Sternbild

Sternbild is the German term for a constellation, a recognizable pattern of stars in the night sky. In astronomy, a Sternbild refers to one of the 88 officially recognized constellations that cover the celestial sphere. These patterns are used for navigation, timekeeping, and the organization of celestial coordinates, with each Sternbild occupying a defined region in the sky.

The concept has ancient roots in many cultures, and modern astronomy standardized the set of 88 constellations through the work of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The boundaries of these constellations were formalized by Eugène Delporte in 1930, fixing where one constellation ends and another begins. The names are generally Latin or Latinized; German usage typically mirrors the Latin forms, with translations for some well-known patterns.

Sternbilder are not physical groupings; the stars in a given pattern are usually far apart in space and only appear related from Earth's perspective. They are often linked to myths or cultural lore, but the modern system treats them as map-like regions of the sky. Notable examples include Orion, Ursa Major (Großer Bär), and Cassiopeia.