Astronomical symbols and their meaning
Astronomers used these signs for centuries as shorthand in almanacs and star charts. Most come from Greek and Roman mythology: Mars’s shield and spear, Venus’s hand mirror, Saturn’s sickle. Today the IAU discourages them in scientific papers, but they live on in calendars, logos and Unicode.
Sun, Moon and planets
| Symbol | Name | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
| ☉ | Sun | U+2609 |
| ☿ | Mercury | U+263F |
| ♀ | Venus | U+2640 |
| 🜨 | Earth | U+1F728 |
| ☽ | Moon | U+263D |
| ♂ | Mars | U+2642 |
| ♃ | Jupiter | U+2643 |
| ♄ | Saturn | U+2644 |
| ⛢ | Uranus | U+26E2 |
| ♆ | Neptune | U+2646 |
| ♇ | Pluto | U+2647 |
| ⚳ | Ceres | U+26B3 |
Moon phases
| 🌑 | New Moon | U+1F311 |
| 🌓 | First quarter | U+1F313 |
| 🌕 | Full Moon | U+1F315 |
| 🌗 | Last quarter | U+1F317 |
Zodiac constellations
| ♈ | Ram (Aries) | U+2648 |
| ♉ | Bull (Taurus) | U+2649 |
| ♊ | Twins (Gemini) | U+264A |
| ♋ | Crab (Cancer) | U+264B |
| ♌ | Lion (Leo) | U+264C |
| ♍ | Maiden (Virgo) | U+264D |
| ♎ | Scales (Libra) | U+264E |
| ♏ | Scorpion (Scorpius) | U+264F |
| ⛎ | Serpent Bearer (Ophiuchus) | U+26CE |
| ♐ | Archer (Sagittarius) | U+2650 |
| ♑ | Sea Goat (Capricornus) | U+2651 |
| ♒ | Water Bearer (Aquarius) | U+2652 |
| ♓ | Fishes (Pisces) | U+2653 |
Symbol
| ☊ | Ascending node | U+260A |
| ☋ | Descending node | U+260B |
| ☌ | Conjunction | U+260C |
| ☍ | Opposition | U+260D |
| ★ | Star | U+2605 |