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Home , Abell 39, Alcaeus (mythology), Alpha Coronae Borealis, Alpha Telescopii, Andromeda (mythology), Antlia

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION

INDEX CONSTELLATION PAGE CONSTELLATION PAGE

ANDROMEDA 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 BOÖTES 6 7 7 7 CANES VENTICI 8 8 9 9 10 CASSIOPEIA 11 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 17 18 19 19 20 20 21 22 22 23 24 24 HOROLOGIUM 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 36 36 37 38 39 39 40 41 41 42 42 43 43 44 44 44 45 45 46 47 47 48 48 49 50 51 51 52

Click on the constellation names above to jump to the correct page.

Page 1 of 52 CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION :

Andromeda constellation is located in the northern , between Cassiopeia’s W and the Great Square of Pegasus.

The constellation was named after the mythical princess Andromeda, the wife of the Greek hero Perseus. It is also known as the Chained Maiden, Persea (wife of Perseus), or Cepheis (daughter of Cepheus). Andromeda was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer in the 2nd century.

In , Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus of Ethiopia and Queen Cassiopeia, who offended the ( nymphs) by claiming that she, was more beautiful than they were.

The nymphs complained to the sea god and he sent a , Cetus, to flood and destroy Cepheus’ lands as punishment for his wife’s boastfulness. When the king sought advice from the of Ammon on how to prevent complete destruction of his lands, he was told that the only way to appease the gods and nymphs was to his daughter to Cetus. Subsequently, Andromeda was chained to a rock and would have been left to the monster if Perseus had not come along and saved her. The two were later married and had six children, including Gorgophonte, who fathered , the famous Spartan king, and Perses, who was an ancestor of the .

In the story, it was the goddess who commemorated Princess Andromeda by placing her image among the , next to the representing her husband Perseus and her mother Cassiopeia.

ANTLIA:

Antlia is a small, faint constellation located in the southern . Its name is an word for “the pump.”

The constellation was originally named Antlia Pneumatica, to commemorate the invention of the air pump, which it represents.

Antlia was created and catalogued by the French astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century, along with 13 other constellations introduced by Lacaille to fill the in some faint regions in the southern sky. Lacaille’s constellations are mostly named after scientific instruments and there are no attached to them.

Antlia does not have a associated with it. It was named after the air pump, Antlia pneumatica, an instrument invented by the French physicist Denis Papin, who is also famous for inventing the steam digester, which preceded the steam engine and the pressure cooker.

As depicted by Lacaille, Antlia represents the single-cylinder pump that Papin used in his experiments in the 1670s.

The constellation Antlia was first catalogued in Lacaille’s Coelum Australe Stelliferum, published in 1763, after his death. The catalogue included almost 10,000 southern stars, 42 nebulous objects, and 14 new constellations, now known as the Lacaille family.

APUS:

Apus constellation is located in the . It is a small constellation that represents the bird of paradise.

The name of the constellation is derived from the Greek word apous, which means “footless.” (Birds of paradise were at one point in history believed to lack feet.) There are no myths associated with the constellation.

Apus was created by the Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick Houtman, and first catalogued by Plancius in the late 16th century. Page 2 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Apus was originally named Paradysvogel Apis Indica by Petrus Plancius, who created and introduced the constellation. Paradysvogel means “the bird of paradise” in Dutch, and Apis Indica is for “indian bee.” Apis, the word for “bee,” was presumably used in error and the constellation should have been named Avis, which means “bird.”

The constellation was also called Apis Indica in Bayer’s , while other astronomers, like Johannes , referred to it as Avis Indica, as Kepler did in his in 1627. As a result of the confusion, Avis Indica was renamed to Apus, and Apis, the constellation representing the bee, became Musca, the fly. French astronomer Lacaille called the constellation Apus in his chart of the southern skies published in 1763, but both Apis and Avis continued to be used well into the 19th century.

AQUARIUS:

Aquarius constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. It is one of the 12 constellations. The constellation’s name means “the water-bearer” (or “cup-bearer”) in Latin.

Aquarius lies in the region of the sky which is sometimes referred to as the Sea, because it contains a number of other constellations with names associated with water; Pisces (the fish), Eridanus (the river), and Cetus (the ), among others.

Like other zodiac constellations, Aquarius was catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Aquarius contains the famous supergiant Sadalsuud () and a number of notable deep sky objects: the globular clusters and , the asterism , the , Atoms for Galaxy (NGC 7252) and two well-known nebulae: the Saturn and the .

Aquarius is depicted as a young man pouring water (or alternatively, nectar) from an into the mouth of the Southern Fish, represented by the constellation Piscis Austrinus.

Aquarius is usually associated with Ganymede, the son of King Tros, in Greek mythology. Ganymede was a beautiful Trojan youth who caught ’ eye, which prompted the god to disguise himself as an eagle (represented by the constellation Aquila) and carry him off to Olympus to serve as cup-bearer to the gods. In a different story, the constellation represents Deucalion, son of Prometheus, who survived the great flood along with his wife Pyrrha.

In Babylonian mythology, Aquarius is identified as GU.LA (the great one), the god Ea himself and, in Egyptian tales, the constellation was said to represent the god of the Nile.

AQUILA:

Aquila constellation is located in the northern sky, near the celestial . The constellation’s name means “the eagle” in Latin.

The constellation represents the eagle of the Roman god in mythology. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Aquila is home to two very famous stars, and Tarazed, as well as to several interesting deep sky objects: the planetary nebulae NGC 6803, NGC 6804, NGC 6781 and the Phantom Streak Nebula (NGC 6741), the open clusters NGC 6709 and NGC 6755, and the B143-4.

In Greek mythology, Aquila is identified as the eagle that carried Zeus’ thunderbolts and was once dispatched by the god to carry Ganymede, the young Trojan boy Zeus desired, to Olympus to be the cup bearer of the gods. Ganymede is represented by the neighbouring constellation Aquarius. Page 3 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In another story, the eagle is found guarding the arrow of Eros (represented by the constellation Sagitta), which hit Zeus and made him love-struck.

In yet another myth, Aquila represents Aphrodite disguised as an eagle, pretending to pursue Zeus in the form of a swan, so that Zeus’ love interest, the goddess Nemesis, would give him shelter. In the story, Zeus later placed the images of the eagle and the swan among the stars to commemorate the event.

The name of the brightest star in the constellation, Altair, is derived from the al-nasr al-ta’ir, which means “flying eagle” or “vulture.” Ptolemy called the star Aetus, which is Latin for “eagle.” Similarly, both Babylonians and Sumerians called Altair “the eagle star.”

ARA:

Ara is a small constellation located in the southern sky. Its name means “the altar” in Latin.

The constellation represents the altar used by Zeus and other Greek gods to swear a vow of allegiance before they went to war against Cronus and the Titans. In another Greek myth, Ara represents the altar of King Lycaon of Arcadia.

