What are the stars and constellation?

Most constellation names are Latin in origin, dating from the Roman empire, but their meanings often originated in the distant past of human civilization. Scorpius, for instance, was given its name from the Latin word for scorpion, but ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs from before 3000 B.C. read more

The only star that does not belong to a constellation is the Sun. The Sun travels through the 13 constellations along the ecliptic, the 12 of the Zodiac and Ophiuchus. Among the remaining stars, the nearer ones exhibit proper motion, so it is only a matter of time before some of them cross a constellation boundary and switch constellations as a consequence. read more

The familiar constellation of Orion, the three stars in the center are known as Orion's belt. The official definition of a constellation is an area of the sky with defined boundaries, all stars and any other objects within that boundary are considered part of the constellation. read more