Non-astronomers are often puzzled by the concept of a disused constellation – surely, a constellation is either there or it isn’t. However, the patterns we see in the stars are purely a product of human
imagination, so humans are free to amend the patterns as they choose – and astronomers did so at will during the heyday of celestial mapping in the
17th and 18th centuries.
The constellations described in this section are a selection of those that, for
one reason or another, are no longer recognized by astronomers, although they
will be found on old maps. I have described only those constellations that
achieved at least some degree of currency, for constellations invented by one
astronomer, either in an attempt to make his own name or to flatter his
patrons, could be introduced at will and be completely ignored by everyone
else. For example, in 1754 the English naturalist John Hill published 15 new
constellations in his dictionary of astronomy called
Urania: or, A Compleat View of the Heavens. These were tucked into spaces between existing figures and represented various
unappealing creatures including a toad (Bufo), a leech (Hirudo), a spider (Aranea), an earthworm (Lumbricus), and a slug (Limax). Hill was a noted satirist and he may have been attempting to perpetrate a
joke on astronomers – a joke that never caught on.
Several constellations were introduced for mercenary reasons by astronomers
wishing to immortalize their kings or governments, usually in the hope that
such a gesture would advance their career, as it often did. In 1627 a German
astronomer, Julius Schiller of Augsburg, attempted to populate the sky entirely
with Biblical characters – for example, the familiar constellations of the zodiac were changed to
represent the 12 apostles. These attempts to politicize and Christianize the
sky were rejected by other astronomers.
The following table lists two dozen obsolete constellations described and
illustrated on these pages. Click on a name to go to that entry.
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