History Main / Constellations

The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation constellations]] and the stars within are seen every night. Astrologists tend to add significance to these constellations and asterisms. Therefore they can make an excellent {{Motif}}. And as such a writer may use them in fiction.

There are several variations but the most notable and widespread are the ones from Claudius Ptolemy and The IAU. Consisting of 88 modern ones, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Former_constellations 52 obsolete ones]]. These constellation tend to take their names from Myth/GreekMythology, or have Greek names but there are some exceptions. The WesternZodiac is also from this format.

A different set of constellations are from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_constellation China]] using the same stars but in different Asterisms TheFourGods are the equivalents of the zodiac there[[note]]Not that China doesn't have it's own [[EasternZodiac Zodiac]] but that's more attuned to years rather than the elliptic.[[/note]]. The Hindus and Australians have their own variants as well.

Asterisms are a similar concept, but they are not seen as official constellations. They can be seen as sub-constellations. Common ones include The Big Dipper, Orion's belt and the Summer Triangle. Some of those Asterisms like the latter have stars from multiple constellations. The same is true for most obsolete constellations[[note]] The most notable of which are Ptolemy's [[Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts Argo Navis]] which was split for being too big. It's parts still collectively represent the ship as the constellations Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern), and Vela (the sails) as well as Pyxis (the mariner's compass, which used to be part of the mast)[[/note]]. Clusters like the Pleiades are also smaller groups of stars found within constellations but don't form any coherent image.

A common [[ArtisticLicenseAstronomy Astronomy error]] in science fiction is to treat constellations as though they were clusters of stars that are actually physically near each other[[note]]This happens with (some of) the stars of constellations as Ursa Major, Orion, or Scorpius that share a common origin and are relatively close to each other, but even in this case we're talking of separations of up to hundreds of light-years.[[/note]], with characters or cultures described as being "from the so-and-so constellation" despite the constellation only existing as a two-dimensional pattern seen from an arbitrary point thousands of light years away. On the other hand some sectors and galaxies like The Andromeda Galaxy and Orion's Arm are named for the constellation they are in.

* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' used the constellations seen from Earth as coordinates for the gate's destination, marked as the 38 symbols on the rim of the gate, with the gate on the other side having different symbols based on the constellations seen from that planet. Of course, this still has the basic problem that a constellation is not a single "point" in space. (The subsequent [[Franchise/StargateVerse TV series]] gradually {{retcon}}ned this away, eventually settling on the gate symbols being the letters of an [[{{Precursors}} Ancient]] alphabet.)

* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' used the constellations as seen from Earth as coordinates for the gate's destination, marked as the 38 symbols on the rim of the gate. The subsequent [[Franchise/StargateVerse TV series]] recognized the flaw in this idea (the constellations are not static and would look completely different from every planet with a gate anyway) and {{retcon}}ned them in various ways to make up for it, eventually settling on them being the letters of one form of the [[{{Precursors}} Ancient]] alphabet. Presumably they formed some type of comprehensible coordinate system when the gates were first built, but as the dialing devices periodically update to compensate for stellar drift they no longer do so.

* On ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', the aliens' homeworld is located in the "Cepheus-Draco border territory."

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' The Doctor claims that Gallifrey is ([[EarthShatteringKaboom or was]]) in the constellation of Kasterborous.

A common [[ArtisticLicenseAstronomy Astronomy error]] in science fiction is to treat constellations as though they were clusters of stars that are actually physically near each other, with characters or cultures described as being "from the so-and-so constellation" despite the constellation only existing as a two-dimensional pattern seen from an arbitrary point thousands of light years away. On the other hand some sectors and galaxies like The Andromeda Galaxy and Orion's Arm are named for the constellation they are in.

Asterisms are a similar concept, but they are not seen as official constellations. They can be seen as sub-constellations. Common ones include The Big Dipper, Orion's belt and the Summer Triangle. Some of those Asterisms like the latter have stars from multiple constellations. The same is true for most obsolete constellations[[note]] The most notable of which are Ptolemy's [[JasonAndTheArgonauts Argo Navis]] which was split for being too big. It's parts still collectively represent the ship as the constellations Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern), and Vela (the sails) as well as Pyxis (the mariner's compass, which used to be part of the mast)[[/note]]. Clusters like the Pleiades are also smaller groups of stars found within constellations but don't form any coherent image.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' had the villain [[MagnificentBastard Scorpius]], which is also the name of a zodiac constellation (in the sky of a planet nowhere near the region of space ''Farscape'' was set in), as well as a [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Name To Run Away From Really Fast]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Hard Corps'', Noiman Cascade's Virtual Zone forms include the constellations Taurus, Sagittarius and Gemini.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods", the constellations in Dr. Adams' planetarium include "The Big Dipper", "Taurus, the Bull", "Roger Ebert", and "The Crusades".

* ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'': In "The Gauntlet", Hercules rates Ipicles stew "four stars", but Ipicles asks, "Why not a constellation?"

* ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuranger'' has its rangers based off of the various Constellations. Unlike ''Fourze'' above, the Western Zodiac doesn't get preferential treatment; while some of them are used as the Rangers' {{Transformation Trinket}}s, others just have support abilities.

* In the [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}}]] setting, the gods each have their own constellation in the night sky - Paladine's is a platinum dragon, Reorx's is a hammer, and Takhisis's is a multiheaded dragon, for example. When a god is active on Krynn, their constellation vanishes from the sky.

* ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuranger'' has it's rangers based off of the various Constellations, with the Red Ranger based off of Leo.
** Fellow Toku series ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' also used the constellations as a motif, but for the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Fortnight]] with some having the ability to evolve into the a second form based on the western zodiac who served as EliteMooks and the QuirkyMinibossSquad

* ''SaintSeiya'': The characters are all [[StellarName named for constellations]] and the names are usually {{Meaningful|Name}} or refer to the myths behind them.

* In Creator/Robin Jarvis' ''Literature/DeptfordMice'' trilogy, the Starwife is a celestial-themed monarch. There are decorations on the ceiling in her chamber that represent all the constellations, and she herself is also known as the Handmaiden of Orion (referring to the constellation Orion, the Hunter).

* ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuranger" has it's rangers based off of the various Constellations, with the Red Ranger based off of Leo.

* ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuuranger" has it's rangers based off of the various Constellations, with the Red Ranger based off of Leo.