CONSTELLATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does constellation mean? 

• CONSTELLATION (noun)
  The noun CONSTELLATION has 2 senses:

1. an arrangement of parts or elements

2. a configuration of stars as seen from the earth

  Familiarity information: CONSTELLATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONSTELLATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An arrangement of parts or elements

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

configuration; constellation

Context example:

the outcome depends on the configuration of influences at the time

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

design; plan (an arrangement scheme)

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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)

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

Derivation:

constellate (form a constellation or cluster)

constellate (come together as in a cluster or flock)

 Context examples 

This unusual event occurred inside or near a star-forming galaxy known as CGCG 137-068, located about 200 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.

(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)

The planetary system lies about 73 light-years away in the southern constellation of Pictor.

(NASA’s TESS Mission Scores ‘Hat Trick’ With 3 New Worlds, NASA)

The system is located 31 light-years away in the constellation Hydra.

(Confirmation of Toasty TESS Planet Leads to Surprising Find of Promising World, NASA)

This moon candidate, which is 8,000 light-years from Earth in the Cygnus constellation, orbits a gas-giant planet that, in turn, orbits a star called Kepler-1625.

(Astronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System, NASA)

The detection of an exoplanet in orbit around WDJ0914+1914, located about 1500 light years away in the constellation of Cancer, may be the first of many orbiting such stars.

(First Giant Planet around White Dwarf Found, ESO)

It is located about 800 light-years away in the constellation Gemini.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

NGC 2440 lies about 4,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Puppis.

(Hubble Views a Colorful Demise of a Sun-like Star, NASA)

Kepler-186f resides in the Kepler-186 system, about 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus.

(Kepler Telescope Discovers First Earth-Size Planet in 'Habitable Zone', NASA)

A constellation of responses that occur when an organism is exposed to excessive heat and other environmental stresses.

(Heat-Shock Response, NCI Thesaurus)

A constellation of neurobehavioral features observed in a neonate following cessation or reduction of postnatal exposure to opioids.

(Neonatal Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)