Constellations are areas of the starry sky. To better navigate the starry sky, ancient people began to identify groups of stars that could be linked into individual figures, similar objects, mythological characters and animals. This system allowed people to organize the night sky, making each part of it easily recognizable. This simplified the study of celestial bodies, helped measure time, apply astronomical knowledge in agriculture and navigate by the stars. The stars that we see in our sky as if in one area can actually be extremely far from each other. In one constellation there may be stars that are in no way connected with each other, both very close and very far from the Earth.
There are 88 official constellations in total. In 1922, the International Astronomical Union officially recognized 88 constellations, 48 of which were described by the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his star catalog Almagest around 150 BC. There were gaps in Ptolemy's maps, especially regarding the southern sky. Which is quite logical - the constellations described by Ptolemy covered that part of the night sky that is visible from the south of Europe. The remaining gaps began to be filled during the times of the great geographical discoveries. In the 14th century, the Dutch scientists Gerard Mercator, Pieter Keyser and Frederic de Houtman added new constellations to the existing list, and the Polish astronomer Jan Hevelius and the French Nicolas Louis de Lacaille completed what Ptolemy had started. On the territory of Russia, out of 88 constellations, about 54 can be observed. 
Knowledge about the constellations came to us from ancient cultures. Ptolemy compiled a map of the starry sky, but people used knowledge about the constellations long before that. At least in the 8th century BC, when Homer mentioned Bootes, Orion and the Big Dipper in his poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, people were already grouping the sky into separate figures. It is believed that the bulk of the knowledge of the ancient Greeks about the constellations came to them from the Egyptians, who, in turn, inherited it from the inhabitants of Ancient Babylon, Sumerians or Akkadians. About thirty constellations were already distinguished by the inhabitants of the Late Bronze Age, in 1650−1050. BC, judging by the records on clay tablets Ancient Mesopotamia. References to constellations can also be found in Hebrew biblical texts. The most remarkable constellation, perhaps, is the constellation Orion: in almost every ancient culture it had its own name and was revered as special. So, in Ancient Egypt he was considered the incarnation of Osiris, and in Ancient Babylon he was called “The Faithful Shepherd of Heaven.” But the most amazing discovery was made in 1972: a piece of Ivory a mammoth, more than 32 thousand years old, on which the constellation Orion was carved. 
We see different constellations depending on the time of year. Throughout the year, we see different parts of the sky (and different celestial bodies, respectively) because the Earth makes its annual voyage around the Sun. The constellations we see at night are those located behind the Earth on our side of the Sun, because... During the day, behind the bright rays of the Sun, we are unable to see them.
To better understand how this works, imagine that you are riding on a merry-go-round (this is the Earth) with a very bright, blinding light emanating from the center (the Sun). You will not be able to see what is in front of you because of the light, but you will only be able to discern what is outside the carousel. In this case, the picture will constantly change as you ride in a circle. Which constellations you observe in the sky and at what time of year they appear also depends on geographical latitude the beholder. 
Constellations travel from east to west, like the Sun. As soon as it begins to get dark, at dusk, the first constellations appear in the eastern part of the sky to pass across the entire sky and disappear with dawn in the western part. Due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis, it seems that the constellations, like the Sun, rise and set. The constellations we just observed on the western horizon just after sunset will soon disappear from our view, to be replaced by constellations that were higher up at sunset just a few weeks ago.
Constellations arising in the east have a diurnal shift of about 1 degree per day: completing a 360-degree trip around the Sun in 365 days gives about the same speed. Exactly one year later, at the same time, the stars will occupy exactly the same position in the sky. 
The movement of stars is an illusion and a matter of perspective. The direction in which stars move across the night sky is determined by the rotation of the Earth on its axis and really depends on the perspective and which way the viewer is facing.
Looking north, the constellations appear to move counterclockwise around a fixed point in the night sky, the so-called north celestial pole, located near the North Star. This perception is due to the fact that the earth rotates from west to east, i.e. the earth under your feet moves to the right, and the stars like the Sun, Moon and planets above your head follow the east-west direction, i.e. to the right left. However, if you face south, the stars will appear to move clockwise, from left to right. 
Zodiac constellations- these are those through which the Sun moves. The most famous constellations out of the 88 existing ones are the zodiacal ones. These include those through which the center of the Sun passes during the year. It is generally accepted that there are 12 zodiacal constellations in total, although in fact there are 13 of them: from November 30 to December 17, the Sun is in the constellation Ophiuchus, but astrologers do not classify it as a zodiac constellation. All zodiacal constellations are located along the visible annual path of the Sun among the stars, the ecliptic, at an inclination of 23.5 degrees to the equator. 
