它没有在古代星表中被明确提及，因为它被误认为是银河系的一部分。照片还清晰地展示了银河系中肉眼看起来并不明亮的红色部分，以及由同一分子云形成的疏散星团，即年龄相似的恒星群。这个区域是中国传统天文学中许多大小星群的一部分。
Credit: Likai Lin/IAU OAU

Caption: 2022年国际天文学联合会（IAU）OAE天文摄影比赛静态天体图案类别获奖作品。 随着地球围绕太阳运动，夜空中恒星的位置在一年中也会发生变化。这幅马赛克作品很好地体现了这一点，它是 2020 年全年在意大利威尼托地区拍摄的四季图像，显示了小熊座和大熊座的明显运动。随着地球围绕太阳公转，夜空中恒星的位置在一年中似乎也会发生变化。诞生于意大利威尼托地区的这幅拼接图很好地体现了这一点。这幅作品的拍摄贯穿了2020年的四季，展示了小熊座和大熊座的视运动。 小熊座是北天球的一个星座，包含了北天极。在我们这个时代，北天极的位置由一颗明亮的恒星——北极星来标记。几个世纪以来，北极星一直被用于北半球的导航，因为在大约200年的时间里，北极星几乎一直精确处于北天极的位置。但在中世纪和古代，并没有北极星，北天极位于没有恒星的黑暗区域，因此古希腊人将小熊座视为更容易辨认的大熊座的伙伴。在古希腊人眼中，这两个星座中最亮的几颗恒星也是一辆战车，正如公元前3世纪的阿拉图斯在著名的教诲诗中所写的那样。大熊座最有名的星群由七颗恒星组成，在北半球各地有不同的名称。希腊人认为它是一辆战车，中国人称它为“北斗七星”，古罗马人则将它视作“七牛”。 古希腊人认为，朝着大熊座上方的地平线方向行进，就意味着朝着熊的国度（北欧）前进。如果考虑到七颗亮星附近所有较暗的恒星，就能清楚地辨认出一种动物。他们认为这是一只母熊，因为希腊神话将这种动物与仙女卡利斯托联系在一起，卡利斯托的故事描述了女性的启蒙仪式。 大熊座的得名是出于导航的目的——对希腊人来说，向着大熊座出现的地平线方向行进，就意味着前往熊的国度（北欧）。如果考虑到七颗亮星附近所有较暗的恒星，就能清晰地辨认出一只动物。他们认为这是一只母熊，因为希腊神话将母熊与仙女卡利斯托联系在一起，她的故事描述了女性的启蒙仪式。 左上方是春季傍晚拍摄的照片，左下方是夏季傍晚拍摄的同一片夜空。按照逆时针方向，我们在右下方看到的是秋季的夜空，而右上方最后显示的是冬天的这部分夜空。请注意，小熊座和北斗七星的相对位置并没有变化，但所有恒星似乎都围绕北极星转了一圈——这颗指向正北的恒星位于地球自转轴与天球相交处。 因此，星座在一年中的移动可以看作地球钟或是地球日历，被古代文明用来测量自己在一年中所处的时间，并预测季节的变化。例如，它有助于确定播种和航海的最佳时间，因为风会随着季节而变化。
Credit: Giorgia Hofer/IAU OAE

Caption: 这段延时摄影记录了2020年7月拍摄的三帧画面中标志性的北斗七星的轨迹。影像在意大利的三个地点拍摄：拉瓦雷多三峰（Tre Cime di Lavaredo）奥隆佐迪卡多雷、里特山（Monte Rite）奇比亚纳迪卡多雷，以及拉佐牧场（Casera Razzo）维戈迪卡多雷。这场视觉奥德赛展示了北斗七星的迷人轨迹，并在夜空中绘制出天体画卷。它不仅描绘了这个著名星群的轨迹，还捕捉到2020年7月照亮天空的罕见新智彗星 C/2020 F3 这一非凡的天文事件，为我们的夜空增添了光彩。
Credit: 乔尔贾·霍弗/国际天文学联合会教育办公室 (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: 北斗七星优雅地移动于加利福尼亚州莫诺湖超凡脱俗的凝灰岩层之上。延时摄影捕捉了北斗七星穿过北方地平线直至下合的过程。在莫诺湖的纬度（+38°）上，北斗七星的星星几乎都是环极星，除了阿尔凯德（Alkaid）。北极星位于地平线之上38°的位置，正好在视野的右上角之外。月光将大地笼罩在柔和的光晕中，随着月亮落下，光晕逐渐变暗，整个场景陷入黑暗之中。
Credit: Fabrizio Melandri/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: 2022 年 3 月拍摄的这张照片中，北京故宫矗立在星轨编织的夜空芭蕾之下，见证着古老的天体之间的联系。紫禁城在设计时考虑到了宇宙的排列，呼应了北极星的方位，北极星又叫 Polaris，是长期以来指引航海者的天体之锚，象征着天空的稳定。人们相信皇帝是北极星在人间的化身，是连接天地的桥梁。在这张用智能手机拍摄的和谐的一小时曝光照片中，星星的轨迹描绘了它们夜间穿越苍穹的旅程，它们向北极星汇聚，体现了建筑设计和天体轨迹的精确性。
Credit: Stephanie Ziyi Ye/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

Caption: The constellation Cassiopeia along with its bright stars and its surrounding constellations. Cassiopeia is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top):Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus and Camelopardalis. Cassiopeia is a northern constellation that is visible from all of the northern hemisphere and equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere. It is most visible in the evenings in the northern hemisphere late autumn and southern hemisphere late spring. The open star clusters M52, M103, NGC 457 and NGC 663 all lie in this constellation. These are marked with yellow circles. Two dwarf elliptical galaxies NGC 147 and NGC 185 lie in the southern part of the constellation. These are marked with red ellipses and are gravitationally bound to the larger Andromeda galaxy which lies to the south in the constellation of Andromeda. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by IAU/Sky & Telescope

Caption: 小熊座及其明亮恒星与周边星座示意图。从顶部开始沿顺时针方向，小熊座周边的星座依次为：仙王座、鹿豹座和天龙座。小熊座最亮的星是北极星，它位于北天极。 整个北半球都能看到小熊座，南半球赤道地区也能看到其局部。在北半球温带及寒带地区，小熊座处于恒显圈内，而极其靠近北天极的北极星更是整个北半球的恒显星。小熊座的最佳观测期为北半球夏季与南半球冬季。 本图绘制的是北天极周围的天区。赤经圈在北天极汇合。这些赤经圈的赤经值以小时为单位，标注在上下两侧的横轴上。一些赤纬圈以度为单位，标注在纵轴上。图中标注的恒星大小对应其视星等——衡量天体视亮度的标准，较大的圆点代表着较亮的恒星。图中的希腊字母标注着星座中最亮的恒星。这些恒星按亮度排序，最亮的一般被标记为α星，第二亮的一般为β星，等等，不过这种字母排序并不总是和实际亮度排序完全一致。图中虚线标注的是国际天文学联合会划定的星座边界，绿色实线则是一种常见的星座形象连线。需要注意的是，在实际观测时，这些边界与连线都不会出现在天空中。
Credit: 国际天文学联合会天文教育办公室（IAU OAE）根据国际天文学联合会和《天空与望远镜》的原文改编

