Library / English Dictionary

CONSTELLATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An arrangement of parts or elements

Example:

the outcome depends on the configuration of influences at the time

Synonyms:

configuration; constellation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("constellation" is a kind of...):

design; plan (an arrangement scheme)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "constellation"):

redundancy ((electronics) a system design that duplicates components to provide alternatives in case one component fails)

network topology; topology (the configuration of a communication network)

chunking; unitisation; unitization ((psychology) the configuration of smaller units of information into large coordinated units)

Derivation:

constellate (form a constellation or cluster)

constellate (come together as in a cluster or flock)

constellate (scatter or intersperse like dots or studs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A configuration of stars as seen from the earth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("constellation" is a kind of...):

natural object (an object occurring naturally; not made by man)

Meronyms (members of "constellation"):

star ((astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior)

asterism ((astronomy) a cluster of stars (or a small constellation))

Instance hyponyms:

Pictor (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Dorado and Columba)

Phoenix (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor)

Perseus (a conspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Auriga and Cassiopeia and crossed by the Milky Way)

Pegasus (a constellation in the northern hemisphere near Andromeda and Pisces)

Pavo (a small constellation near the South Pole between Tucana and Ara)

Hunter; Orion (a constellation on the equator to the east of Taurus; contains Betelgeuse and Rigel)

Ophiuchus (a large constellation in the equatorial region between Hercules and Scorpius)

Octans (the constellation that includes the southern celestial pole)

Norma (a small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Lupus and Ara in the Milky Way)

Musca (a small constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near the Southern Cross and Chamaeleon)

Microscopium (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Sagittarius and Capricornus)

Mensa (a faint constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere and containing part of the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Lyra (a small constellation in the northern hemisphere near Cygnus and Draco; contains the star Vega)

Lupus (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Centaurus)

Little Bear; Ursa Minor (a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star)

Libra (a small faint zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere; between Virgo and Scorpius)

Lepus (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Orion and Columba)

Leo (a zodiacal constellation in northern hemisphere between Cancer and Virgo)

Indus (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Tucana)

Vulpecula (a constellation in the northern hemisphere near Cygnus and Sagitta)

Volans (a small constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Dorado and Carina)

Virgo (a large zodiacal constellation on the equator; between Leo and Libra)

Vela (a constellation in the southern hemisphere between Carina and Pyxis)

Tucana (a large faint constellation in the southern hemisphere containing most of the Small Magellanic Cloud)

Southern Triangle; Triangulum Australe (a small bright constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Circinus and Apus)

Triangle; Triangulum (a small northern constellation near Perseus between Andromeda and Aries)

Telescopium (a small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Ara)

Taurus (a zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere near Orion; between Aries and Gemini)

Crux; Crux Australis; Southern Cross (a small conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere in the Milky Way near Centaurus)

Serpens (a constellation in the equatorial region of the northern hemisphere near Ophiuchus and Corona Borealis)

Sculptor (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Phoenix and Cetus)

Scorpio; Scorpius (a large zodiacal constellation between Libra and Sagittarius)

Sagittarius (a large zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere; between Scorpius and Capricornus)

Sagitta (a small constellation in the northern hemisphere between Cygnus and Aquila and crossed by the Milky Way)

Reticulum (a small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Dorado and Hydrus)

Pyxis (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Puppis and Antlia)

Puppis (a constellation in the southern hemisphere between Vela and Canis Major that shaped like the stern of a boat)

Pisces (a large faint zodiacal constellation; between Aquarius and Aries)

Cepheus (a faint constellation in the northern hemisphere near Cassiopeia and the pole star)

Centaur; Centaurus (a conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere near the Southern Cross)

Cassiopeia (a W-shaped constellation in the northern hemisphere near Polaris)

Carina (a keel-shaped constellation in the southern hemisphere; contains the star Canopus)

Capricorn; Capricornus (a faint zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere; between Sagittarius and Aquarius)

