Select Page

astronomyconstellations (Constellations ** )

Astronomy — Constellations


Constellations

  • Of the 88 official constellations, 48 were named in ancient times by Mesopotamians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks.
  • Asterisms are well-known star groupings within a constellation.  Examples of asterisms are the Big Dipper contained in Ursa Major, the Great Square of Pegasus, the Keystone in Hercules.
  • Most star names are derived from ancient Arabic.
  • The 0 hour 0 minute line of autumn runs through the Pegasus Square; the 5 hour 0 minute line runs through 5-sided Auriga and Taurus’ V-shaped head; the 6 hour 0 minute winter line runs through a huge figure-6 formed by Capella, Castor, Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Rigel, Bellatrix, and Betelgeuse; the 12 hour 0 minute line of spring passes through the Dipper and Denebola; and the 18 hour 0 minute summer line runs through Sagittarius and Sagitta.
  • The three stars that comprise the handle of the Big Dipper are Alkaid (210 light years), Mizar (88 light years), and Alioth (66 light years).  Alkaid is the farthest from the dipper and Alioth is closest to the dipper.
  • There are actually 6 stars in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper, and they are 3 sets of spectroscopic binaries.
  • Follow the Dipper’s arc to reach Arcturus.  Continue the arc the same distance again to reach Spica.  Spica and Mizar (the middle star in the Dipper’s handle) have the same right ascension.
  • Follow the pointer stars of the dipper of the Big Dipper southward and you will bisect Leo the Lion.
  • Cygnus the Swan flies down the Milky Way and into Antares.
  • A line drawn through the western-most stars of the Great Square runs north to Polaris and south to Fomalhaut.  A line through the eastern-most stars of the Great Square runs north to Polaris and south to beta-Cetus.
  • The top star in Orion’s belt is an equatorial star.
  • Greek alphabet:
    • Alpha – α
    • Beta – ß
    • Gamma – Γ and γ
    • Delta – Δ
    • Epsilon – ε
    • Zeta – ζ
    • Eta – η
    • Theta – θ
    • Iota – ι
    • Kappa – κ
    • Lambda – λ
    • Mu – μ
    • Nu – ν
    • Xi – ξ
    • Omicron – o
    • Pi – π
    • Rho – ρ
    • Sigma – σ
    • Tau – τ
    • Upsilon – υ
    • Phi – φ
    • Chi – χ
    • Psi – ψ
    • Omega – ω
  • Zodiac constellations:
    • Sagittarius the Archer – January
    • Capricornus the Goat – February
    • Aquarius the Water Bearer – March
    • Pisces the Fish – April
    • Aries the Ram – May
    • Taurus the Bull – June
    • Gemini the Twins – July
    • Cancer the Crab – August
    • Leo the Lion – September
    • Virgo the Virgin – October
    • Libra the Scales – November
    • Scorpius the Scorpion – December
  • Birthdates and the zodiac signs:
    • Aries, the Ram, March 21 to April 20
    • Taurus, the Bull,  April 21 to May 20
    • Gemini, the Twins, May 21 to June 20
    • Cancer, the Crab, June 21 to July 22
    • Leo, the Lion, July 23 to August 23
    • Virgo, the Maiden, August 24 to September 22
    • Libra, the Scales, September 23 to October 23
    • Scorpio, the Scorpion, October 24 to November 22
    • Sagittarius, the Archer, November 23 to December 21
    • Capricorn, the Goat, December 22 to January 19
    • Aquarius, the Water Carrier, January 20 to February 18
    • Pisces, the Fish, February 19 to March 20
  • Stories of the constellations:
    • The sky is divided into named areas called constellations in much the same way that our country is divided into named areas called states.  It is probable that in most cases the ancient stargazers named the constellations in honor of their gods, goddesses, and favorite animals, and not because the groups of stars looked anything like them.  Most people think that the constellations are supposed to be pictures, because they bear the names of objects, animals, and persons.  However, when we look at a map of the United States, we do not expect that the state of Washington will look anything like George.
