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I noticed that
all of the constellation lines in Google Sky are
the same as those on the SFA Star Charts.
I'm so glad to see those constellation patterns in Google Sky. I spend months researching what constellation patterns had been used by others and I selected the ones that I liked best. I started working on the charts in 1998 and worked on them during spare time until I finally finished them in 2002. One reason that it took me so long is that I hand picked each constellation line for all 88 constellations. The constellation pattern that I was never happy with in any of the books that I used was that of Bootes. Sure it's the "midnight kite" but Bootes is supposed to be a herdsman or shepherd. Bootes on our charts was unique to the SFA Star Charts because it is a modification that I came up with. I tried to make Bootes look more like Orion. I wanted it to look like a shepherd holding a staff (see above). So that staff is how I tell if someone used my data set.
The Google Sky team used the constellation lines that I have freely available here in Excel format:
Here's an article that I submitted to Sky & Telescope magazine in 2002:
Bootes is just one example. All 88 constellations are the same in Google Sky as found on the SFA Star Charts.
Clear skies,
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