The bright stars in the night sky form recognisable patterns, which help us find our way about the heavens. We call these patterns the constellations. The stars in the constellations are not, however, associated in any way. They just happen to lie in the same direction in space. They remain in the same pattern century by century, not because they don't move, but because they are so far away that their movement can't be detected (in most cases, anyway). The ancient Greeks saw much the same constellations we do, and named them after figures, people and animals they thought the constellations resembled. About 80 constellations are recognised. We know them today by the Latin version of the names, and their English equivalent. A few constellations, including Cygnus (the Swan) and Scorpius (the Scorpion) do look rather like the animals they are supposed to represent. But in the majority of cases a vivid imagination is required to find the resemblance!