Caption: 大熊座及其明亮恒星与周边星座示意图。从顶部开始沿顺时针方向，大熊座周边的星座依次为：天龙座、鹿豹座、天猫座、小狮座、狮子座、后发座、猎犬座和牧夫座。大熊座中有着名为“北斗七星”的醒目星群，这也是大熊座最著名的标志。这个醒目的北天星群在全球不同文化中拥有丰富多样的名称。尽管大多数星座和星群中的恒星是互不关联的，它们在天球上投影出的图案其实仅是出于巧合，但北斗七星中的五颗恒星同属“大熊座移动星群”——这些恒星在宇宙中同步运动，很可能在3亿年前形成于同一区域。图中北斗右侧末端的两颗星构成“指极星”，可由它们的连线找到位于小熊座的北极星。 作为北天星座，大熊座在北半球和赤道地区都是可见的。除南极地区外，南半球的部分区域也可观测到大熊座的局部，但南半球温带地区并不都能看到完整的北斗七星。而在北极和北半球大多数温带地区，北斗七星以及大熊座的其他主要部分则处于恒显圈内。大熊座的最佳观测期为北半球春季与南半球秋季。 大熊座的北部有两个易于观测的星系，在图中以红色椭圆标注：旋涡星系M81和可能同为旋涡星系的M82。由于M82的侧方朝向地球，我们难以通过观测确定其结构。行星状星云M97（猫头鹰星云）位于大熊座中央，在图中以叠加了十字符号的绿色圆圈标注。 该图的纵轴为赤纬，横轴为赤经，方向为上北下南左东右西。图中标注的恒星大小对应其视星等——衡量天体视亮度的标准，较大的圆点代表着较亮的恒星。图中的希腊字母标注着星座中最亮的恒星。这些恒星按亮度排序，最亮的一般被标记为α星，第二亮的一般为β星，等等，不过这种字母排序并不总是和实际亮度排序完全一致。图中虚线标注的是国际天文学联合会划定的星座边界，绿色实线则是一种常见的星座形象连线。需要注意的是，在实际观测时，这些边界与连线都不会出现在天空中。
Credit: 国际天文学联合会天文教育办公室（IAU OAE）根据国际天文学联合会和《天空与望远镜》的原文改编

Caption: The constellation Apus with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Apus is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Triangulum Australe, Circinus, Musca, Chamaeleon, Octans, Pavo and Ara. Apus is a southern constellation lying close to the south celestial pole. As such it is visible at some point in the year from the entire southern hemisphere but is only visible from the most equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere. Apus is circumpolar for all temperate and antarctic regions of the southern hemisphere. It is most visible in the evenings in the northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere autumn. The globular cluster NGC 6101 can be found in Apus. It is marked here with a yellow circle with a plus symbol superimposed on it. This diagram maps an area around the south celestial pole. Here lines of constant right ascension converge. The right ascension values (in hours) of these lines are marked on the x-axis above and below the diagram. Lines of constant declination (in degrees) are marked on the y-axis. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by IAU/Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Auriga with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Auriga is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Camelopardalis, Perseus, Taurus, Gemini and Lynx. Capella, the brightest star in Auriga, is the sixth brightest star in the night sky. As a northern constellation, Auriga is visible from the whole of the northern hemisphere at some point in the year. The whole of the constellation is visible to equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere with parts of it visible to temperate southern regions. The whole constellation is circumpolar from arctic regions. The constellation is best viewed in the evening in the late northern hemisphere winter and late southern hemisphere summer. Auriga lies in the plane of the Milky Way and thus hosts a number of open clusters. Of these M36, M37 and M38 are marked on this diagram with yellow circles. IC 405, also known as the flaming star nebula, is marked here with a green square. 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. The blue line at the bottom of the diagram marks the ecliptic. Neither the constellation boundaries, nor the line marking the ecliptic, nor the lines joining the stars appear on the sky.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Camelopardalis with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Camelopardalis is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Cepheus, Cassiopea, Perseus, Auriga, Lynx, Ursa Major, Draco and Ursa Minor. Camelopardalis is a large constellation but contains relatively few bright stars. Camelopardalis is a northern constellation and as such the whole constellation is visible for the whole northern hemisphere at some point in the year. It is also visible from equatorial parts of the southern hemisphere with some parts visible to temperate southern regions. The whole constellation is circumpolar for all arctic and more northerly temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Camelopardalis is best viewed in the evening in the late northern hemisphere winter and late southern hemisphere summer. The spiral galaxies NGC 2403 and IC 342 lie in Camelopardalis and are marked here with red ellipses. This diagram maps an area around the north celestial pole. Here lines of constant right ascension converge. The right ascension values of these lines are marked on the x-axis above and below the diagram. Some of the lines of constant declination are marked on the y-axis. