Constellations?

Question

Explain the distance between the stars in a constellation.

Answer 1

That being said (the above explanations about the actual distances between stars in constellations), I believe astronomers calculate the distance between them as seen from earth in DEGREES (360 degrees in a full circle). That way the actual distance doesn't matter, only how far apart they are in our field of vision.

When dealing with measures smaller than one degree, these are further divided into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds.

So, two stars in a constellation could be, for example, 10º32'44" (10 degrees, 32 minutes, 44 seconds).

Answer 2

The stars in a constellation can be thousands of light years distance from each other and moving in different directions. But in our line of sight, they appear to compose a picture that we call a constellation. A million years ago the constellation would have appeared completely different because of the different movement of the stars. And a million years from now the constellations also will not look the same as we see them today.

Answer 3

The stars in a constellation are most often not related to one another, and can be separated by enormous actual distances. Additionally, there is no correlation between the stars of a constellation and their distances from Earth, which can and do range widely. Constellations are only recognized as such because from our vantage point on Earth, their stars appear to draw pictures in the sky, and ancient civilizations played connect-the-dots.

Answer 4

The stars in constellations are at different distances from Earth.