    • At some distant time in the past, it was thought necessary that a constellation should look like the creature after which it was named.  Artists stretched their imaginations to the utmost to make pictures that would fit the positions of the stars.  In most cases, it was a hopeless task, because the stars have usually not been obliging enough to group themselves into the outlines of pictures.  To find Pegasus, no person looks for a winged horse, but rather it is recognized by four stars that form a square.  Cassiopeia is supposed to be a lady seated in a chair, but she is found because of her resemblance to the  letter ‘W’.  Ursa Major means the Big Bear, but how many people scan that area of the sky trying to trace the outline of a bear?  Everyone simply looks for a ‘Big Dipper’, which is the conspicuous part of Ursa Major.
    • Although we do not have much use for the outlines of mythological figures, the stories about them are interesting and they help us to locate the constellations with respect to each other.  For instance, those who know the story of Andromeda can easily remember the names of the constellations near her.  Cassiopeia was her mother and Cepheus was her father.  Her hero’s name was Perseus, who saved Andromeda from Cetus, the sea monster.  The winged horse, Pegasus, also entered into the story.
    • According to one legend, Orion was killed by the sting of Scorpius, the Scorpion.  When the two figures were put in the sky, they were put just as far apart as possible so that there would be no further trouble between them.  Thus it is easy to remember their relative positions in the skies.  Orion is at his highest on a winter evening, while Scorpius crosses the meridian in the evening hour of the summer months.  Orion does not dare appear above the horizon until Scorpius has set.
    • Andromeda, the Goddess (autumn): The story that includes the greatest number of constellations is that of Andromeda.  Her mother was Cassiopeia and her father was Cepheus.  Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the sea nymphs, who became angry and asked Neptune, the god of the sea, to punish her.  He did so by sending Cetus, a sea monster, to lay waste the sea coast and to kill the people and cattle living there.  Cepheus consulted an oracle and asked for advice.  He was told that the only way to appease the anger of Neptune and the sea nymphs was to sacrifice Andromeda to the sea monster.  So she was chained to a rock by the sea to await her fate.  In the meantime, Perseus was returning form his triumph over Medusa.  Medusa, like Cassiopeia, had been too boastful, saying that she was more beautiful than Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.  Minerva changed the beautiful hair of Medusa into a coil of snakes and decreed that any person who looked at the face of Medusa would be turned into stone.  So many stones statues sprang up that a rather serious traffic problem developed.  Finally, Perseus, using his shiny shield as a rearview mirror and watching Medusa’s image in it, backed up to her and cut off her head with his sword.  Form the blood of Medusa sprang the winged horse Pegasus.  When Perseus found Andromeda about to be devoured by the sea monster, her turned the sea monster into stone by exposing it to a view of the face of Medusa, which is marked in the sky by the eclipsing binary star, Algol.  Thus Andromeda was saved by Perseus and they lived happily ever after.
    • Aquarius, the Water Carrier (autumn): This group has been represented from remote times by the figure of a man pouring water from a jar.  He is a symbol of the rainy season, since the rains occurred at the time when the sun was in the direction of this constellation.  This is the middle of a region in the sky called the Sea.  Also included are the Fishes, the southern Fish, the Sea Goat, the Sea Monster, and the River Eridanus.
    • Aquila, the Eagle (summer): This was the eagle which carried the thunderbolts of Jupiter.  Also it was sent down to the earth to find a cupbearer for the gods, bringing back in the its claws the handsome Ganymede.  The eagle was rewarded by being placed among the constellations.  Ganymede has been associated with Aquarius, but that is a very ancient figure pouring water on the earth and it should not be thought of as a pourer of nectar into the goblets of the gods.  However, as an aid to memory, it should be noted that these two constellations, beginning with the same first three letters, adjoin each other, with Aquarius to the southeast of Aquila.