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Cepheus along with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Cepheus is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Camelopardalis, Ursa Minor, Draco, Cygnus, Lacerta and Cassiopeia. Cepheus is a large constellation. Its most notable star is Delta Cephei, the prototype for the class of variable stars known as Cepheid variables. These are variable stars which can be used to estimate distances both within our galaxy and to nearby galaxies. Cepheus lies close to the north celestial pole. As such it is circumpolar for arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. The whole of the constellation is also visible at some point in the year in equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere with parts of it visible in equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere. It is best viewed in the evening in the northern hemisphere late autumn and southern hemisphere late spring. The open cluster NGC 188 lies in Cepheus and is marked here with a yellow circle. The nebula NGC 7023 also lies in the constellation and is marked with a green square. The red ellipse in the lower right marks the position of the spiral galaxy NGC 6946. This diagram maps an area around the north celestial pole. Here lines of constant right ascension converge. The right ascension values of these lines are marked on the x-axis above and below the diagram. Some of the lines of constant declination are marked on the y-axis. 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. Delta Cephei is marked with a circle around a dot as it is a variable star. Mu Cephei is also a variable star marked here as an open circle. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Chamaeleon with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Chamaeleon is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Carina, Volans, Mensa, Octans, Apus and Musca. Chamaeleon lies close to the south celestial pole and this the whole of the constellation is visible from the whole southern hemisphere at some point in the year. All or part of the constellation can be seen from equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere. The whole constellation is circumpolar for all but the most equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere. Chamaeleon is best viewed in the evenings in the northern hemisphere spring and southern hemisphere autumn. This diagram maps an area around the south celestial pole. Here lines of constant right ascension converge. The right ascension values of these lines are marked on the x-axis above and below the diagram. The solid circle around the pole marks a line of -80° declination with the larger, incomplete circles above it marking -70° and -60° declination respectively. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Circinus with its brighter stars and surrounding constellations. Circinus is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Lupus, Centaurus, Musca, Apus, Triangulum Australe and Norma. Circinus is a relatively small constellation with few bright stars. Circinus is a southern constellation and is thus the whole constellation is visible from the whole southern hemisphere at some point in the year. The whole constellation can also be seen from some equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere with parts of the constellation visible from the remaining equatorial regions and some northern hemisphere temperate locations. The constellation is circumpolar for all antarctic and some southern hemisphere temperate regions. Circinus