Corvus

Corvus star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).

One of the 88 IAU constellations.

Etymology and History

The Greek constellation ...

Leo and Virgo above the MUŠ-Dragon, two claytablet drawings from the Seleucid era (roughly 2nd century BCE), CC BY SMH based upon the drawings by E. Weidner (1967) and Thureau-Dangin (1922).

Origin of Constellation

Almagest Κόραξ.

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Κόρακος ἀστερισμός
1	ὁ ἐν τῷ ῥάμφει καὶ κοιφὸς τοῦ Ὕδρου.	The star in the beak, which is [applied in] common to Hydra	alf Crv
2	ὁ ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇἡ	The star in the neck, by the head	eps Crv
3	ὁ ἐν τῷ στήθει.	The star in the breast	zet Crv
4	ὁ ἐν τῇ προηγουμένῃ καὶ δεξιᾷ πτέρυγι.	The star in the advance, right wing	gam Crv
5	τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐπομένῃ πτέρογι β’ ὁ ἠγούμενος;	The more advanced of the 2 stars in the rear wing	del Crv
6	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶ	The rearmost of them	ety Crv
7	ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρου τοῦ ποδὸς κοιφὸς τοῦ Ὕδρου	The star on the end of the leg, which is [applied in] common to Hydra	bet Crv
all	ὁ ἀστέρες ξ, ὧν γ’ μεγέθους ἔ, δ’ ἂ, ε’ ἄ

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 

  Hydra with Corvus and Crater on the Mercator Globe (1551)

• 

  Hydra in the Uranometria (1603), Corvus not drawn but in map

• 

  Corvus in Flamsteed (1776)

• 

  Corvus and Crater in Fortin's Atlas Céleste, 3rd edition (1795).

• 

  Corvus in Hall (1825)

References

• References (general)
• References (Babylonian)
• References (ancient Greco-Roman)
• References (medieval)