Ara was one of the 88 constellations listed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

There are several myths associated with the constellation. In one of them, Ara represents the altar on which Zeus and other gods vowed to defeat the Titans and overthrow Cronus, who ruled the . Cronus was one of the 12 Titans who had deposed his father Uranus, the previous ruler.

When a prophecy said that the same fate would befall Cronus and he would be defeated by one of his own children, to prevent it from happening, he swallowed all his children – Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon – all of them future gods and goddesses. When the youngest child, Zeus, was born, his mother Rhea hid him in Crete and gave Cronus a stone to swallow, telling him the stone was Zeus.

When Zeus grew up, he made Cronus vomit his brothers and sisters. Once freed, they swore to overthrow Cronus and the Titans. The war between the gods and the Titans lasted a decade and the gods won in the end. Zeus became the god of the sky, ruling from Olympus; Poseidon became the god of the sea, and Hades the ruler of the underworld. Zeus placed the altar among the stars to commemorate the gods’ victory.

In another story, Ara represents the altar of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia who decided to test Zeus by serving him a meal of a dismembered child, and later tried to kill the god while he slept. Zeus, enraged, transformed Lycaon into a wolf and killed his 50 sons with lightning bolts. In one version of the tale, the sacrificed child was Arcas, the son of Zeus and Lycaon’s daughter .

ARIES:

Aries constellation is located in the . Its name means “the ram” in Latin.

The constellation is usually associated with the story of the in Greek mythology.

Like other zodiac constellations, Aries was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Aries contains several notable deep sky objects, among them the unbarred NGC 772 and the dwarf NGC 1156.

Babylonians identified Aries as the agrarian worker, the last stop on the . The name of the constellation later changed to Ram, but why Babylonians changed it is uncertain. In the 7th century BC, Neo-Babylonians did a revision Page 4 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION of the Babylonian zodiac that placed Alpha Arietis, , very close to the vernal , which is how Aries came to be so prominent among the zodiac signs in .

In those times, Aries contained the equinox, the point at which the crosses the from north to south. Because of (slow wobble of ’s axis), the vernal equinox is no longer in Aries, but in Pisces. In 130 BC, however, it was located just south of (Mesartim) and was taken to be the starting point of the zodiac.

In Greek myth, Aries is identified with the golden ram that rescued Phrixus and took him to , where he sacrificed the ram to the gods. The ram’s skin, which he placed in a temple, was the Golden Fleece, which later appears in the story of and the .

Phrixus was the son of a Boeotian king. He had a twin sister, Helle. The children had a stepmother, Ino, who hated them and wanted to get rid of them. She came up with a plan to put the land of the brink of famine by making sure the wheat crops failed. When a man was sent to consult the Oracle at Delphi, Ino bribed him to lie and say the Oracle asked for the king’s children to be sacrificed if they did not want the people to starve.

Phrixus and Helle were about to die when a winged ram with golden wool came to their rescue. The ram was sent by their real mother, the nymph Nephele. It took both children and flew east to Colchis. Only Phrixus survived the journey. Helle fell off the ram and drowned in the Dardanelles. The strait was later renamed to Hellespont, or sea of Helle, in her memory.

Phrixus was welcomed by King Aeëtes of Colchis, to whom he presented the Golden Fleece. In return, the king gave Phrixus his daughter Chalciope’s hand.

AURIGA:

Auriga constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name means “the charioteer” in Latin.

The constellation got this name because its major stars form a shape similar to that of the pointed helmet of a charioteer.

Auriga was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It contains , the sixth brightest star in the sky.

The constellation is also the site of the galactic anti-centre, the point in the sky opposite to the centre of the Galaxy, which is located in the constellation Sagittarius, near the border with Scorpius. The nearest bright star to the galactic anti-centre is Alnath, .

Auriga contains a number of interesting deep sky objects, including the open star clusters , , and and the emission/ IC 405 (the Flaming Star Nebula).

Auriga is usually depicted as a charioteer, holding the reins of a chariot with his right hand and carrying a goat and its two young on his left arm. Even though the image of the charioteer appears in Johann Bode’s Uranographia (1801), none of the stories Auriga is usually associated with have a goat in them. In mythology, Auriga is most frequently identified with Erichthonius, king of and son of the fire god Hephaestus.

Erichthonius was raised by the goddess Athena, who taught him many skills he wouldn’t have ordinarily learned. He was the first man to tame and harness four horses to a chariot, imitating the chariot of the Sun god. Zeus was impressed and later placed Erichthonius among the stars. Erichthonius is usually credited for the invention of the four-horse chariot, the quadriga.

In another myth, Auriga represents Hephaestus himself, the lame god, who built the chariot so that he could travel anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted, without difficulty. Page 5 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In another popular myth, the charioteer is Myrtilus, son of Hermes, who served King Oenomaus of Pisa. Oenomaus had a beautiful daughter, Hippodamia, and was determined not to give her hand away to any of her suitors. He would challenge each of them to a chariot race. If he caught up with them before they arrived to Corinth, he would kill them.

With Myrtilus driving the king’s chariot, none of Hippodamia’s suitors survived the race until , son of Tantalus, came to ask the king for his daughter’s hand. Hippodamia fell in love with Pelops at first sight and asked Myrtilus to let him win. The charioteer, who was himself in love with the king’s daughter, obeyed and tampered with the chariot’s wheels. During the race, the wheels fell off and King Oenomaus was thrown off the chariot and killed. Once Pelops had won the race, he cast his rival Myrtilus into the sea. Betrayed, Myrtilus cursed the of Pelops before he drowned. It was Myrtilus’ father Hermes who placed his son’s image among the stars.

The star Capella, Alpha Aurigae, is associated with Amalthea, the goat who was foster-mother to Zeus. The name Capella is Roman and means “she-goat.” The star is located on the Charioteer’s left shoulder.

BOÖTES:

Boötes constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky.

The constellation’s name comes from the Greek word Βοώτης, Boōtēs, which means driver, ploughman, or herdsman. The correct pronunciation is /boʊˈoʊtɨs/, with each ‘o’ pronounced separately and stress on the second syllable. Boötes was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation is home to , the third individual brightest star in the , after in Canis Major and in Carina constellation.

Most commonly, Boötes is taken to represent Arcas, son of Zeus and Callisto, daughter of the Arcadian king Lycaon. Arcas was brought up by his grandfather, the king, who one day decided to test Zeus by serving him his own son for a meal.

Zeus, however, saw through Lycaon’s intentions, transformed the cruel king into a wolf, killed all his sons with thunderbolts, and brought Arcas back to .

Zeus’ wife Hera, having heard of her husband’s infidelity, transformed Callisto into a . Callisto roamed the woods until, later; she met her son, who was now grown up. Arcas didn’t recognize his mother and began to chase her. Callisto hid herself in a temple, where he could not hurt her without risking being convicted to death for defiling a sacred place. To avoid a tragedy, Zeus placed both of them in the sky; Callisto as Ursa Major and Arcas as Boötes.