is best viewed in the evening in the northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere winter. The open cluster NGC 5823 lies in Circinus and is marked here with a yellow 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Dorado with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Dorado is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Pictor, Caelum, Horologium, Reticulum, Hydrus, Mensa and Volans. Dorado is a southern constellation and thus the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year from the whole southern hemisphere. The whole constellation is also visible to equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere. Dorado is circumpolar for temperate and antarctic regions of the southern hemisphere. This constellation is best viewed in the northern hemisphere winter and southern hemisphere summer. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, lies in Dorado and the neighboring constellation Mensa. The outline of the Large Magellanic Cloud is marked here as a roughly circular loop in green. The open cluster NGC 2070 lies at the heart of the Tarantula Nebula. This is marked here with a green square. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Draco with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Draco is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Cepheus, Ursa Minor, Boötes, Hercules, Lyra and Cygnus. Draco is a sprawling northern constellation, parts of which lie close to the celestial north pole. As such the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year from the whole northern hemisphere and a thin sliver of the southern hemisphere near the equator. Parts of the constellation are visible from all other southern equatorial and some southern temperate regions. Draco is best viewed in the evenings in the northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere winter. The planetary nebula NGC 6543 (also known as the Cat’s Eye Nebula) lies in Draco. It is marked here with a green circle superimposed on a plus sign. This diagram maps an area around the north celestial pole. Here lines of constant right ascension converge. The right ascension values of these lines are marked on the x-axis above and below the diagram. Some of the lines of constant declination are marked on the y-axis. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Horologium with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Horologium is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Eridanus, Hydrus, Reticulum, Dorado and Caelum. Horologium is a southern constellation and thus is visible in the whole southern hemisphere at some point in the year. The whole constellation is also visible from equatorial parts of the northern hemisphere with parts of it visible to some northern temperate regions. Horologium is circumpolar in antarctic and some temperate regions of the southern hemisphere. This constellation is best viewed in the evenings in the northern hemisphere winter and southern hemisphere summer. The globular cluster NGC 1261 lies in Horologium, it is marked here with a yellow circle with a plus sign superimposed on it. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: 印第安星座及其亮星和周围星座。印第安星座周围环绕着（按顺时针方向）：显微镜座、人马座、望远镜座、孔雀座、南极座、杜鹃座和天鹤座。由于印第安星座靠近南天极，因此在南半球的任何地点，在一年中的某个时段都能观测到整个星座。对于北半球靠近赤道的狭窄区域，整个星座也可见，而北半球赤道其他区域则只能看到部分星座。在南半球温带和南极地区，印第安星座是拱极星座。该星座在北半球的秋季和南半球的春季夜晚观测效果最佳。 此图的 y 轴是以北为上的赤纬度，x 轴是以东为左的赤经小时数。这里标注的恒星大小与恒星的视星等有关，视星等是衡量恒星视亮度的标准。较大的点代表较亮的恒星。希腊字母代表星座中最亮的恒星。这些恒星按亮度排序，最亮的恒星被标记为α星，第二亮的为β星，等等，不过这种排序并不总是完全一致。虚线标注的是国际天文学联合会的星座边界，绿色实线标注的是用于表示星座数字的一种常见形式。星座边界和连接恒星的线条都不会出现在天空中。
Credit: 由国际天文学联合会天文教育办公室根据国际天文学联合会和《天空与望远镜》杂志的原文改编

