IAU constellation drawing atlas
Centaurus constellation
Recognise the shape, know when the whole figure is above your horizon, and practise its 23-segment line map before you step outside.
Observation card
Centaurus at a glance
- Best evening month
- May
- Brightest anchor
- Rigil Kentaurus (magnitude -0.01)
- Whole-figure latitude range
- -90° to 29°
- Declination span
- -60.8° to -36.4°
- Learning map
- 22 plotted stars · 23 segments
- Catalogue lineage
- ptolemy
How to find Centaurus
The complete figure is available from the South Pole northward to about 29° north, favouring southern observers. It is favourably placed during ordinary evening observing hours in May; the exact hour shifts through the month and with longitude.
Rigil Kentaurus, at visual magnitude -0.01, is conspicuous under a reasonably dark sky. Start at the brightest anchor, then compare the direction and spacing of each neighbouring segment. A moonless night and an unobstructed horizon make the fainter links easier.
What this line map means
It belongs to the classical constellation tradition recorded by Ptolemy. Astral Nest uses a simplified IAU learning figure based on Hipparcos star positions, then projects and normalises it so the pattern is easy to trace on screen.
This diagram teaches relative shape, not absolute sky position. Rotation, scale, atmospheric extinction and local obstruction change what you see outdoors, so use a current planetarium or ephemeris for navigation.
Continue the collection
This figure is outside the current themed card sets. You can still collect it in the 85-card sky atlas.