Stars‪.‬

The sky is divided into 88 areas or constellations, whose names and boundaries were officially agreed on in a 1930 resolution of the International Astronomical Union. The constellation names are Latin, although several are derived from Greek. Many of the constellation names are ancient, at least 2000 years old and, in some cases, more than 4000 years old. Amongst the oldest are the constellations of the zodiac, a band of stars along the ecliptic through which the Sun, Moon and planets move. Early stellar cartographers relied on mariners' accounts of the southern sky when inventing constellations that could not be seen from the north. It was only in the mid 1750s, when the French astronomer Lacaille visited Cape Town, that the southern sky was properly charted. He outlined and named many new constellations with names that are still used today.