    • Aries, the Ram (autumn):  The most famous story about this ram connects it with Jason and the Argonauts who are in search of the Golden Fleece.  Phrixus and Helle, the children of Athamas, were badly treated by their stepmother.  Mercury sent a golden ram to enable them to escape from her.  They were carried on the ram’s back through the air, but Helle fell off while they were passing over the strait dividing Europe from Asia.  In memory of her fate, this strait was called the Hellespont, but it is now call the Dardanelles.  Phrixus landed safely at the eastern end of the Black Sea.  In gratitude to the gods for his rescue, he sacrificed the ram and presented its golden fleece to the king of the country.  It was guarded by a dragon which never slept, but was finally carried off by Jason, the leader of the Argonauts.
    • Auriga, the Charioteer (winter):  This constellation is very ancient, but there is no story which really explains the figure supposedly represented by its stars.  Its shape is meaningless and is commonly thought of as a pentagon, although one of the five stars used to form the pentagon really belongs to Taurus.  It is always called the Charioteer, but there is no chariot and no horse.  Auriga is holding the reins in his right hand, a goat on his left shoulder, and two little kids in his left arm.  The goat is marked by Capella, which means the little she-goat.  The two kids are marked by a small triangle.  According to one legend, Auriga represents Erechtheus, the lame son of Vulcan.  Because of his inability to walk with ease, he invented the chariot and this invention secured for him a place in the celestial Hall of Fame.
    • Bootes, the Bear Driver (spring):  Bootes holds in leash the Hunting Dogs, a constellation to faint to be shown in most maps.  As the rotation of the earth carries the Big Bear around the North Star, Bootes seems to be pursuing it.  Bootes is also called the herdsman.  He was said to have invented the plow and was placed in the sky as a reward.
    • Cancer, the Crab (spring):  This is one of the faintest constellations in the sky, but its name has become well-known because of the Tropic of Cancer.  This is the circle on the earth 23.5 degrees north of the equator, where the sun is overhead at the time of the summer solstice.  About 2,000 years ago the sun was in front of the stars of Cancer at that time of the year.  Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the summer solstice has moved westward into Gemini.  Cancer is the Latin word for crab and it has been suggested that this name was given because the peculiar sidelong gait of a crab is like the behavior of the sun when it reaches the solstice.  According to Greek legend, while Hercules was struggling with Hydra, Juno sent a carb to attack him.  The carb bit Hercules, who quickly killed it.  Juno then reward it by placing it among the stars.
    • Canis Major, the Big Dog (winter):  These two dogs to the east of Orion are naturally associated with that hunter.  Canis Major looks something like a dog, but Canis Minor is composed of only two stars and was probably invented by the Egyptians for a definite purpose.  Sirius, the Big Dog Star, rose just ahead of the sun at the time of the rising of the Nile River each year and enabled them to plan for the inundation.  Procyon, the Little Dog Star, rises just before Sirius.  Thus the Egyptians used these two stars as reliable watchdogs, rather than as the hunting dogs of Orion.
    • Canis Minor, the Little Dog (winter):   See Canis Major, above.
    • Capricornus, the Sea Goat (autumn): This figure is a Sea Goat, whatever that might be.  At one time the winter solstice was in Capricornus.  Perhaps the reason that the ancients used the figure of a goat (an expert climber) was that the sun appeared to begin its climb up the sky from its lowest position here.  They may have given it the tail of a fish to symbolize the rains of the winter season.  Our Tropic of Capricorn, 23.5 degrees south of the earth’s equator, was so named when the southernmost point of the sun’s path was in this constellation.
    • Cassiopeia (circumpolar):  See Andromeda, above.
    • Cepheus (circumpolar):  See Andromeda, above.
    • Cetus (autumn):  See Andromeda, above.
