The Sky Map below shows almost the entire sky, only excluding a thin strip around both the poles. To get a sense of the different cultures, we can also look at all (still known) constellations of each. The reason it appears so bright to us, is because it's one of our closest neighboring stars (at 8.6 light-years). However, compared to the other stars we see at night it's actually not exceptionally bright. Take Sirius, the brightest star, it appears almost twice as bright to us as Canopus, the next brightest star. Sirius is about 25 times more luminous than the Sun, but Canopus is ~10,000 times more luminous! Because stars are all at widely different distances from the Earth, how bright a star appears to us is called the apparent magnitude. The sizes of the stars are (not-linearly) scaled to the actual brightness of the stars (called absolute magnitude) how bright they would be if they were all placed the same distance from Earth. NOTE | Star colors, based on their actual visible colors, have been exaggerated/saturated for better visibility. There is no group of close-by stars to form an easy to recognize shape with, such as Sirius and Canopus all the way on the right. In these cases the star is often a bit of a loner. The main reason appears to be that they are often part of an easy to recognize 'shape' of stars, such as Orion's belt, the Pleiades, and the Corona Borealis and Taurus constellations.Īnd vice versa, several other stars are used less often than expected for their brightness. However, some stars stand out because they 'rise' from the general mass they are included in constellations more often than you'd expect based on their brightness. This makes sense, since brighter stars just stand out more.Īnother thing that most likely plays a role is 'good placement' around the ecliptic so it's visible in many regions of the Earth

A general trend is visible: The brighter the star, the more constellations it's included in. The chart below shows the stars according to their brightness from left to right, and the number of constellations the star appears in from top to bottom. Let's look at all 2168 unique stars that are included in at least one constellation across all sky cultures. To get back to the default view showing all constellations simultaneously, click on the central star map. Click on any of the smaller circles to make it appear in the center. The separate constellation shapes of each culture can be found in a ring around the main circle. However, there are some fascinating alternates in there too mostly humanoid shapes by the Egyptians, Navajo and Tupi. These bright stars thus seem to form a distinctive figure. The main shape of a long rectangle that is 'tightened by a belt' in the center is clearly visible, with many lines of different constellations appearing side by side. The visualization below shows how Betelgeuse has been used by 17 cultures (out of the 28) to form constellations, each represented by a different color. It's part of one of the easiest to distinguish modern constellations known as Orion, named after a gigantic, supernaturally strong hunter from Greek mythology. In proper darkness, you can even see that it shines in a distinctly red color. This red supergiant is one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Ranging from the so-called 'Modern' or Western constellations, to Chinese, Maori and even a few shapes from historical cultures such as the Aztecs. Let's compare 28 different 'sky cultures' to see differences and similarities in the shapes they've seen in the night sky. From humans, to animals, to objects, and even abstract concepts. And even though the stars don't change, people have found many different shapes in the same sky. Our own creativity combined with stories about local legends and myths have created a diverse set of different constellations. You might see a different section of it depending on your exact location, time & season, nevertheless the stars have fascinated humans across time and continents. No matter where you are on Earth, we all look up to the same sky during the dark nights. Figures in the Sky How cultures across the World have seen their myths and legends in the stars

Interactive star chart