Canis Minor; Little Dog (a constellation to the east of Orion; contains Procyon)

Canis Major; Great Dog (a constellation to the southeast of Orion; contains Sirius)

Cancer (a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Leo and Gemini)

Caelum (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Columba and Eridanus)

Bootes (a constellation in the northern hemisphere near Ursa Major)

Auriga; Charioteer (a conspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Great Bear and Orion at edge of Milky Way)

Aries (a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Pisces and Taurus)

Argo (formerly a large constellation in the southern hemisphere between Canis Major and the Southern Cross; now divided into Carina and Pyxis and Puppis and Vela)

Ara (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma)

Aquila (a constellation in the Milky Way near Cygnus; contains the star Altair)

Aquarius (a zodiacal constellation in the southern hemisphere; between Capricornus and Pisces)

Apus (a constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Octans)

Antlia (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra and Vela)

Andromeda (a constellation in the northern hemisphere between Cassiopeia and Pegasus; contains the Andromeda galaxy)

Hydrus (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near the south celestial pole)

Hydra; Snake (a long faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near the equator stretching between Virgo and Cancer)

Hercules (a large constellation in the northern hemisphere between Lyra and Corona Borealis)

Crane; Grus (a small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Phoenix)

Great Bear; Ursa Major (a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star)

Gemini (a zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere between Taurus and Cancer on the ecliptic)

Fornax (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Cetus and Phoenix)

Eridanus (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Fornax and Cetus)

Draco; Dragon (a faint constellation twisting around the north celestial pole and lying between Ursa Major and Cepheus)

Dorado (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Reticulum and Pictor; contains most of the Large Magellanic Cloud)

Delphinus (a constellation in the northern hemisphere near Pegasus and Aquila)

Cygnus (a constellation in the northern hemisphere between Pegasus and Draco in the Milky Way; contains a black hole)

Crater (a faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Hydra and Corvus)

Corvus; Crow (a small quadrilateral constellation in the southern hemisphere near Virgo)

Corona Borealis (a small constellation in the northern hemisphere between Bootes and Hercules)

Coma Berenices (a constellation in the northern hemisphere between Ursa Major and Bootes; contains a cluster of some 10,000 galaxies)

Columba; Dove (a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Puppis and Caelum)

Circinus (a small faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near Musca and Triangulum Australe)

Chamaeleon; Chameleon (a faint constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Apus and Mensa)

Cetus (a large constellation on the equator near Pisces and Aquarius)

Derivation:

constellate (form a constellation or cluster)

constellate (come together as in a cluster or flock)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A constellation of signs and symptoms caused by an excess of glucocorticoids.

(Cushingoid, NCI Thesaurus)

The latter can produce a constellation of symptoms known as Parinaud's syndrome.

(Benign Pineal Region Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

Also known as Sh 2-29, Sharpless 29 is located about 5500 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), next door to the larger Lagoon Nebula.

(Stellar Nursery Blooms into View, ESO)

It's located more than 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

(SOFIA Reveals How the Swan Nebula Hatched, NASA)

The planet, one of four which orbit the star HR 8799, was found 120 light years away in the constellation Pegasus.

(Water Found in Planet 120 Light Years Away, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

All these heavenly bodies will be in the constellation of Capricorn, suggesting that you may be overseeing a large budget and appropriating funds.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

There’s also a GPM constellation of satellites that provide additional rainfall data to provide a more comprehensive picture of events.

(France's Flooding Rains Examined by NASA’s IMERG, NASA)

The black hole in this new study, referred to as Markarian 335, or Mrk 335, is about 324 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the Pegasus constellation.

(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)

The binary star is about 1,800 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation, so what astronomers are observing now happened about 1,800 years ago.

(Star Explosion Could Change Night Sky, VOA News)

Sharpless 2-54 and the Eagle and Omega Nebulae are located roughly 7000 light-years away — the first two fall within the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent), while the latter lies within Sagittarius (The Archer).

(VST Captures Three-In-One, ESO)