ABSTRACT
From BC 4000 constellation patterns were drawn up. All these were different; the Chinese and Egyptian constellations. Ptolemy gave a list of 48 constellations: 21 northern, 12 Zodiacal and 15 southern. The constellations are very unequal in size and importance. Apart from the dismembered Argo, the largest constellation, Hydra, covers 1303 square degrees, while the smallest, Crux, covers a mere 68 square degrees. One discarded constellation, Quadrans, has at least given its name to the Quadrantid meteor shower of early January; the stars of Quadrans are included in Bootes. Orion has five stars above the second magnitude and 42 above the fifth magnitude; against this, Mensa has no star above magnitude 5, while Caelum, Horologium and Sextans each have only two stars above magnitude 5.
