The sky is ever-changing. The stars we'll see tonight are not the same as the stars seen 2,600 years ago.
A pottery artifact dating back to 625 B.C. may illustrate the constellations as they were interpreted by the ancient Greeks - not unsystematic animal drawings as previously thought, according to Live Science.
The two-handled wine cup, called a skyphos, is currently on display in the Lamia Archaeological Museum in Greece where John Barnes, a classical archaeology doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri, came upon it.
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"If we go back and reevaluate other animal scenes that might have been originally categorized as hunting scenes or animal friezes, then maybe we can find more [depictions of constellations] and get a greater understanding of how the ancient Greeks viewed the night sky," Barnes told Live Science.
The drinkware depicts a scorpion, dolphin, a large dog, a snake, a bull, a hare or small dog and a panther or a lion. About a third of the cup is missing, and the pictures were labeled as random illustrations, but Barnes thought immediately about the constellations, according to Live Science.
"My dad raised me on astronomy and to me, the snake, rabbit and dog together looked like constellations," Barnes said. "That group jumped out at me."
Friezes portraying animals are not uncommon, but the dolphin does not belong with land animals and scorpions are not considered frieze-friendly animals. A more likely explanation is that the illustrations portray Taurus (the bull), Hydra (the snake), Lepus (the rabbit), Canis Major or Minor (the dog), Scorpius (the scorpion), Delphinus (the dolphin) and Leo (the lion).
The animals are not arranged in the typical order that they would appear in the sky, Live Science reported. Barnes speculated that they are grouped according to season: the bull and other missing drawings (autumn), the rabbit and dog (winter), the dog and scorpion (spring) and the dolphin and lion (summer).