In another story, Boötes is taken to represent , a grape grower who once invited to visit his vineyards. The god was so impressed that he gave Icarius the secret of making wine. Icarius followed the recipe and enjoyed the beverage so much that he invited all his friends to try it. They, however, enjoyed it a bit too much and, when they woke up the next day with bad hangovers, they assumed Icarius had tried to poison them. Angry, they decided to murder him in his sleep. Dionysus was saddened by the death of his friend and decided to place Icarius among the stars. In another myth, Boötes is credited for inventing the plough, which prompted the goddess to place him in the heavens.

Boötes is traditionally depicted as a herdsman with two hunting dogs on a leash and a club in his other hand. In the sky, Boötes follows Ursa Major around the pole. In one story, the constellation represents a ploughman driving the oxen in the Ursa Major constellation, followed by his two dogs, Asterion and Chara (represented by the constellation , the Hunting Dogs). The ploughman’s oxen are tied to the axis and their movement keeps the skies in constant rotation.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION CAELUM:

Caelum constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. Its name is the Latin word for “the chisel.”

The small, faint constellation was originally named Caela Sculptoris, or the sculptor’s chisel. Along with 13 other constellations, it was created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century.

Caelum does not contain any prominent deep sky objects and has only two stars brighter than fifth . The constellation is home to the faint eclipsing RR Caeli and the unusual HE0450-2958, notable for appearing to lack a host galaxy.

There are no myths associated with Caelum. It is one of the constellations introduced by the French astronomer Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named his constellations after various instruments and tools, not stories and myths.

Caelum is depicted as a sculptor’s chisel. It first appeared in Lacaille’s map of the southern stars published in 1756, as “les Burins,” a pair of crossed burins connected by a ribbon. (Burins are sharp engraving tools.) In Johann Bode’s star Uranographia, the constellation still had the longer name, Caela Scalptoris.

CAMELOPARDALIS:

Camelopardalis constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name comes from the Latin derivation of the Greek word for “.”

Taken apart, the word Camelopardalis means camel (Greek kamēlos) and leopard (pardalis). The giraffe was called the “camel-leopard” because it had a long neck like a camel and a body with spots, like a leopard.

The constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius and documented by the German astronomer in 1624. It contains Kemble’s Cascade, an asterism formed by a cascade of relatively faint stars, and several notable deep sky objects: the NGC 1502, the spiral galaxy NGC 2403, and the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1569.

The constellation is pretty faint, with no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. The Greeks did not see any stars in Camelopardalis and thought this region of the sky, as well as what is now the constellation Lynx, was empty. There are no myths associated with the constellation as it was only created in the 17th century.

While the giraffe is not a reference to mythology, the constellation’s name could be a reference to the book of Genesis in the , but this remains doubtful. When Jacob Bartsch included Camelopardalis on his star map of 1624, he described the constellation as a camel on which Rebecca rode into Canaan, where she was to marry Isaac. Since Camelopardalis represents a giraffe, not a camel, this explanation does not seem likely.

CANCER:

Cancer constellation is located in the northern sky. Its name means “the crab” in Latin.

Cancer is the faintest of the 12 zodiac constellations. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Cancer contains a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the open cluster Praesepe, also known as the (Messier 44), the open cluster , and the interacting spiral NGC 2535 and NGC 2536.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In mythology, Cancer is associated with the crab in the story of the Twelve Labours of (represented by the Hercules constellation). In the myth, Hera sends the crab to distract Hercules while the hero is fighting the , the -like beast with many heads and poisonous breath, represented by Hydra constellation. When the crab tries to kill Hercules, the story goes; Hercules kicks it all the way to the stars.

In another version, the crab gets crushed instead and Hera, a sworn enemy of Hercules, places it in the sky for its efforts. However, she places the crab in a region of the sky that has no bright stars, because despite its efforts, the crab was not successful in accomplishing the task. Cancer does not have any stars brighter than fourth magnitude.

CANES VENATICI:

Canes Venatici constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name means “hunting dogs” in Latin.

The constellation represents the hunting dogs of Boötes the Herdsman, a neighbouring constellation. The dogs are known as Asterion and Chara.

The Greek astronomer Ptolemy included the stars of Canes Venatici in the constellation Ursa Major as informes (unformed), but the constellation was not introduced until 1687, when the Polish astronomer created it from the faint stars located under the big bear’s tail.

In the , Canes Venatici was identified with the two dogs held on a leash by Boötes, the Herdsman, because there was a mistake in the translation of Ptolemy’s from Greek to Arabic. In Ptolemy’s text, some of the stars in Boötes represent the Herdsman’s club. The translator loosely translated the Greek word for “club” (Κολλοροβος ) as “the spear shaft with a hook” (“al-`aşā dhāt al-kullāb”). When the Arabic phrase he used was later translated to Latin, the translator mistook one of the words for kilāb, which means “dogs.”

Boötes was depicted with two dogs in 1533 on a map by the German astronomer Peter Apian, and Hevelius decided to define the dogs’ position in the night sky in the 17th century. Hevelius named the northern dog Asterion (“little star” in Greek) and the southern one Chara (“joy”). The name Chara later started to be used specifically to refer to the star Beta CVn.

CANIS MAJOR:

Canis Major is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means “the greater dog” in Latin.

Canis Major represents the bigger dog following Orion, the hunter in Greek mythology. The dog is often depicted pursuing a hare, represented by the constellation Lepus. The smaller dog is represented by the neighbouring constellation Canis Minor. Both constellations were first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Canis Major is home to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, as well as to several notable deep sky objects: the Canis Major , the open cluster Messier 41, the NGC 2359 (also known as Thor’s Helmet), and the colliding spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163.

Canis Major is commonly taken to represent the “greater dog” following the hunter Orion in Greek myth. The constellation is depicted as a dog standing on its hind legs, pursuing a hare, represented by the constellation Lepus.

Canis Major was described by Manilius as “the dog with the blazing face” because the dog appears to hold Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, in its jaws.

In mythology, Canis Major is associated with Laelaps, the fastest dog in the world, one destined to catch anything it pursued.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Zeus gave Laelaps to Europa as a present, along with a javelin that could not miss. The gift proved to be an unfortunate one, as Europa herself was killed accidentally by her husband Cephalus, who was out hunting with the javelin.

Cephalus took the dog to Thebes in Boeotia (a Greek province north of Athens) to hunt down a fox that was causing some trouble there. Like Laelaps, the fox was extremely fast and was destined never to be caught. Once the dog found the fox and started chasing it, the race did not appear to have an end in sight. Zeus himself finally ended it and turned both animals to stone. He placed the dog in the night sky as the constellation Canis Major.

CANIS MINOR:

Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the smaller dog” or “lesser dog” in Latin.

