Introduction to Constellations

Introduction to Constellations. Backyard Astronomy.

The Stars Circling Polaris. abstract.

14. A Few Constellations....

Ursa Minor. K Cep 19 X Dra 18 Dra 17 16h Ursa Minor Dra 15h 14h Ilh KD 12h 13h.

Ursa Major. rsa Major 16 Dra 400 14h 300 01 MAO CVn 12 23 M 97 CVn 13 Ma" Lyn LMi • 21185 Leo 11 10.

Draco. D raco 800 700 40 59. 20b • 26 16. 17 19b . Her 800 5985 11 h 12b 13h 10 10 15 16.

22. Orion’s Belt. 22. South, September Before Dawn Betelgeuse Orion Rigel Sirius • Canis Major COPYRIGHT 2007-2012 EARTHSKY COMMUNICATIONS INC..

24. Cassiopeia.

26. [image] http www topastronomer com StarCharts ImgConstellation aspx ID 31 Star 1 Names No.

Signs of the Zodiac. Common Constellations.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer. In Greek mythology Aquarius was Ganymede, "cup-bearer to the gods". Alpha Aquarii ("Sadalmelik") and beta Aquarii ("Sadalsuud") are twin supergiants with nearly identical names. The names mean, respectively, "The Lucky One of the King" and "The Luckiest of the Lucky". Gamma Aquarii shares in the good fortune: "Sadachbia": "The Lucky Star of Hidden Things" Incidentally, if the "Age of Aquarius" was celebrated in the 1960s, the real event is still some 600 years off: at that time Aquarius will contain the vernal equinox, marking the return of the Sun into the northern celestial hemisphere..

Aquarius: The Water Bearer. 23h a Pe 10 SC 00 —100 Peg 21h M 72.

Aries: the Ram. Aries, "The Ram", is an ancient constellation which was of considerable importance since the sun passed through it at the vernal equinox. This point has now moved into Pisces, but the vernal equinox is still known as the First Point of Aries. In another six hundred years the point will have moved into Aquarius. The Ram in question may have been the one whose golden fleece was the object of Jason's quest. There is some reason to believe that the Greeks just took over a much older horned animal at this time of the year; the horn being a symbol for fecundity, renewal, and so on. As the Sun came into this constellation, at the vernal equinox, the year itself was being renewed..

Aries: the Ram. p per 300 100 Per o per er Pleiad s (Tau 5 Tau Tau 35 33 30 • ß Tri .14 Hamal NGC 722 u Tri -Ahd SC.

Cancer The Crab. The name comes from the Latin; cancer means crab. The crab in question is the one sent by Hydra to attack Heracles. It was only a bit part, but one which secured its immortality..

Cancer. 22 Cancer 9 X Leo 200 (Beehive uster) • 60 M 67 yd ra's ead Gem 85 G (Procy n).

34. Capricornus the Sea-Goat. The Sea Goat or Goat-Fish, as a creature with the head and body of a goat and the tail of a fish, may well have originated from Assyro-Babylonian depictions of their god of wisdom Oannes, who was half-man, half-fish..

Capricornus. Capricornus 22h — 100 21 • ß Aqr •18 Aqr 21h 2030 20h f,2 6 sgr .g .42 30 • —200 41 "3 PsA".

Gemini The Twins. Gemini, the Twins, are really only half-brothers. They share the same mother (Leda) but have different fathers. Castor's father was a king of Sparta, Tyndareus - who would be chased from his throne but later rescued by Heracles (who nevertheless wound up killing him). The father of Pollux was none other than Zeus, or Jupiter. Zeus visited Leda on her wedding night in the guise of a swan. Thus the twins would be born. (In fact two twins came from this double union, but let's not complicate the matter even more...).

37. emini 66 Au . 400 Gemini 300 Cnc 200 ß cnc Aur 63 Au • 65 A r Aur K Au NGC 392 • . (Eski CMi • 4 Aur 30 CMi e Mon.

Leo: The Lion. The first on the list of Heracles' labors was the task of killing the Nemean Lion, a giant beast that roamed the hills and the streets of the Peloponnesian villages, devouring whomever it met. The animal's skin was impervious to iron, bronze, and stone. Heracles' arrows harmlessly bounced off the lion; his sword bent in two; his wooden club smashed to pieces. So Heracles wrestled with the beast, finally choking it to death. He then wrapped the lion's pelt about him; it would protect him from the next labor: killing the poisonous Hydra..

Leo. eKH n x eKH €06Z OON uK-1 n 6S€ JIOM• 6 n. .96 99 €6 00b ooz oot.

Libra: The Scales. Libra means "The Scales" or "Balance", so named because when the zodiac was still in its infancy, some four thousand years ago, the sun passed through this constellation at the autumnal equinox (21 September). At the two equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. As a symbol for equality, the constellation came to represent Justice in several middle Eastern cultures. However, the Greeks had a different perspective; at one time Scorpius, which lies just to the east, was much larger, and the stars that make up Libra were then known as the Claws of the Scorpion..

Libra. 16h Se E 1962 37 — 100 49 ßSco —200 Sco Libra 15h Vir 13 ö 12 14h Vir a Vir —300 X Lup.

Pisces: The Fish. Pisces is an ancient constellation derived, some say, from the story of the terrible Greek god Typhon. (This is not the Chinese word for "big wind", which - in English - is of course spelled "typhoon". The French, however, spell this word "typhon", which adds to the confusion. It is possible that the Chinese borrowed the word from the Greek. The modern Greek equivalent is spelled "tau upsilon phi omega nu" and means "cyclone".).

Pisces. 68. p oz • 99. 00 00b ooz 00€ puv g • puv seos!d.

Scorpius: The Scorpion. As mentioned regarding Orion, Gaia may have sent the scorpion to kill the mighty hunter, as he had vowed to rid the earth of all wild animals. Or Apollo might have told Gaia of Orion's boast, fearful that Orion had designs on Apollo's sister Artemis. In any case it was Gaia who sent the scorpion to kill Orion. Later the animal would chase Orion across the heavens, but it could never catch him, for the scorpion was so placed that it would rise in the east only after Orion had safely disappeared over the western horizon..

Scorpius. Scorpius 17 h 16h ..16 E- 1999 — 100 —200 —300 —400 ß Lib • Lib Lib ph 4. rop o Oph• M 80 (Antares) -2 a Tel ra Li 623 Ara.

Taurus: The Bull. Is Taurus attacking Orion, the Hunter, or are the Horns of the Bull the real story? The horn was a symbol of fertility and bountiful riches in many cultures for thousands of years, and it is probably the case here, for the constellation would have announced the Vernal Equinox at around 4000 BC..

Taurus. 300 K Au (36 200 x Ori Taurus Aur TMR IC Ald baran 00 • 39 Var. 100 00 telgeuse ri0h'S B It Ari u Ce E 22 10.