Week of April 12-18, 2026

Throughout history, just about every stargazing culture on the planet developed its own unique set of constellations and mythological stories, many of which were passed down through the ages. We in today's Western civilization, though, have inherited those created primarily by the ancient Greeks and early European explorers and astronomers.

In 1922, the International Astronomical Union produced a more standardized system for worldwide use by dividing the heavens into 88 separate regions of various shapes and sizes — each a "constellation." Among these, we find represented 29 objects, 16 people, 42 animals and one half-animal/half-human (a centaur).

Nearly half of all constellations represent animals, and it's pretty remarkable that, after dark during mid-April, our northeastern sky displays nearly 20% of them. But before you frustrate yourself searching the stars for pictures of lions and tigers and bears, remember that constellations are merely areas of the sky and not celestial images. So with this in mind, why not head out away from city lights this week to see if you can find all these cosmic critters.

One of the most famous of all star groupings (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) is the Big Dipper. Now, while these seven stars do not represent an animal, the constellation of which they are a part does: Ursa Major, the great bear.

Look high in the northeastern sky after dark for the Dipper and Ursa Major. To its east (right) lie the stars of Leo, the lion, that I wrote about recently. And between Leo and Ursa Major you'll find the much tinier grouping Leo Minor, the little lion.

To the Big Dipper's northwest (lower left), we find Ursa Minor, the little bear, part of which is recognized as the Little Dipper. The end of its tail (or handle) is marked by Polaris, the North Star. Finding Polaris isn't difficult; simply follow to the lower left the two stars at the end of the Big Dipper's bowl, and they'll point right toward this star.

Winding its way between and below the big and little bears we see the sinuous constellation of Draco, the dragon, a horrible creature from ancient Greek mythology that guarded a valuable sacred spring.

If you have trouble finding these five constellations, the remaining three are much fainter and may prove even more challenging.

Directly above Ursa Major right now lies a string of stars known as Lynx, the ... well, uh ... lynx. This constellation, Leo and Leo Minor make up all the cats represented in the heavens.

To the northeast of the Big Dipper (lower right) lies Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs (not to be confused with those of Orion in the winter sky).

Finally, look to the left of Lynx, and you may spot Camelopardalis. This has to be one of the most obscure constellations in all the heavens. Some believe it was conjured up by the 16th-century Dutch theologian, cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius; others think it was named by the German astronomer Jacob Bartsch, who published Plancius' star maps in a 1624 constellation book.

Now I know what you're thinking: Camelopardalis represents a camel, right? Nope. It's a giraffe!

Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

During mid-April, many constellations representing animals are visible in the northeastern sky after dark.