The constellation represents one of the dogs following Orion, the hunter in Greek mythology. The other dog is represented by the larger neighbouring constellation Canis Major. Both constellations were first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Canis Minor is home , one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Luyten’s Star, one of the nearest stars to Earth, and the spiral galaxy NGC 2485, among other notable objects.

Canis Minor is most commonly identified as one of the dogs following Orion, the hunter in Greek myth. In another legend, the constellation is said to represent , dog of the unlucky wine-maker Icarius, who was killed by his friends after they had mistaken drunkenness for a murder attempt, thinking Icarius had tried to poison them. (They had never tasted wine before.)

Maera, Icarius’ dog, found his body and ran to his daughter Erigone. Both the daughter and the dog were overwhelmed with grief and took their own . Erigone hanged herself and the dog jumped off a cliff. Zeus later placed their images in the sky. In this version of the constellation myth, Icarius is associated with Boötes, the Herdsman, Erigone with the constellation Virgo, and Maera with Canis Minor.

Hyginus (Latin author who lived at the turn of the millennium) confused the myth somewhat in his writings. He wrote that Icarius’ murderers escaped to the island of Ceos and, as punishment for their misdeed, the island was stricken with sickness and famine, which were attributed to the searing Dog Star, Sirius. (Procyon is mistaken for Sirius here, the other Dog Star, located in Canis Major.)

When Aristaeus, King of Ceos asked the god Apollo, who was also his father, for advice on saving his people from starving to death, he was told to pray to Zeus. Aristaeus did so and Zeus sent Etesian winds to the island. Every , the myth goes, Etesian winds blow for 40 days and cool and its islands during the of summer. After Zeus had sent relief to Ceos, the priests instituted the custom of making ritual to the gods every year before the rising of Sirius.

In yet another myth, Canis Minor is identified as the , the animal that could not be outrun, and was eventually turned into stone by Zeus, who also turned its hunter, Laelaps, to stone. (Laelaps was an extremely fast dog, destined to always catch its prey. In the myth, the dog is represented by the constellation Canis Major.) To commemorate the event, Zeus placed both animals in the sky.

CAPRICORNUS:

Capricornus constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the goat” in Latin.

Capricornus is one of the 12 zodiac constellations. It is one of the faintest constellations in the sky.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Like other constellations of the zodiac, Capricornus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation is associated with two mythical creatures from Greek legends: the deity and the goat Amalthea, who suckled Zeus when he was very young.

Capricornus constellation is home to several notable stars, as well as to the famous .

Even though Capricornus is the second faintest constellation in the sky, after Cancer, it is associated with myths and images that go way back to the 21st century BC.

The story of Capricornus originated with the Babylonians and Sumerians. The Sumerians knew it as the goat-fish, or SUHUR-MASH-HA, while the Babylonian star catalogues dating back to 1000 BC mention the constellation as MUL.SUHUR.MAŠ, also meaning “goat fish.” In the early , Capricornus marked the winter and, in modern astrology, ’s rule still begins on the first day of winter.

The Greeks associated the constellation with the forest deity Pan, who had the legs and horns of a goat. Crotus, his son, is usually identified with another amphibious creature, represented by the neighbouring constellation Sagittarius.

Pan was placed in the sky by Zeus in gratitude for his coming to the other gods’ rescue on several occasions.

During the gods’ war with the Titans, Pan helped scare the Titans away by blowing his conch shell and, later; he warned the gods that Typhon, a monster sent by Gaia to fight the gods, was approaching. He also suggested that the gods disguise themselves as animals until the danger passed.

In the myth, Pan eluded the monster himself by jumping into the river Nile and turning the lower part of his body into that of a fish. Zeus eventually killed Typhon with his thunderbolts and, in reference to the myth; Capricornus is still often depicted as a goat with the tail of a fish.

In another story, Capricornus is identified as Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus when he was an infant, hiding from his father Cronos. Cronos had devoured his other children, all future gods and goddesses, because of a prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of them.

CARINA:

Carina constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the keel” (keel of a ship) in Latin.

Carina used to be part of the much larger constellation Navis, along with the constellations Puppis (the stern) and Vela (the sails).

Argo Navis was created by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It was the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille who divided it into the three smaller constellations – Carina, Puppis and Vela – in the 18th century. The three smaller constellations were added to the official list of the modern constellations in the early 20th century, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined the borders on the .

Carina contains the second brightest star in the night sky, Canopus, along with several other notable bright stars, among them , surrounded by the famous . Other famous deep sky objects in the constellation include the Theta Carinae Cluster (Southern ), the Wishing Well Cluster, the Diamond Cluster, and the open cluster NGC 3603.

Carina by itself is not associated with any myth in particular, but the larger constellation to which it used to belong – the – represented the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to Colchis (western part of present- day Georgia, on the Black Sea) to get the Golden Fleece.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Argo Navis was one of the 48 constellations known to the Greeks and catalogued by Ptolemy. It occupied a vast area of space between the constellations Major and Crux (the Southern Cross).

The constellation Pyxis (compass), created from stars that used to form the constellation , which represented the ship’s mast in ancient times, was added near the ship later.

Carina represents the main body of Argo Navis and the star Canopus marks the blade on one of the ship’s steering oars.

The ship was named after its creator Argus, who built it under the orders of Athena, using timber from Mount Pelion. Athena fitted the ship with an oak beam from the oracle of Zeus at Dodona, believed to be the oldest Hellenic oracle. The oak beam, as the myth goes, was able to speak because it was part of an oracle.

When the ship was built, Jason and the Argonauts – 50 greatest Greek heroes, among them Heracles, Orpheus and the twins and Polydeuces – set sail to Colchis.

On the way, they faced the Clashing Rocks (Symplegades) that guarded the entrance to the Black Sea and crushed all passing ships between them. Argo Navis was said to be the first ship that passed between them and stayed in one piece.

Once in Colchis, Jason and the Argonauts took the Golden Fleece from King Aeëtes and went back to Greece, where Jason beached the ship at Corinth and dedicated it to the sea god Poseidon.

Centuries later, Sir Isaac Newton suggested that the voyage of Argo Navis was commemorated in the sky in the 12 signs of the zodiac, but the connections are not quite obvious.

In another myth, the star Canopus was named after King Menelaus’ helmsman Canopus, who died of a snake bite in when Menelaus’ fleet, driven by a storm, landed there on the way back from Troy.

Menelaus buried his helmsman with full honours and the site of Canopus’ grave became a city named after him, located at the mouth of the Nile. (The city is the present-day Abu Qir.)

CASSIOPEIA:

Cassiopeia constellation is located in the northern sky. It was named after Cassiopeia, the vain and boastful queen in Greek mythology.

The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with other constellations in the Perseus family (except Lacerta). Cassiopeia is easily recognizable in the sky because of its distinctive W shape.

The constellation contains several notable deep sky objects, among them the open clusters and , the and the Soul Nebula, the remnant , the star-forming cloud popularly known as the Pacman Nebula, and the White Rose Cluster.

