Biggest constellation in the night sky?

what is the biggest constellation in the night sky. I want know to know the name of it. I need it by todayBiggest constellation in the night sky?Using currently accepted boundaries, Hydra is the largest. In ancient times, the modern constellations of Carina, Vela, and Puppis combined to form Argo, which was the largest.Biggest constellation in the night sky?
Draco or HydraBiggest constellation in the night sky?My guess would be Orion.Biggest constellation in the night sky?
Hydra.



See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_con鈥?/a>

for the areas (in square degrees) of all constellations.



Here's another link that shows the areas of constellations along with other interesting information:

http://www.ianridpath.com/constellations鈥?/a>



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The sky contains

360^2/pi = 41252.96 square degrees.



Since there are 88 constellations, the average area per constellation is 468.8 square degrees. The area of Hydra is 1302.8 square degrees, so it is about 2.8 times larger than average.



Other answers here mention Orion and Crux (the southern cross). These are both prominent constellations, but Orion is ranked number 26 in area, and Crux is number 88 (the smallest).



Hydra (the female water snake) is not a particularly prominent constellation, but it stretches (snake-like!) across a large swath of the sky.



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These areas are based on the official constellation boundaries that were set by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, and published in 1930. Most people who are familiar with the sky think in terms of the prominent star patterns rather than the official boundaries. For instance, almost everyone knows the Big Dipper; but this is part of the constellation Ursa Major, and the constellation boundaries extend far beyond the familiar Big Dipper. (Ursa Major is the third biggest constellation.)



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You added to your question, wanting to know interesting facts about star gazing, stars, etc. This is a big subject! I recommend the following:

1) If you have a specific question, post it on Yahoo Answers.

2) If you just want to learn about astronomy in general, there are numerous books and web sites available.



One good book (among many) on viewing the sky is

NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe

by Terence Dickinson



There are too many web sites to discuss here. You might type the following into your favorite search engine

introduction astronomy

and find a site that appeals to you.



If you really want to learn about astronomy, there are lots of textbooks, written for a variety of ages and backgrounds.



Another good way to learn about the night sky is to visit your local planetarium. I don't know where you live, but there are many planetariums around the U.S. and the world. Planetariums and science museums usually sell books on science, so you might look there to select a good book on astronomy.



If you're looking for an interesting fact right now (for a school report), here's one: Astronomers determine the temperature of a star from its color. When you look at an electric range, you see that the heating elements glow red when they become very hot. In fact, their temperature is similar to the temperature of red stars. Even hotter stars are yellowish in color, and really hot stars are bluish-white. The star Antares has a reddish color, the sun is yellow, and Sirius is blue-white. This is because Antares is cooler than the sun, and Sirius is hotter than the sun. (These colors show the temperatures of the stars' atmospheres. The centers of stars are much hotter.) Next time you look at the sky, see if you can see differences in colors between the bright stars. (The planets also have colors, but they don't indicate temperature; they just reflect the color of the surface or the atmosphere.)Biggest constellation in the night sky?Well, from where my boat is, I can see both Orion AND the top 2/3 of the Southern Cross and it certainly looks to me like the Southern Cross is bigger than Orion.

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