Skip to content
AsteriaStar
Stars & constellations · engine.star

Constellations on the Celestial Sphere

The stars of a constellation shown by their real directions on the celestial sphere — the pattern as it appears from Earth. Turn on the true-distance figures in the table and a striking fact appears: the stars of a constellation lie at wildly different distances and are not physically connected at all. The familiar shape is a line-of-sight illusion.

Iota CentauriMenkentEta CentauriGamma CentauriZeta CentauriDelta CentauriEpsilon CentauriLambda CentauriRigil KentaurusToliman
Stars shown by their real right ascension and declination on the celestial sphere — the directions you see from Earth. Their true distances (in the table) vary enormously, so the familiar pattern is a line-of-sight effect, not a physical grouping. Star-to-star line topology is not part of the catalogue, so no stick figure is drawn — nothing is invented.

What this scene shows

Direction only — the celestial sphere

Measured right ascension and declination placed on the unit celestial sphere (direction only — no distance is asserted by the position). Each star's measured distance is shown in the accompanying table.

No star-to-star line topology (the stick-figure joins) exists in the catalogue, so no connecting lines are drawn — nothing about the figure is invented. The scene features the constellation with the most catalogued stars.

The objects in this scene

The same measured data as the visual scene, as a table — readable without JavaScript and by a screen reader.

102 objects in this scene, with their measured distance.
ObjectDistance (light-years)
Rigil Kentaurus4.32 ly
Toliman4.32 ly
Menkent58.82 ly
Gamma Centauri130.15 ly
Epsilon Centauri427.5 ly
Eta Centauri305.68 ly
Zeta Centauri381.9 ly
Delta Centauri415 ly
Iota Centauri58.78 ly
Lambda Centauri419.8 ly
Kappa Centauri383.3 ly
Nu Centauri436.6 ly
Mu Centauri505.7 ly
Phi Centauri525.2 ly
Tau Centauri131.25 ly
HR 5249427.5 ly
HR 5089906 ly
Pi Centauri357.6 ly
Sigma Centauri411.8 ly
Rho Centauri378.8 ly
HR 5471339 ly
Psi Centauri258.85 ly
HR 5485209.48 ly
HR 4522389.7 ly
2 Centauri183.03 ly
1 Centauri63.28 ly
HR 4889148.59 ly
HR 4942467.3 ly
HR 4537595.2 ly
HR 53581,226.2 ly
3 Centauri343.7 ly
HR 4888294.36 ly
HR 52601,269.1 ly
Chi Centauri510.4 ly
HR 5378457.4 ly
HR 4618438.4 ly
HR 4546433.1 ly
HR 5035354.5 ly
HR 5041260.3 ly
HR 4975378.8 ly
HR 4460426.3 ly
HR 4817364.8 ly
HR 5172262.61 ly
HR 4831190.62 ly
HR 4940390.1 ly
HR 5241209.61 ly
HR 5297182.41 ly
4 Centauri637 ly
HR 5371383.3 ly
HR 4732448 ly
HR 4933220.53 ly
HR 497967.42 ly
HR 452330.07 ly
HR 4874400.2 ly
HR 498959.36 ly
HR 5489214.29 ly
HR 4499888.7 ly
HR 5141271.34 ly
HR 43961,055.5 ly
HR 4511—
HR 4682494.2 ly
HR 5543491.9 ly
HR 5316481.8 ly
HR 5071507.2 ly
HR 4441—
HR 5006257.63 ly
HR 5058203.34 ly
HR 4442—
HR 4794115.86 ly
HR 4423699.9 ly
HR 4475233.8 ly
HR 4327274.31 ly
HR 4487285.1 ly
HR 460082.59 ly
HR 5174436.6 ly
HR 4913368.5 ly
HR 441388.77 ly
HR 4409274.08 ly
HR 44151,364.7 ly
HR 5349157.72 ly
HR 4973222.33 ly
HR 4466201.58 ly
HR 5207259.89 ly
HR 4519691 ly
HR 4652571.2 ly
HR 4712444.4 ly
HR 5048127.85 ly
HR 5558253.82 ly
HR 4620599.6 ly
HR 4350164.39 ly
HR 5140782.1 ly
HR 4453385.5 ly
HR 4526702.9 ly
HR 4748436.6 ly
HR 4476353.4 ly
HR 4906661.6 ly
HR 5176497.9 ly
HR 5026408.7 ly
HR 4462191.86 ly
Matza319.45 ly
Dofida123.83 ly
Uklun129.48 ly

Highlights

  • ›The pattern is a line-of-sight effect — shown honestly, without invented lines

What it draws on

Knowledge connections

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.