## Sky & Telescope

Western sky culture is used internationally by modern astronomers, and is the official scheme of The International Astronomical Union. It has historical roots in Ancient Greek astronomy, with influences from Islamic astronomy. The constellation figures and star names come from Sky & Telescope's definitions, and should be familiar to users of Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas, Sky Atlas 2000.0, and the figures in Sky & Telescope magazine.

### Constellations

The Western culture divides the celestial sphere into 88 areas of various sizes called constellations, each with precise boundary, issued by the International Astronomical Union. These constellations have become the standard way to describe the sky, replacing similar sets in other sky cultures exhaustively in daily usage.

Note: the Sky & Telescope sky culture does not provide constellation lines for Microscopium or Mensa.

### Star names

The method used by Sky & Telescope to determine star names is detailed in the included SnT_star_names.docx file.

### External links

- Sky & Telescope homepage
- Constellation article at Wikipedia
- Star Catalogue article at Wikipedia
- Official IAU constellation information