Most Famous and Major Constellations of Stars : Planets Education

A constellation is a part of the celestial space that forms some patterns like an animal, object, creature, or any mythological person. The general meaning of constellation is, it is a certain region in the celestial sphere that visually represents some specific symbol made of stars. The word “constellation” meaning is “group of stars”.

Before accepting the modern constellation, different cultures/countries had adopted different constellations. There were many different ancient constellations. Each constellation had a different meaning and symbol to exist. Usually, ancient people look at the sky and connect the set of stars with some imaginary symbol or lines. Claudius Ptolemy has mentioned about 48 ancient constellations in his treatise Almagest. And there were many other constellations accepted by different civilizations. But now International Astronomical Union (IAU) has accepted only a few specific constellations. According to IAU, there are 88 constellations. These constellations show some patterns like animals or object shapes. And in those 88, there are twelve zodiac constellations that are mostly used in astrology. Below are the images of few zodiac representing particular constellation meanings.

Virgo Constellation

Leo Constellation

Scorpius Constellation scorpion constellation

Though there are 88 constellations IAU has recognized but here in this article, we will know only about the most famous and major constellations.

In these 88 modern constellations, 12 are the zodiac constellations. The zodiac constellations are used in modern astrology and twelve signs of each. These twelve signs of the zodiac are related to horoscope astrology. The zodiac signs represent the path and position of the sun, moon, planets, and other stars.

Major Constellations

As we read above, there are 88 modern constellations that have been recognized by IAU since 1992. They represent some symbol or pattern. In these 88 constellations, 42 represent animals, 29 represent inanimate objects, and 17 represent humans or mythological characters.

Here in this article, we have mentioned about 20 largest constellations and 12 zodiac constellations.

20 Largest Constellations

Below are the 20 largest constellations with their names, size, and meanings. The constellations-meaning represent which pattern or symbol the set of stars form. Whereas the constellation size represents an area in the form of square degrees.

Constellation Names	Meaning (pattern)	Size (area in square degrees)
1. Hydra	A water monster (mythological creature)	1302.84
2. Virgo	Virgin or maiden (girl)	1294.43
3. Ursa Major	Great bear	1279.66
4. Cetus	Sea monster	1231.41
5. Hercules	Hercules (a hero – mythological character)	1225.15
6. Eridanus	river Eridanus	1137.92
7. Pegasus	Pegasus (a mythological winged horse)	1120.79
8. Draco	Dragon	1082.95
9. Centaurus	centaur (a mythological character – mixed horse and human body)	1060.42
10. Aquarius	Water bearer	979.85
11. Ophiuchus	Serpent-bearer	948.34
12. Leo	Lion	946.96
13. Bootes	Herdsman	906.83
14. Pisces	Fishes	889.42
15. Sagittarius	Archer	867.43
16. Cygnus	Swan	803.98
17. Taurus	Bull	797.23
18. Camelopardalis	Giraffe	756.83
19. Andromeda	Andromeda (The chained maiden or princess)	722.28
20. Puppis	Poop deck	673.43

So, these were the 20 largest constellations list with size and sign mentioned about them. Some of above are related to Zodiac constellations of stars.

12 Zodiac Constellations

These zodiac are very famous constellations. They are mainly used in the astrology horoscope. The zodiac constellations represents some sign of stars and planes crossing their path in particular degrees (just astrology things).

Zodiac Constellations - Sign and Meaning — 12 Zodiac Constellations

Zodiac Constellations	Meaning (pattern)	Size (area in square degrees)
1. Virgo	Virgin or maiden (girl)	1294.43
2. Aquarius	Water-bearer	979.85
3. Leo	Lion	946.96
4. Pisces	Fishes	889.42
5. Sagittarius	Archer	867.43
6. Taurus	Bull	797.25
7. Libra	Balance	538.05
8. Gemini	Twins	513.76
9. Cancer	Crab	505.87
10. Scorpius	Scorpion	496.78
11. Aries	Ram (animal)	441.39
12. Capricornus	Sea goat	413.95

So, these were the list of zodiac constellations with thier meanings (sign) and size. These 12 are very famous constellations and mostly used by astrologer.