    • Coma Berenices, Berenices’ hair (spring):  The name of this faint constellation was derived from a story of the third century B.C.  Queen Berenice of Egypt was worried about her husband, who had gone off to war.  She made a vow that if he returned safely she would cut off her long beautiful hair and consecrate it to the gods in the temple of Venus.  The king finally returned and Berenice, true to her vow, cut off her hair and placed it in the temple.  One night the hair disappeared and the guardians of the temple were called on to explain what had happened to it.  Conon, the Astronomer Royal, explained that the gods were so pleased with the sacrifice of Berenice that they took her hair and placed it among the stars.  This constellation is marked by a faint cluster of stars.
    • Corona Borealis, the Northern Cross (summer):  This is one of the few constellations which resemble the objects after which they were named.  It is called the Northern Crown to distinguish it form the Corona Australis, the Southern Cross.  Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, the king of Crete, who kept in a labyrinth the ferocious Minotaur, which was half man and half bull.  Each year the Athenians were forced to send seven youths and seven maidens as a tribute to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur.  One year, Theseus, the son of King Aegeus of Athens, volunteered to go as one of the victims, hoping to be able to kill the monster.  When the 14 victims were brought before King Minos, his daughter Ariadne noticed Theseus and immediately fell in love with him.  She requested that she be able to go into the maze with the young man she now loved.  Theseus and the other youth were placed in the labyrinth, and Theseus came upon the monster and slew it.  He retraced his steps, taking his companions with him, and they were all saved.  On the way home they stopped at the island of Naxos, where Theseus abandoned Ariadne, while she lay sleeping, and he sailed on alone.  It is not known why he did this, but one explanation is that he was ordered to do it by the god Bacchus.  Bacchus later took Ariadne to be his wife and gave her a golden crown set with gems.  When she  died he placed this crown in the heavens.
    • Corvus, the Crow (spring):  According to a Greek legend, Apollo fell in love with Coronis.  He sent a crow to spy upon her and ascertain her behavior.  The crow reported that Coronis was untrue to Apollo, who rewarded the crow by placing it among the stars.  Just why Corvus appears to be attacking Hydra in the sky has not been explained.
    • Cygnus, the Swan (summer);  Various legends relate to this group, which is called the Northern Cross.  It became associated with the swan into which Zeus transformed himself when he was wooing Leda, the wife of the king of Sparta.  Also it is concerned with the story of Phaeton, the son of Apollo.  Phaeton did not know who his father was until one day his mother, a mortal, told him.  His friends teased him, daring him to prove that his father was divine.  He went to Apollo, who promised him he could have anything he wanted with which to convince his doubting friends.  He asked permission to drive the chariot of the Sun for one day.  Apollo did not want hm to do this, but Phaeton held him to his promise, and permission was finally granted.  Very soon the horses realized that Phaeton was inexperienced and they ran wild.  Sometimes the chariot went too high in the sky and the earth below became very cold.  In Africa the chariot came so close that the earth was scorched into a great desert and the inhabitants had their skins blackened.  To prevent any further trouble, Jupiter hurled a thunderbolt at Phaeton and sent him falling to the earth.  The horses returned to their stable.  Phaeton fell into the river Eridanus and his friend Cycnus dove into the water to try to find his body.  He swam back and forth, looking like a swan diving for its food.  At last the gods took pity on him and changed him into a swan, a form which would always remind them of his efforts on behalf of Phaeton.  He was taken to the sky, where we find him as Cygnus.  The similarity between the names, Cycnus and Cygnus, seems to be coincidental.
    • Delphinus, the Dolphin (summer): The story commonly associated with this constellation is about Arion, a famous musician, who had just won a prize in a musical contest.  The sailors on the ship on which he was returning home were envious of his fame and planned to kill him and seize the treasures which had been given him by his admirers.  Warned in a dream by Apollo of this plot, Arion played his harp and attracted some dolphins.  He leaped on the back of one, which brought him safely to shore.  A popular name for this constellation is “Job’s Coffin”, which is said to have come from the four stars in it which form a diamond, but do not look very much like a coffin.
