Extinct Constellations

Father Maximillian Hell created a new constellation, George's Harp, in 1789 to honor England's King George III, patron of astronomer William Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus. The new constellation, which was near Taurus, never caught on, and was discarded entirely when astronomers drafted a list of 88 official constellations in the early 20th century. Many other constellations suffered the same fate. You can find out more about these vanished constellations in our March/April magazine.