In mythology, Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus (represented by the neighbouring constellation Cepheus in the sky) of Ethiopia. Once, she boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids. The Nereids were the 50 sea nymphs fathered by the Titan Nereus. They were enraged by Cassiopeia’s comments and appealed to Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia for her boastfulness. Poseidon was married to one of the nymphs, Amphitrite.

The sea god obliged and sent Cetus, a sea monster represented by the constellation Cetus (the Whale), located in the same region of the sky, to ravage the coast of Cepheus’ kingdom. Cepheus turned to an oracle for help and the oracle told him that, in order to appease Poseidon, he and Cassiopeia had to sacrifice their daughter Andromeda to the sea monster. Reluctantly, they did so, leaving Andromeda chained to a rock for the monster to find. However,

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION she was saved in the last minute by the Greek hero Perseus, who happened to be passing by, saw Andromeda and rescued her from the monster.

Perseus and Andromeda were later married. At the wedding, one of her former suitors, named , appeared and claimed that he was the only one who had the right to marry Andromeda.

There was a fight and Perseus, desperately outnumbered, used the head of , the monster he had recently slain, to defeat his opponents. One look at Medusa’s head turned them all into stone. In the process, however, the king and queen were also killed because they did not look away from the monster’s head in time.

It was Poseidon who placed Cassiopeia and Cepheus in the sky. Cassiopeia, the myth goes, was condemned to circle the forever, and spends half the year upside down in the sky as punishment for her vanity. She is usually depicted on her throne, still combing her hair.

CENTAURUS:

Centaurus constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. It is one of the Greek constellations.

Centaurus is one of the largest constellations in the sky. It represents the centaur, the half man, half horse creature in Greek mythology. Sources tend to differ on which centaur the constellation represents, but usually it is taken to be Chiron, who mentored the Greek heroes Hercules, Peleus, Achilles, Theseus and Perseus.

Centaurus contains two of the top ten brightest stars in the sky: and . It is also home to , one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky, and to the globular cluster . The famous Blue , also known as the Southerner and the are also located in Centaurus.

Centaurus was one of the constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but it had been mentioned in earlier Greek texts by Eudoxus and the poet .

The origins of Centaurus go way back to the constellation that the Babylonians knew as the Bison-man (MUL.GUD.ALIM). They depicted it either as a four-legged bison with the head of a man or a creature with a human head and torso attached to the rear legs of a bison or bull. The Babylonians associated the creature with the Sun god Utu (Shamash). In Greek and Roman times, the constellation Centaurus was associated with a centaur, a mythical creature that was half man, half horse. However, it is not entirely clear which centaur the constellation represents.

According to , the Roman poet who lived at the turn of the first millennium, it represents Chiron, the wise centaur who mentored many well-known Greek heroes: Achilles, Jason, Theseus, Heracles, and Apollo’s son Asclepius (represented by the constellation Ophiuchus), among others. Most other sources, however, associate Chiron with the constellation Sagittarius and Centaurus with one of the less civilized centaurs.

Chiron was the son of the Titan king Cronus and the sea nymph Philyra. Cronus seduced the nymph, but two were surprised by Cronus’ wife Rhea. To evade being caught in the act, Cronus turned himself into a horse. As a result, Philyra gave birth to a hybrid son.

Chiron was a well-known and respected teacher of medicine, music and hunting. He lived in a cave on Mount Pelion and taught many young princes and future heroes. He died a tragic death in the end, accidentally struck by one of Heracles’ arrows, which the hero had dipped in Hydra’s blood, a poison for which there was no cure.

Being the son of the immortal Cronus, Chiron was himself immortal. When the arrow struck him, he suffered terrible pains, but could not die. Zeus eventually released the centaur from immortality and suffering, allowing him to die, and later he placed him among the stars.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Centaurus is usually depicted as a centaur sacrificing an animal, represented by the constellation Lupus, to the gods on the altar represented by Ara constellation. The centaur’s front legs are marked by two of the brightest stars in the sky, Alpha and Beta Centauri, also known as Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar.

The two stars also serve as pointers to the Southern Cross, which lies under the centaur’s rear legs.

CEPHEUS:

Cepheus constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the Greek constellations.

It was named after the mythical King Cepheus of Ethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda, both represented by neighbouring constellations. Like most other constellations in the Perseus family, Cepheus was catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation is home to Garnet Star, one of the largest known stars in the Milky Way, and to several well-known deep sky objects: The Wizard Nebula, the , and the Fireworks Galaxy.

The constellation represents Cepheus, the king of Ethiopia and Cassiopeia’s husband in Greek mythology. Zeus placed him in the sky after his tragic death because he was descended from one of Zeus’ loves, the nymph Io. Cepheus ruled not the modern-day Ethiopia, but the stretch of land between the south eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the area that contains parts of the modern-day Egypt, and Jordan.

Cepheus’ wife Cassiopeia was a very vain woman. Once, she boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids (sea nymphs, one of them the wife of the sea god Poseidon), which angered the nymphs and Poseidon, who then sent a sea monster, represented by the constellation Cetus, to ravage Cepheus’ land.

Cepheus turned to an oracle for advice on how to prevent utter disaster and the oracle told him that the only way to appease Poseidon was to sacrifice his daughter Andromeda to the monster.

Desperate, Cepheus and Cassiopeia did this, leaving their daughter chained to the rock for Cetus to find. Luckily, the hero Perseus found the princess first, rescued her and killed the monster. Later, he married Andromeda.

Perseus and Andromeda were celebrating their wedding when Phineus, Cepheus’ brother, turned up, claiming that she had been promised to him first. Phineus and his followers asked that Andromeda be turned over to them, but Cepheus refused them and there was a fight. Perseus tried to fight off all his opponents, but he was sorely outnumbered and had to use the head of Medusa to turn his enemies into stone. Unfortunately, the king and queen did not look away from the ’s head in time and were turned to stone, too.

CETUS:

Cetus constellation is located in the northern sky. Also known as the Whale, it is one of the largest constellations in the sky.

The constellation was named after Cetus, the sea monster from the Greek myth about Andromeda. In the myth, the princess was sacrificed to the monster as punishment for her mother Cassiopeia’s boastfulness. The constellation Cetus lies in the region of the sky called the Water, along with several other constellations with names evocative of water: Eridanus (the river), Aquarius (the water bearer), Pisces (the fish), etc. It was catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Cetus is home to the and several well-known stars: Kaitos (), Menkar (), and the famous (Omicron Ceti).

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Cetus represents the sea monster from the Greek myth of the princess Andromeda, whose boastful mother Cassiopeia angered the sea god Poseidon and the Nereids (sea nymphs) by claiming that she was more beautiful than any of them.

To appease the sea god and the nymphs, Cassiopeia and her husband, King Cepheus, had to sacrifice their young daughter to Cetus, a sea monster sent by Poseidon to punish the king and queen, or watch the monster ravage their land.

Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to the sea monster, but to her good fortune, the hero Perseus was passing by just as Cetus was about to devour her.

Perseus rescued the princess and killed Cetus. He and Andromeda were later married.

Cetus was commonly depicted by the Greeks as a hybrid creature. It had forefeet, huge jaws, and a scaly body like a giant sea serpent. Even though the constellation is also known as the Whale, the mythical creature in the depictions does not in fact look like a whale.

CHAMAELEON:

Chamaeleon constellation is located in the southern sky. It was named after a type of lizard, the chameleon.

The constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and in the 16th century.

Chamaeleon was first depicted in ’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603. The constellation is sometimes also called the Frying Pan in .

There are no myths associated with Chamaeleon constellation. It is one of the constellations charted by Dutch navigators in the 16th century and named after exotic animals by Plancius. In this case, the constellation was named after a lizard that changes colour to match the environment.

The Dutch cartographer depicted the constellation as a Chamaeleon sticking its tongue out to catch the fly represented by the neighbouring constellation Musca.

CIRCINUS:

Circinus constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the compass” in Latin, referring to the tool for drawing circles.

Circinus was created and first catalogued by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille created the constellation to bridge the void between Triangulum Australe and the stars marking Centaurus ‘forefeet.

Circinus contains several notable deep sky objects, including the , the X-ray source Circinus X-1, the PSR B1509-58, the open clusters NGC 5823 and NGC 5715, and the planetary nebula NGC 5315.

There are no myths associated with Circinus. The constellation was named after the drafting tool used for drawing circles (not after a mariner’s compass, which is represented by the constellation Pyxis).

It is depicted as a pair of dividing compasses used by draughtsmen to measure distances.

Lacaille originally named the constellation le Compas and placed it next to Triangulum Australe, which he depicted as a surveyor’s level, to fill the void between several existing constellations in the south.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION COLUMBA:

Columba constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the dove” in Latin.

The constellation’s original name was Columba Noachi, meaning “Noah’s dove,” after the biblical dove that informed Noah that the Great Flood was receding.

Columba was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and it later appeared in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria of 1603. The constellation contains the famous runaway star , the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1808 and the globular cluster NGC 1851, among other objects.

Columba represents Noah’s dove in the sky. Petrus Plancius created the constellation from the stars located behind Argo Navis, the constellation that represented the Argonauts’ ship and was later split into several smaller constellations. Plancius later renamed Argo Navis to “Noah’s Ark” on a celestial of 1613.

In the myth, Noah’s dove is sent from the Ark to see if there is any dry land left after the Great Flood. The bird returns holding an olive branch in its beak, signalling that the flood is receding.

In some interpretations, Columba represents the dove sent by the Argonauts between the Clashing Rocks to ensure the Argonauts’ safe passage.

COMA BERENICES:

Coma Berenices, or Berenice’s Hair, is a constellation in the northern sky. It was named after the Queen Berenice II of Egypt.

The Greek astronomer Ptolemy considered Coma Berenices to be an asterism in the constellation Leo, representing the tuft at the end of the lion’s tail, and it was not until the 16th century that Berenice’s Hair was promoted to a constellation in its own right, on a by the cartographer Caspar Vopel. It is the Danish astronomer who is usually credited for the promotion. He included Coma Berenices among the constellations in his of 1602.

Coma Berenices is not a large constellation, yet it contains a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the (Messier 64), Messier 98, , Messier 100, the globular cluster , the Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565) and the of galaxies. It also contains the northern part of the .

Also, of note, the constellation is home to the North Galactic Pole.

Coma Berenices is associated with the story of a historical figure, Queen Berenice II of Egypt. Berenice was married to Ptolemy III Euergetes (fl. 246 BC-221 BC), who went on a dangerous mission against the Seleucids, who had killed his sister, in 243 BC, during the Third Syrian War. Worried for her husband’s life, the queen swore to Aphrodite that she would cut off her beautiful long, blonde hair if the goddess brought Ptolemy back home safely.

Once her husband returned, Berenice fulfilled her promise to the goddess. She cut off her hair and placed it in Aphrodite’s temple. The hair disappeared the next day. This made the king furious. To appease him, the court astronomer Conon said that Aphrodite was so pleased with Berenice’s offering that she had placed it in the sky, pointing to the group of stars that have since been known as Berenice’s Hair.

CORONA AUSTRALIS:

Corona Australis is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name means “the southern crown” in Latin. It is located between the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Corona Australis is said to represent the crown worn by the centaur represented by Sagittarius by some sources, but the constellation is not really tied to any particular myth. Sometimes it is also called Corona Austrina.

Corona Australis was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with the constellation representing the northern crown, Corona Borealis.

Corona Australis, the Southern Crown, was known by the Greeks as a wreath, not a crown. Before Ptolemy introduced its stars as a separate constellation, Corona Australis was known as a circlet of stars near the forefeet of the centaur represented by the neighbouring constellation Sagittarius.

The constellation is sometimes associated with the myth of Dionysus. In the story, Corona Australis represents the crown the god placed in the sky after freeing his mother from the god of the underworld, Hades. This particular myth, however, is also sometimes associated with the Northern Crown, Corona Borealis.

Ptolemy originally assigned 13 stars to the constellation Corona Australis, but one of them was later moved to the constellation Telescopium, where it became .

CORONA BOREALIS:

Corona Borealis is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the northern crown” in Latin.

Corona Borealis is a small but recognizable constellation with only four stars brighter than magnitude 3.00. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. At the time, it was known simply as Corona. The Greeks saw the constellation representing the Southern Crown, Corona Australis, as a wreath.

Corona Borealis lies between the constellations Boötes and Hercules and represents the crown of , daughter of King in Greek mythology, who helped the hero Theseus kill the and find his way out of the labyrinth in which the creature lived. In Celtic mythology, Corona Borealis is known as Caer Arianrhod, or the Castle of Arianrhod, the place where the mythical Lady Arianrhod lived.

Corona Borealis contains the famous Blaze Star (), a recurrent , and the Fade-Out Star (), but does not have any bright deep sky objects. The Corona Borealis () does not contain any stars brighter than 16th magnitude.

Corona Borealis is associated with the myth of Princess Ariadne of Crete, most famous for her part in helping the Greek hero Theseus defeat the Minotaur, the creature with a human body and head of a bull that lived in a labyrinth designed by Daedalus. In the myth, Ariadne married the god Dionysus. The circlet of stars in the constellation Corona Borealis represents the crown made by the god Hephaestus that she wore on her wedding day.

The Minotaur was in fact Ariadne’s half-brother: according to the legend, her mother Pasiphae gave birth to the creature after copulating with one of King Minos’ bulls. The king had the Minotaur locked inside the labyrinth to hide the family secret. The labyrinth was designed in such a way that no one, not even the Minotaur, could find a way out.