    • Draco, the Dragon (circumpolar):  Since dragons were rather common in mythology, it is natural that a number of stories are associated with Draco.  There seems to be no agreement as to which dragon is represented by this constellation.  According to one legend, Draco was the monster that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides.  As his eleventh labor, Hercules is supposed to have killed this dragon in order to obtain the fruit.  However, this story conflicts with a legend that Hercules temporarily supported the weight of the heavens while Atlas went to the garden and got the apples from his nieces.  Draco was also said to be the dragon which guarded a sacred spring form which Cadmus was ordered to secure some water.  After a great battle Cadmus finally killed Draco and plucked out his teeth, which he sowed in a field.  From them many warriors sprang up and engaged in a battle, from which there were only five survivors.  The assisted Cadmus in building Thebes, which was known as the City of the Dragon.
    • Gemini, the Twins (winter): Northeast of Orion are two bright stars about 4 degrees apart and of nearly the same brilliance.  There is not another pair of stars of equal brightness so close together in the northern half of the sky.  It is natural that most of the old stories about the adventures of twin heroes have been associated with these stars.  They have been known for a long time as Castor and Pollux, after the famous twins of classical mythology, who went on the journey after the Golden Fleece in the ship Argo.
    • Hercules (summer): There is no more celebrated hero in mythology than Hercules, and yet the constellation bearing his name is quite faint.  Six stars in it resemble the outline of a butterfly.  Hercules is pictured upside down in the sky, with one foot on the head of Draco and with his head close to that of Ophiuchus.  The latter is struggling with Serpens and has one foot on Scorpius.  Apparently we see here a symbol of the never-ending warfare between good, represented by Hercules and Ophiuchus, and evil, represented by the dragon, the serpent, and the scorpion.  Hercules possessed high qualities of minds and character as well as great physical strength.  Armed with a huge club, he performed the famous “Twelve Labors” and other remarkable deeds too numerous to mention here.  Even when he was an infant and still lay in his cradle, he strangled two serpents which Juno sent to destroy him.  She was the wife of Jupiter and was always jealous of her husband’s love affairs and of the many sons he had by mortal women.  Hercules was the son of Jupiter and a mortal named Alcmene.  The death of Hercules was a tragic affair.  When he and his wife, Deianira, came to the ford of a river, he placed her on the back of Nessus, a centaur, who carried travelers across for a fee.  Instead of taking her to the other side of the stream, Nessus started off with her for the cavern where he lived.  Hercules shot the centaur with an arrow.  Before dying ,the centaur told Deianira that his blood was a love potion which would enable her to retain the love of Hercules.  Later when she became jealous of one of the slave girls of Hercules, she dipped one of his robes in this supposed love potion.  However, it was a deadly poison and it caused the death of Hercules soon after he put on the robe.
    • Hydra, the Water Monster (spring):  Hydra was a terrible monster which lived in the water and looked like a large snake.  It had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal.  As his second labor, Hercules was commanded to kill Hydra.  When he struck off one head, two new ones grew in its place.  At last, with the help of his nephew, he burned away the heads, which prevented other heads from growing out.  He buried the immortal head under a rock.  For the sake of simplicity the outline of Hydra is always shown on star maps with only one head.  This faint constellation is the longest one of all, extending about one-fourth of the way around the sky.
    • Leo, the Lion (spring):  The first of the twelve labors of Hercules was to kill the Nemean Lion, which was the largest and fiercest lion in the world.  It had such a thick and tough skin that no arrow could penetrate it.  Hercules grasped the lion by the throat and after a terrific struggle he strangled it to death.  From then on Hercules always wore the lion’s skin as a covering for his own defense in other exploits.  The front part of Leo looks like a sickle and is commonly called that.  The tail is marked by Denebola, which is from the Arabic and means the lion’s tail.
