Sun Constellation

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Since ancient times, astronomers have organized the stars into various constellations. We have the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and Orion the Hunter. But have you ever wondered if the Sun belongs to one of these collections of stars? Which one is the Sun’s constellation?

So here’s the problem. The Earth goes around the Sun. Over the course of a year, the position of the stars changes as the Earth’s position relative to the Sun changes. The Sun passes through each of the constellations of the zodiac. For example in August, the Sun is in Leo, and then in September, the Sun is in Virgo. Your astrological sign is based on this. What this means is that the Sun is part of each constellation of the zodiac over the course of a single year, so it can’t be said to be in any single constellation.

If you could move away to another star, then our Sun would appear to be part of the background stars, and join a constellation. For example, if you were on Alpha Centauri, the Sun would appear to be part of the Cassiopeia constellation. But if you went to a different star system, the Sun’s position would change depending on the direction.

So, the Sun doesn’t have a constellation.

Here’s an article from Universe Today about Google Sky, an program that can teach you your constellations.

Here’s stars and galaxies homepage. And here’s an article about all 88 recognized constellations.

We have recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast just about the Sun called The Sun, Spots and All.