Ara

Ara constellation map, CC BY 4.0 (IAU).

Ara, The Altar (or Censer), is one of the 88 IAU constellations. The constellation appears in all ancient Greek literature from Aratus to Ptolemy. It forms a unit of sense with the neighbouring super-constellation of Centaurus and Lupus, as the centaur sacrifices the animal to the gods at the altar.

Etymology and History

Aratus

(Pseudo-)Eratosthenes

Ptolemy's Almagest

References

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