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
invented 13 new constellations, tucked into spaces between
existing figures, representing 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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