Some constellations have families are groups of constellations located in the same area of the night sky. As a rule, they assign the names of the most significant constellation. The most “largely populated” constellation is Hercules, which has as many as 19 constellations. Other major families include Ursa Major (10 constellations), Perseus (9) and Orion (9). 
Celebrity constellations. The largest constellation is Hydra, which covers more than 3% of the night sky, while the smallest constellation, the Southern Cross, covers just 0.165% of the sky. Centauri boasts the largest number visible stars: 101 stars are included in the famous constellation of the southern hemisphere of the sky. To the constellation Canis Major includes the most bright Star our sky, Sirius, whose magnitude is −1.46m. But the constellation called Table Mountain is considered the dimmest and does not contain stars brighter than 5th magnitude. Let us recall that in the numerical characteristic of the brightness of celestial bodies than less value, the brighter the object (the brightness of the Sun, for example, is −26.7m). 
Asterism- this is not a constellation. An asterism is a group of stars with a well-established name, for example, the “Big Dipper,” which is part of the constellation Ursa Major, or “Orion’s Belt,” three stars encircling the figure of Orion in the constellation of the same name. In other words, these are fragments of constellations that have secured a separate name for themselves. The term itself is not strictly scientific, but rather simply represents a tribute to tradition. 
Answer from Choir[guru]
Maybe a flock of fireflies.
Answer from Vladimir Shchookin[guru]
If you look to the east, you can see the PLEIADES star cluster above the rising constellation Taurus.
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Zhelayu uspekhov!!!
Answer from CHIP[active]
I saw the same thing in the Moscow region at about 23:00 on July 30, 2016, we flew to the northeast but further north! photo didn't work
Answer from pure-grade[guru]
crowd of helium balloons in sunlight. At 6 km, I think, they will rise quite well.
Answer from 8
[active]
My friends and I also saw a group of luminous objects at 22.45 in the area of Staraya Kupavna, what is it?
Answer from Gennady Naumov[newbie]
I also saw this movement, I filmed it on my phone, but it didn’t work. we saw only part of this cluster, they are officially silent....
Answer from Olg@[active]
I saw the same thing today, July 31, 2016, in the Moscow region.
Answer from LENKA[newbie]
I welcome everyone, yes, it was visible from the window directly from the center of Moscow, we were moving in the East, from south to north. So slow
Answer from OperProtos[newbie]
is so old, but the right way explore what is happening in the most upper layers atmosphere, at an altitude of about 50-80 km. It's called an "artificial comet". They launch a rocket, in the troposphere it ejects particles of matter that glow intensely under the influence sun rays- after all, the Sun is clearly visible at such a height, especially in our latitudes in June.
By the way the matter is scattered, they judge where the wind is blowing - and the wind there is rarefied, there is practically no air, so " star cluster" and hung for at least 15 minutes.
Radars, especially near airports, constantly send “zigzag” signals into the sky (as they look on the monitor of a professional radio receiver) in order to judge by their reflection where the reflecting layer of charged particles is currently located in the troposphere.
Answer from Maxim Kubarev[newbie]
We rested on Abrau-Durso on the night from 07/30/2016 to 07/31/2016, somewhere around 23:30, we observed the phenomenon of flickering stars, a huge cluster in the form of incomprehensible figures, hung for 10-15 minutes, flickering and changing in appearance, then smoothly disappeared on what planes or gel balls does not look like it. More like a cluster of UFOs
Answer from Alexander is missing[newbie]
My friend and I were in Izhevsk on the night from 08/06/16 to 08/07/16, and we also saw a cloud of stars. The stars in this very cloud moved chaotically, and this cloud of stars moved, we pursued it, but it moved away not only to the side, but also in height, and then finally disappeared into the sky.
I would also think that these are some kind of Chinese lanterns launched en masse, but there were no people nearby who could launch + flashlights cannot move chaotically in different sides, without moving away from the general crowd, they tried to capture it on video, it’s not visible. And the glow of the lanterns is immediately clear, but these glowed like light bulbs (stars).
We also spent the rest of the evening guessing, but found no explanation.
Answer from Yopartak ant[newbie]
I saw yesterday and before this a week ago, Mr. Elets, stars are the neurons of the universal mind, now everything is divided and in chaos, everyone is preparing for the premiere on earth and in the sky for us this is the end of the world, every star is real man, and not two legs and ears, the stars will be without constellations, in the form of a chessboard grid, the earth will face three revolutions, the west will fall into the east, the poles will be reunited to the maximum, the earth will become an ellipse of a ball, a second sun will appear in the sky, this is our moon, will reset stone shackles.
Answer from Victoria Fokas[newbie]
Today, at about the same time as everyone else, we saw such a phenomenon in Rostov-on-Don, we were just the two of us, there were no people, we couldn’t take a photo.... we’re sitting here wondering what it is?