    • Libra, the Scales (summer):  This is the only constellation in the zodiac which is not represented by a living creature [what about the Lyre?].  Its history is very doubtful.  The names of its two brightest stars are Zubenelgenubi (which means Southern Claw) and Zubeneschamali (which means North Claw).  They indicate that at one time it was a part of Scorpius, the Scorpion.  Libra was regarded as the scales of justice belonging to Astraea, the goddess of justice, who was represented by Virgo.  Also at one time the autumnal equinox was located in Libra.  Thus it is supposed that the figure of a balance refers to the fact that the days and nights were of equal length when the sun was in front of the stars of Libra.
    • Lyra, the Lyre (summer):  This constellation represents the lyre which was made by Mercury out of the back of a tortoise and presented to Apollo, who passed it on to his son Orpheus.  After a few years, Orpheus lost his wife Eurydice, who died from the sting of a snake.  He then entered Hades and so charmed Pluto and all the spirits of the dead with the beautiful music of his lyre that they agreed to restore Eurydice to life.  They did so only on condition that Orpheus would not look back at her until he had reached the upper world.  Orpheus became impatient when he did not hear his wife following him.  When he looked around, he saw her disappearing in the distance.  And so he lost her forever.
    • Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder and Serpens, the Serpent (summer):  Ophiuchus is from two Greek words, meaning “holding a serpent,” and that is why these two constellations are considered together.  He holds the middle of the serpent, with the head to the west of him and the tail to the east.  According to the Greek legend, Ophiuchus represents the great physician Aesculapius, who was so successful in saving lives that Jupiter had to kill him.  Pluto protested against the decrease in the number of souls going to the underworld.  The snake as a symbol of medicine seems to have come from its apparent renewal of life by periodic casting off and renewing of its skin.  Aesculapius has been pictured in classic art with a staff, about which a serpent is entwined, and this is the emblem of medicine even today.  Unfortunately, this symbol is often confused with the caduceus of Mercury, which is a wand with a pair of wings at the top and two snakes draped about it.  This is the symbol of messengers, since Mercury was the messenger of the gods.
    • Orion (winter):  Orion is considered to be the finest constellation in the sky.  Orion is the subject of a number of stories.  He fell in love with Merope, whose father, King Oenopion, opposed the marriage and found one reason after another for withholding his consent.  After performing many tasks required by Oenopion, Orion realized that the king’s promises meant nothing and he tried to elope with Merope.  The plan was discovered and the king cause Orion’s eyes to be put out.  The blind giant wandered about until he came to the forge of Vulcan, who gave him one of the blacksmiths to guide him to the land of the sun.  Here Orion faced the rising sun and his sight was restored.  Diana, the goddess of the moon, fell in love with Orion.  Her brother, Apollo, the god of the sun, did not like this, because she was neglecting her duty of driving the chariot of the moon across the sky.  When Apollo found Orion bathing alone in the sea, he sent his sunrays on the water so that nothing could be seen of Orion but a dark spot among the waves.  Apollo persuaded Diana to shoot an arrow at this dark spot, which she did with fateful results.
    • Pegasus, the Winged Horse (autumn):  See Andromeda above.
    • Perseus (autumn):  See Andromeda above.
    • Pisces, the Fishes (autumn):  This is the last of the three constellations of the zodiac associated with water and through which the sun passed during the rainy season.  The other two are Capricornus the Sea Goat and Aquarius the Water Bearer.  The Greeks invented a story to account for these fishes.  To escape the monster Typhon, Venus and Cupid jumped into the Euphrates River and assumed the form of fishes.
    • Sagitta, the Arrow (summer):  This constellation looks something like its name, but it is not known which arrow it is supposed to represent.  Among those suggested are the arrow with which Apollo killed the Cyclops, the one which Hercules used to kill the vulture tormenting Prometheus, and Cupid’s arrow.
