con ‧ stel ‧ la ‧ tion /ˌkɒnstəˈleɪʃ ə n $ ˌkɑːn-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Late Latin constellatio , from Latin com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + stella 'star' ]
1 . a group of stars that forms a particular pattern and has a name:
a star in the constellation of Orion
2 . a constellation of something literary a group of people or things that are similar:
a constellation of ideas
• • •
THESAURUS
■ in the sky
▪ star a large ball of burning gas in space, which can be seen at night as a point of light in the sky:
The dark night sky was clear and full of stars.
▪ planet one of the large objects that goes around the sun, for example the Earth, Saturn, Mercury, or Mars:
The planet Uranus was discovered in 1781.
▪ sun the star that gives us light and heat, around which the planets move. There are also many millions of other suns in the universe:
The sun came out from behind a cloud.
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a dying sun
▪ moon the round object that moves around the Earth every 28 days, or a similar object that goes around another planet:
The moon rose in the night sky.
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Titan is one of the moons of Saturn.
▪ asteroid a mass of rock that moves around the sun. Most asteroids are found between Jupiter and Mars:
the asteroid belt
▪ pulsar a type of star that is far away in space and produces ↑ radiation and RADIO WAVES
▪ quasar an object like a star that is far away in space and shines extremely brightly
▪ supernova a very large exploding star
▪ constellation a group of stars that forms a particular pattern and has a name:
The constellation of Orion is one of the most easily recognizable patterns of stars in the night sky.
▪ galaxy one of the large groups of stars that make up the universe:
Astronomers have detected a galaxy 11 billion light years away.
▪ the universe all space, including all the stars and planets:
How many planets in the universe have life?