Answer from Vladislav Kushch[active]
10/08/2016 23:30 Sochi, we saw a cluster of flickering bodies (stars?) moving across the sky. The cluster had a bright glow, because it was very cloudy (no stars were visible), the silhouette of the glow was clearly tracked!!! There was no chaotic movement, the silhouette moved in a fixed form, as if it were something living, huge!!! Apparently this is something from this series)
Answer from Evgeniy Makarenko[newbie]
June or July 16 saw the same thing twice, the difference between the phenomena is a week
Answer from Ilya Koktysh[newbie]
I don’t remember the exact date, it was the end of August 2016, we were vacationing in the village. Golovinka district of Sochi, also at 22-23 the sky is crystal clear, starry, stunning and from south to north a whole star procession moved with no constellations, since ordinary stars stand still. The same or slightly brighter ones moved chaotically. Not quickly, like satellites, but in small groups, now dividing, now joining, at first there were several groups of them in one large mass, then they just chaotically lined up in a fuzzy line and continued to follow towards the north... all this happened, I didn’t notice , from 15 to 30 minutes. Feels like.... Very beautiful and even somehow scary, goosebumps.... I woke up my wife to show and confirm that I was normal.... we watched together. iPhones couldn’t capture this... So that the roof doesn’t move, we calmed down with a version of helium balloons with LEDs... so that we can continue to live in peace))) but naturally the version is not particularly comprehensive.
Heliocentric system world on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Heliocentric system of the world
Useful tips
Absence scientific knowledge about the sky not only gives rise to the most unusual fantasies and assumptions, such as belief in UFOs, but can also lead to panic fears, like those that some of us experienced in December 2012.
Due to the unclear understanding of the Mayan calendar, the end date given in the records of this tribe was interpreted as the date of the end of the world, which caused great panic and fear among the people.
We often see strange lights in the sky. What is their origin? This question is asked quite often, since identifying night objects other than the Sun and Moon seems very difficult for most of us.
To help all those interested in the sky, NASA employees have published a special diagram that should help us understand the mysterious lights.
Thanks to observations and some basic knowledge, shedding light on the mysterious lights in the sky becomes easier.
Pay attention to whether the light moves and blinks. If so, you live near the city, as a rule, the light in the sky is an airplane. Very few stars and satellites are bright enough to be seen through the haze of artificial lights.
If you live far from the city, a bright light in the sky is most likely a planet. Perhaps you see the outlines of Venus or Mars.
Venus typically appears near the horizon just before dawn or just after sunset.
Sometimes it is very difficult to determine whether the light is the trajectory of an airplane at low altitude near the horizon or whether it is a bright planet. Sometimes, even after looking closely for a few minutes, you are not sure what those lights are in the night sky.
The above diagram gives a sometimes humorous, but very accurate definition.
A slow moving object with colorful lights is an airplane. Those that move slower and calmer are satellites. An object that moves very little during the night is a planet, and if the object does not move anywhere at all, it is a star.
Insufficient information about the sky, as mentioned earlier, can lead to paranoid thoughts and conclusions.
Many people remember very well the panic associated with the planet Nibiru, when thousands of people believed that our Earth was in danger of colliding with this mythical planet and that humanity would have to endure enormous casualties and destruction.
Astronomers who tried to calm fearful people were called liars.
Nibiru is a mythical planet located on the edge solar system. scientific proof this planet does not exist.
The ancient Sumerians allegedly predicted that Nibiru would invade the Earth's orbit in December 2012, causing chaos and widespread destruction.
NASA scientist David Morrison is confident that Nibiru does not exist. If it existed, it could cause the displacement of other planets.
Another source of danger is allegedly the Great Rift, where Milky Way divided in the constellation Cygnus. According to some other beliefs, this is where the danger lies. The earth will be swallowed up and “the dark gods will devour the degenerate peoples.”
Such not-so-rosy predictions are attributed to the ancient Mayans. However, evidence of their involvement in this idea has never been identified.
The Great Rift is like a black river that stretches from the bright star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus in the southwest to the constellation Sagittarius at the center of our galaxy. The river itself consists of an incomprehensible dust that looks mysteriously black.
The night of September 11 will provide an excellent opportunity to see the world of the “ice giant” Uranus. At 2 am it will be close to the Moon, the visibility of which will gradually weaken.
Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants. They are much further from the Sun than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, so the two planets are much cooler and their gaseous atmospheres contain more “ice,” similar to frozen water, as well as methane and ammonia.
The fastest planet is Jupiter. It rotates faster than other planets around its own axis. The rotation period is 0.41 Earth days. Thus, a day on Jupiter lasts less than 10 Earth hours.
Venus is the “slowest” planet in terms of rotation speed around its axis. It completes a full revolution in -243 days. The minus sign in this case means that Venus rotates clockwise, while our planet rotates counterclockwise.