When Theseus came to Crete, he was chosen to be one of the people put into the labyrinth for the Minotaur to find and eat. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and, following Daedalus’ advice, gave him a ball of thread to take with him into the labyrinth if he promised to take her with him once he escaped. Theseus agreed. Once he killed the Minotaur with his bare hands, the hero followed the trail of the thread and found his way out of the labyrinth.

Ariadne and Theseus sailed off together shortly thereafter, but he soon abandoned her on the island of Naxos. The god Dionysus saw the princess weeping, fell in love, and the two were soon married. Ariadne wore a crown made by Hephaestus at the wedding and, once the ceremony was over, she tossed it into the sky, where the jewels turned

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION into stars and the crown became the constellation Corona Borealis. The brightest star in the constellation, Gemma, got its name from the Latin word for “jewel.”

The Arabs know the constellation as “the poor people’s bowl” or Alphecca, which means “broken up.” The name Alphecca was later given to the constellation’s brightest star, .

The Cheyenne called the constellation the Camp Circle because its shape was similar to the way they arranged their camps, in a semi-circle.

In Australia, Corona Borealis is known as Woomera, the Boomerang, and the Welsh associate it with the castle of Lady Arianrhod, the Welsh goddess who gave birth to two sons through magical means.

CORVUS:

Corvus constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “crow” or “raven” in Latin.

Corvus constellation represents Apollo’s sacred bird in Greek mythology. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Corvus does not contain many bright stars and deep sky objects, but it is home to a very famous pair of interacting galaxies, the . The Antennae Galaxies show a likely future of the Milky Way and (M31) when the two collide.

The constellation Corvus represents the raven (or crow), Apollo’s sacred bird in Greek mythology. According to the myth, the raven originally had white feathers. In one story, Apollo told the bird to watch over Coronis, one of his lovers, who was pregnant at the time. Coronis gradually lost interest in Apollo and fell in love with a mortal man, Ischys. When the raven reported the affair to Apollo, the god was so enraged that the bird did nothing to stop it that he flung a curse on it, scorching the raven’s feathers. That, the legend goes, is why all ravens are black. Apollo then sent his sister to kill Coronis. Before Coronis’ body was burned, the unborn child, Asclepius, was cut out of her womb and given to the centaur Chiron to raise. Asclepius grew up to be a famous healer and is represented by the constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer.

The Greek Corvus was borrowed from the mythical Babylonian raven, MUL.UGA.MUSHEN, which was usually depicted perched on the tail of a serpent. Babylonians associated the constellation with Adad, the god of rain and storm, because its stars would rise before the rainy season, in the fall, in the second millennium.

CRATER:

Crater constellation is located in the southern sky. Its name means “the cup” in Latin.

Crater is one of the Greek constellations. In mythology, it represents the cup of the Greek god Apollo. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Crater is relatively faint, with no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. There are also few notable deep sky objects in the constellation. Most galaxies found in Crater are magnitude 12 or fainter. One of these, the galaxy, is the fourth largest dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, but it went undetected until April 2016 because it is also one of the lowest dwarfs.

In Greek mythology, the Crater constellation represents the cup of the god Apollo. The cup is usually depicted as a two-handed chalice. The constellation is associated with the story of Apollo and his sacred bird, either the crow or the raven, which is represented by the neighbouring constellation Corvus.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In the story, the god Apollo is about to make a sacrifice on the altar and he needs some water to perform the ritual. The god sends the raven to promptly fetch some water in his cup, but the bird gets distracted by a fig tree and spends a few days lazily resting and waiting for the figs to ripen. After feasting on the figs, the raven finally brings Apollo the cup filled with water and he also brings a water snake (Hydra) as an excuse for being so late. Apollo sees through the raven’s lies and angrily casts all three – the cup (Crater), the water snake (Hydra) and the raven (Corvus) into the sky.

Apollo also casts a curse on the raven, scorching its feathers and making the bird eternally thirsty and unable to do anything about it. This, according to the myth, is how crows and ravens came to have black feathers and why they have such raspy voices.

CRUX:

Crux, or the Southern Cross, is a prominent constellation in the southern sky. It is the smallest of all 88 constellations.

In spite of its size, Crux is one of the best-known constellations in the southern hemisphere. It is easily recognizable for the cross-shaped asterism, the Southern Cross, formed by its five brightest stars. The constellation is associated with a number of stories and it figures prominently in different mythologies in the southern hemisphere. It holds special importance in Australia and , where it is circumpolar and can be seen throughout the year.

Crux is not visible north of +20° in the northern hemisphere, and it is circumpolar south of 34°S, which means that it never sets below the horizon. On the celestial sphere, Crux is exactly opposite the constellation Cassiopeia.

Crux means “the cross” in Latin. Ancient Greeks considered Crux to be a part of the constellation Centaurus. Even though its stars were charted on most celestial , it was not until 1679 that it became a constellation in its own right. It was the French astronomer Augustin Royer who formally separated Crux from Centaurus. Some historians credit the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius for creating the constellation in 1613, as it was published by Jakob Bartsch in 1624.

Crux is a famous constellation in many cultures. Ancient Greeks considered it to be part of the Centaurus constellation. Greeks were able to see Crux before its stars dropped below the horizon for and most of the northern hemisphere. Some saw significance in this, linking the disappearance of the celestial cross from the sky to the crucifixion of Christ. The 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy listed the stars of Crux as part of the constellation Centaurus in his Almagest. By the year 400 AD, the constellation was not visible from most of Europe anymore, and Europeans did not rediscover Crux until the great naval expeditions of the late 15th and early 16th century. The Southern Cross carries cultural significance in many countries in the southern hemisphere.

A stone image of Crux constellation has been found in in Peru. The Inca knew the constellation as Chakana, which means “the stair.” The Maori called it Te Punga, or “the anchor.”

In Australian Aboriginal astronomy, the cross asterism and the Coal sack Nebula represent the head of the in the Sky. The Southern Cross is represented on the Australian flag. Its stars are also featured on the , where the asterism is known as Cruzeiro, or Cruzeiro do Sul. The Southern Cross is also mentioned in the Brazilian national anthem and used to be the name of the currency between 1942 and 1986 and again between 1990 and 1994.

Amerigo Vespucci charted the stars in 1501, but a more accurate depiction appeared in 1515, made by another Italian explorer, Andrea Corsali. Crux appeared on celestial globes by Petrus Plancius (1598) and Jodocus Hondius (1600). Plancius, a Dutch cartographer, depicted the constellation based on observations by Pieter Dirkszoon, a Dutch explorer.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION CYGNUS:

Cygnus is a prominent constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the swan” in Latin, and it is also known as the Swan constellation.

