But the farthest star in that constellation is Alnilam, which is about 1,300 light-years away.

For example, in one well-known constellation called Orion, the nearest star to us is Bellatrix, a bit more than 200 light-years from Earth. Stars that seem to be right next to each other in a constellation may in fact be hundreds of light-years apart. Read more: Space junk is blocking our view of the starsДЄlthough we're looking at stars across vast expanses of three-dimensional space, the arrangement we see looks two-dimensional. So, what we actually see from any given spot on Earth only looks like a rotating collection of constellations. Similar to how our sun looks like it's moving across the sky when it's really our planet rotating as it orbits the sun, constellations appear to be moving when it's really our viewpoint that is changing. That appearance of star movement actually has more to do with the rotation of Earth than the movements of stars themselves. (Image credit: Till Credner)ДЇrom Earth, stars appear to move across the sky on a regular schedule.

A visual mosaic of the 12 classic constellations in the Western zodiac, photographed in the night sky, marked and outlined.

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