    • Sagittarius, the Archer (summer):  According to Greek legend, Sagittarius represented Chiron, the most celebrated of the centaurs, who were half horse and half man.  He had great knowledge of medicine, music, and marksmanship, and he was a noted educator.  Three stars in a curved line suggest the bow which the archer is holding and one star marks the point of the arrow.  However, most of the figure is not outlined by any stars.
    • Scorpius, the Scorpion (summer):  This is one of the finest constellations of the zodiac, and it really looks like a scorpion.  The best-known story is that this is the creature sent by Juno to punish Orion for his boastfulness.  The sting of the scorpion caused the death of Orion and then these two constellations were placed as far apart as possible so that there would be not further trouble between them.  Orion is the finest constellation of the winter sky and Scorpius is the outstanding one of the summer sky.
    • Serpens (summer):  See Ophiuchus.
    • Taurus, the Bull (winter):  Because of the precession of the equinoxes, Taurus marked the position in the sky occupied by the sun on the first day of spring about 5,000 years ago.  This was the most important date in the ear, marking the time for plowing and planting.  It was New Year’s Day for many of the ancient peoples.  This part of the sky was marked by a bull, which was supposed to open up the year and plow the long furrow of the sky called the Zodiac.  When the Greeks later adopted the Bull, they accounted for only the front of its body being shown by telling a story of Jupiter.  He changed himself into a snow-white bull to attract the attention of Europa, Princess of Phoenicia.  Delighted by his unusual beauty and tameness, she seated herself on his back.  He dashed down to the sea and swam with her all the way to Crete, where he revealed himself as Jupiter and won her for his bride.  Europa gave her name to the continent of Europe and the bull was placed in the sky with his head and shoulders showing above water.  Instead of finding Europa on the back of Taurus, we find it marked in the sky by the Pleaides, a famous star cluster which is also called the Seven Sisters.  They were the daughters of Atlas, who were pursued by Orion until Jupiter changed them into doves and then into stars, where we still see them being followed by Orion.  The head of Taurus is marked by a group of stars in the shape of a V.  At the upper left is Aldebaran, which marks one eye of the bull.  The other stars in the V belong to a star cluster called the Hyades.  The relative positions of Orion and Taurus indicate that they are having a battle and that Taurus is getting the worst of it, because one eye which is marked by a faint star appears to be nearly closed.
    • Ursa Major, the Big Bear and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear (circumpolar):  These constellations are best known as the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, since seven stars in each of them form a dipper.  Callisto was a beautiful girl with whom Jupiter fell in love.  Juno, the wife of Jupiter, became jealous of Callisto and changed her into a bear.  Callisto was afraid of the other animals as well as the hunters, but one day she saw her own son Arcas.  She rushed toward him to embrace him, but he raised his spear and was about to kill her, not knowing that she was his mother.  Jupiter was looking down from the heavens and saved Callisto by changing her son also into a bear.  Then he took them up and placed them in the sky.  To explain the very long tails of the bears, it has been suggested that the bears were pulled up into the sky by their tails, which became stretched on such a long journey.  Also it has been pointed out that the Little Bear’s tail has become even more stretched because every day he swings around the north celestial pole, to which the end of his tail is fastened.
    • Virgo, the Virgin (spring): This constellation has been identified with almost every goddess who had any relation to the earth and with others as well.  According to one legend, Virgo represents Astraea, the goddess of justice, who lived among mankind during the Golden and Silver ages.  However, with the coming of the Iron Age, they became so wicked that the gods could not remain on the earth.  Then she was placed in the sky with the scales of justice lying beside her in Libra.  Another identification i with Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, since the sun appeared in front of Virgo at the time of the harvest.  The brightest star in Virgo is Spica and its name means a spike or an ear of wheat or corn, which Virgo holds.

 


Click here to return to the Astronomy index page