Caption: The constellation Lacerta with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Lacerta is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Cepheus, Cygnus, Pegasus, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Lacerta is a northern constellation and thus the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year throughout the northern hemisphere. The whole constellation is also visible from equatorial regions of the southern hemisphere with parts of the constellation visible from temperate southern regions. The whole constellation is circumpolar from arctic regions. Lacerta is best viewed in the evenings in the northern hemisphere autumn and southern hemisphere spring. The open cluster NGC 7243 lies in Lacerta, it is marked here with a yellow 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Leo Minor with its brighter stars and surrounding constellations. Leo Minor is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Ursa Major, Lynx, Cancer and Leo. Leo Minor is a small constellation with relatively few bright stars. It is a separate constellation from and should not be confused with its larger neighbour Leo. Leo Minor is a northern constellation and thus the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year throughout the northern hemisphere. The whole constellation is also visible from equatorial and temperate regions of the southern hemisphere. Leo Minor is circumpolar in arctic regions. This constellation is best viewed in the northern hemisphere spring and southern hemisphere autumn. 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. The blue line in the bottom right marks the ecliptic.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Musca with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Musca is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Crux, Centaurus, Carina, Chamaeleon, Apus and Circinus. Musca is a southern constellation and thus the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year throughout the southern hemisphere. The whole constellation is visible to a thin strip of the northern hemisphere near the equator with parts of the constellation visible to other northern equatorial regions. Musca is circumpolar in temperate and antarctic regions of the southern hemisphere. Musca is best viewed in the evening in the northern hemisphere late spring and southern hemisphere late autumn. The globular clusters NGC 4372 and NGC 4833 lie in Musca and are marked here with yellow circles with plus signs superimposed on them. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: The constellation Pavo with its bright stars and surrounding constellations. Pavo is surrounded by (going clockwise from the top): Telescopium, Ara, Apus, Octans and Indus. Pavo is a southern constellation and thus the whole constellation is visible at some point in the year throughout the southern hemisphere. The whole constellation is also visible in some equatorial regions of the northern hemisphere with parts of the constellation visible in the remaining northern equatorial regions. Pavo is circumpolar in antarctic and most temperate regions of the southern hemisphere. The constellation is best viewed in the evening in the northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere winter. The globular cluster NGC 6752 lies in Pavo and is marked here with a yellow circle with a plus sign superimposed on it. 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.
Credit: Adapted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education from the original by the IAU and Sky & Telescope

Caption: 网罟座及其亮星与周围星座。网罟座被以下星座环绕（按顺时针方向）：时钟座、水蛇座和剑鱼座。网罟座是一个南天星座，因此在南半球的某个时段可以看到整个星座。在北半球赤道的大部分区域也能完整观测到该星座，而在赤道地区的其他区域以及北半球部分温带地区则可以观测到该星座的部分。对于整个南极地区和南半球的大部分温带地区而言，网罟座是环绕极地的星座。该星座在北半球的冬季和南半球的夏季晚上观测最佳。 本图以北为上，以度为单位的赤纬表示纵轴；以东为左，以时为单位的赤经表示横轴。图中标注的恒星的大小与恒星的视星等有关，视星等是衡量恒星视亮度的标准，较大的点表示较亮的恒星。希腊字母标记了星座中最亮的恒星，通常按亮度排序，最亮的恒星标记为α，次亮者标记为β，以此类推，不过这种排序并不总是有效的。虚线标示出国际天文学联合会规定的星座边界，而绿色实线则表示常见的星座连线方式。然而，星座的边界线以及恒星之间的连线并不会出现在实际夜空中。
Credit: 由国际天文学联合会天文教育办公室根据国际天文学联合会和《天空与望远镜》杂志的原文改编