The night sky is full of fascinating stories, and the Zodiac constellations are some of the most famous star patterns to explore! These 12 constellations have been used for ages to track the seasons, navigate the skies, and inspire myths from cultures around the world. In this guide, we’ll dive into what makes the Zodiac constellations special, share fun facts about each one, and offer tips for spotting them in the night sky. Whether you’re stargazing at home or planning a field trip to a planetarium, get ready to journey through the constellations that have captivated stargazers for thousands of years!

A Note For Teachers: If you’re an educator planning to teach the night sky or constellations, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my Constellations Mini Study, which you can also find within my complete Night Sky Unit (plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase! ❤️)

What are constellations?

Constellations are patterns that people see in the stars.  With a little imagination, you can see people, animals, mythical beasts, and other images in the sky’s stars! Different ancient cultures imagined different pictures in the stars and told unique stories and myths about them. Today, the International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 modern constellations, including the Zodiac constellations.

What are the Zodiac constellations?

The Zodiac is a set of constellations seen in the night sky from Earth. They each represent a different animal, person, creature, or other object. Many of them are very old constellations that have been recognized by human cultures for thousands of years. They are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each of these constellations appears and disappears seasonally from the night sky.

What makes the Zodiac constellations special?

The Zodiac constellations are special because they appear to line up along the ecliptic, the path the Sun seems to follow across the sky over the course of a year. The ecliptic is actually an imaginary plane that represents Earth’s orbit around the Sun. From our perspective on Earth, these constellations seem to trace the Sun’s journey through the sky, making them key markers in astronomy.

Because of their positions along the ecliptic, each Zodiac constellation becomes visible at specific times of the year. This happens because, at certain times, the Sun appears in front of a particular constellation, making it impossible to see in the night sky. Remember—constellations are only visible at night! As Earth orbits the Sun, different constellations shift to the ‘nighttime side’ of the sky, meaning we can only see the ones that aren’t obscured by daylight during each season.

Aries

The Ram

Hemisphere: Northern

Best Seen: in fall and early winter

Mythology: in Greek mythology, Aries represented a ram with golden fleece. But this collection of stars was interpreted as a ram even earlier, during the Babylonian Empire.

Distinguishing Features: the ram appears like a crooked line of relatively faint stars, fairly close to the Pleiades star cluster.

Taurus

The Bull

Hemisphere: Northern

Best Seen: in winter

Mythology: the bull is one of the oldest known constellations, with mythology dating back to the Bronze Age.

Distinguishing Features: the bull’s head contains the bright star Aldebaran. Taurus appears to be charging toward Orion in the sky.

Gemini

The Twins

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in winter in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: the Gemini are the mythical twins Castor and Pollux (for whom the two brightest stars in Gemini are named).

Distinguishing Features: Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in this constellation,  represent the twins’ heads.

Cancer

The Crab

Hemisphere: Northern

Best Seen: in late winter and early spring

Mythology: Cancer the crab bit Hercules in Greek Mythology. However, Cancer’s mythology predates ancient Greece, like many Zodiac constellations.

Distinguishing Features: Cancer can be challenging to spot due to its relatively faint stars. Find it by drawing a line between the heads of the Gemini twins and Regulus, Leo’s brightest star.

Leo

The Lion

Hemisphere: Northern

Best Seen: in spring

Mythology: legends of Leo the Lion date back to ancient times. Leo is known as a lion killed by Hercules in Greek mythology.

Distinguishing Features: Leo’s brightest stars are found in the lion’s head and mane, forming a shape like a backward question mark. Its brightest star, Regulus is in the lion’s chest.

Virgo

The Maiden

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in spring in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: tales of Virgo vary across ancient cultures; she sometimes represents a goddess.

Distinguishing Features: Virgo’s brightest star is Spica, a blue giant. Spica can be located by extending an imaginary arc from the handle of the big dipper across the sky.

Libra

The Scales

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in late spring and early summer in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: Libra represents scales; however, some ancient cultures considered Libra part of Scorpius, rather than a separate constellation.

Distinguishing Features: Libra, a relatively faint constellation, can be located by first finding its neighbors on either side, Virgo and Scorpius.

Scorpius

The Scorpion

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in summer in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: in the tale of Orion, Scorpius stung and killed the hunter.

Distinguishing Features: Scorpius has a distinctive J-shape and has a bright, twinkling red supergiant star near its heart.

Sagittarius

The Archer

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in summer in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: in legends, Sagittarius was a mythical beast called a centaur: half man, half horse.

Distinguishing Features: Sagittarius contains a close grouping of stars forming a teapot shape.

Capricornus

The Sea Goat

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in late summer and early fall in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: Capricornus is a mythical creature: with the head of a goat and the tail of a fish.

Distinguishing Features: Capricornus is found close to the Milky Way. It is a fairly faint constellation but has a recognizable kite-like shape.

Aquarius

The Water Bearer

Hemisphere: primarily Southern, but it is also sometimes visible from the Northern Hemisphere

Best Seen: in fall in the Northern Hemisphere

Mythology: Aquarius was a waiter who served Zeus and the other Greek gods, filling their cups.

Distinguishing Features: what Aquarius lacks in bright stars it makes up for in size – this is the 10^th largest constellation.

Pisces

The Fish

Hemisphere: Northern

Best Seen: in fall

Mythology: for thousands of years, Pisces has represented two fish connected at the tail, though the details of its story varied across time and cultures.

Distinguishing Features: this constellation is very faint but can be found in dark skies using its proximity to the great square of Pegasus.

Explore Constellations with Wild Earth Lab:

If you enjoyed my Zodiac constellation artwork and info in this post, I think you will love my Zodiac constellation printable flashcards. They feature my high-quality watercolor images and are perfect for amateur stargazers and studying the night sky with kids! These cards are also in my Constellations Mini Study.

OR: you can bundle and save on even more astronomy and space worksheets, activities, and posters with my complete Night Sky Unit!

Explore more lessons from Wild Earth Lab:

If you enjoyed this post, I know you will love trying my other printable science and nature units in your classroom too!

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References and Further Reading

1. Constellation Guide (n.d.). Constellations by Month. Available: https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellations-by-month/
2. Constellations Guide (n.d.). Zodiac Constellations. Available: https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-map/zodiac-constellations/
3. Ford, D. (n.d.). List of the Constellations. In-The-Sky.org. Available: https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellation.php?id=19
4. Fraknoi, A., Morrison, D., Wolff, S. C., (2016). Astronomy. OpenStax. Available: https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-6-a-tour-of-the-universe
5. GoAstronomy (n.d.). Constellations of the Night Sky. Available: https://www.go-astronomy.com/constellations.htm
6. Horvatin, S. (n.d.). Constellations. Michigan State University. Abrams Planetarium. Available: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/constellations.html
7. International Astronomical Union (n.d.). The Constellations. Available: https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/
8. Rao, J (2008). How the Ecliptic and the Zodiac Work. Space.com. Available: https://www.space.com/5417-ecliptic-zodiac-work.html

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