BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Obsolete Constellations *new*

What happens to constellations when you don't want them anymore? Nothing, physically. They aren't real groups of stars like star clusters are. They're the products of human imagination and they come and go. Here are half a dozen of my favorite obsolete constellations.

Obsolete Constellations

Officina Typographica (the Printing Office) was a constellation invented by Johann Elert Bode. It featured in his 1801 star atlas Uranographia and was made in honor of Guttenberg's invention of the printing press. The constellation didn't make it into the official 88 that astronomers use now. Its stars are divided between Puppis (the stern of the ship Argo) and Monoceros (the Unicorn).