Cygnus is associated with the myth of Zeus and Leda in Greek mythology. The constellation is easy to find in the sky as it features a well-known asterism known as the Northern Cross. Cygnus was first catalogued the by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Notable objects in the constellation include -1, a famous x-ray source, the bright stars Deneb and , the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946), and several well-known nebulae: the (IC 5070), the Nebula (NGC 7000), the (NGC 6888), and the (NGC 6960, 6962, 6979, 6992, and 6995).

Cygnus constellation is associated with several myths, most frequently the one of the Spartan Queen Leda, who gave birth to two sets of twins, the immortal and Helen and mortal Castor and Clytemnestra, after being seduced by the god Zeus, who had transformed himself into a swan. The immortal children were fathered by the god and the mortal ones by Leda’s husband, King Tyndareus. Castor and Pollux are represented by the zodiac constellation Gemini.

Cygnus is also sometimes identified as Orpheus, the Greek tragic hero who was murdered by the Thracian Maenads for not honouring Dionysus. After death, Orpheus was transformed into a swan and placed next to his lyre in the sky. The lyre is represented by the neighbouring constellation Lyra.

Cygnus constellation is also sometimes associated with any of the several people called Cycnus in Greek mythology.

The most famous ones are Cycnus, the murderous son of who challenged Heracles to a duel and was killed, Cycnus, the son of Poseidon, who fought on the side of the Trojans in the , was killed by Achilles, and transformed into a swan after death, and Cycnus, a close friend of Phaeton, the mortal son of the Sun god Helios. Of the above three, the myth of Phaeton is the one that is most frequently associated with Cygnus constellation.

In the story, Phaeton and Cycnus were racing each other across the sky when they came too close to the Sun. Their chariots burned up and they fell to the Earth. Cycnus came to and, after looking for Phaeton for a while, he discovered his dead friend’s body trapped at the bottom of the Eridanus River. He was unable to recover the body, so he made a pact with Zeus: if the god gave him the body of a swan, he would only live as long as a swan usually does. Once transformed, Cycnus was able to dive into the river, retrieve Phaeton’s body and give his friend a proper burial. This allowed Phaeton’s soul to travel to the afterlife. Zeus was moved by Cycnus’ sacrifice and placed his image in the sky.

The Chinese also associate the constellation with a myth, the one of the “magpie bridge,” Que Qiao. In the story, the lovers Niu Lang and Zhi Nu are separated by the Goddess of Heaven because Zhi Nu is a fairy, and is therefore not allowed to be with a mortal man. When the Goddess learns that the two are secretly married, she takes Zhi Nu with her and creates a river in the sky to keep the lovers separated. The river is represented by the Milky Way itself in the legend. Zhi Nu’s husband Niu Lang takes their two children to Heaven so that they can all be together, but the Goddess does not relent and keeps the lovers separated. Once a year, the myth goes, all the magpies in the world assemble to help the lovers be together by forming an enormous bridge over the wide river. The constellation Cygnus represents the magpie bridge in this story.

DELPHINUS:

Delphinus constellation is located in the northern sky. It is one of the smallest constellations. Its name means “the dolphin” in Latin.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The constellation represents the dolphin sent by the sea god Poseidon to find Amphitrite, the nereid he wanted to marry.

Delphinus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is home to several interesting deep sky objects: the globular clusters NGC 6934 and NGC 7006 and the planetary nebulae NGC 6891 and NGC 6905 (Blue Flash Nebula).

There are two myths associated with the constellation Delphinus. In one, the dolphin constellation represents Poseidon’s messenger. When the sea god courted the nymph Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, she resisted his advances and took refuge among her sisters. Poseidon sent messengers to find her and bring her to him, among them a dolphin. The dolphin found the nymph, soothed her and brought her back to the god. The two were later married. Poseidon decided to honour the dolphin and placed his image among the stars.

In the other myth, it was Apollo, the god of poetry and music, who placed the dolphin among the constellations for saving the life of Arion, a poet and musician born on the island of Lesbos whose skill with the lyre made him famous in the 7th century BC.

Arion was sailing back to Greece after a concert tour of southern Italy when the sailors who were also on the ship started plotting to kill him and take the money he had earned.

Surrounded, Arion asked them to let him sing one last song. The sailors allowed this, and Arion’s music drew several dolphins to the ship. As he played, the dolphins swam alongside the ship and Arion decided to take a leap of faith and he jumped overboard.

One of the dolphins carried him all the way back to Greece. Later, Arion confronted the sailors and had them sentenced to death. In this version of the myth, Apollo placed the dolphin next to the constellation Lyra in the sky, and Lyra represents Arion’s lyre.

The constellation was also sometimes referred to as Job’s Coffin because of its long, box-like shape. Mostly, the name was restricted to the four bright stars in the constellation – Alpha, Beta, Gamma and .

DORADO:

Dorado constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. Its name means “the dolphinfish” (Coryphaena hippurus) in Spanish.

Dorado constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. The constellation was first depicted in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603.

Dorado contains most of the , an irregular galaxy near the Milky Way. The South Ecliptic Pole is also located in the direction of this constellation.

There are no myths associated with the constellation. Dorado was one of the 12 constellations created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius, who mostly named the newly created southern constellations after animals.

Dorado has also sometimes been referred to as the Swordfish constellation, or Xipias.

DRACO:

Draco constellation lies in the northern sky. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The constellation’s name means “the dragon” in Latin. Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the gardens of the Hesperides in Greek mythology.

Draco is one of the Greek constellations. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is a circumpolar constellation; it never sets below the horizon for many observers in the northern hemisphere.

Draco contains several famous deep sky objects, most notable ones being the Cat’s Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), the Spindle Galaxy (Messier 102, NGC 5866), and the Tadpole Galaxy.

The constellation Draco is associated with several myths, most frequently with the one about the 12 labours of Heracles, represented by the neighbouring constellation Hercules. In the myth, Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides.

The golden apple tree was a wedding present to Hera when she married Zeus. She planted the tree in her garden on Mount Atlas and tasked Atlas’ daughters, the Hesperides, with guarding it. She also placed the dragon Ladon around the tree so that the Hesperides would not pick any apples from it.

In some versions of the myth, Ladon had a hundred heads and was the child of the monster Typhon and Echidna, who was half woman and half serpent.

In others, he was the offspring of two sea deities, and Phorcys, and there is no mention of the number of heads he had.

As part of his 12 labours, Heracles was asked to steal some golden apples from the tree. He killed Ladon with his poisoned arrows and took the apples. Saddened by the dragon’s death, Hera placed its image in the sky among the constellations. Draco is usually depicted coiled around the North Pole, with one foot of Heracles on its head.

In , Draco was one of the Giant Titans who warred with the Olympian gods for ten years. He was killed in battle by the goddess and thrown into the sky, where it froze around the North Pole.

EQUULEUS:

Equuleus constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “little horse” or “foal” in Latin.

The constellation is associated with several Greek myths, most notably the one about Hippe, the daughter of the centaur Chiron and the nymph Chariclo. The creator of the constellation is unknown, but Equuleus was introduced by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Equuleus is a small, faint constellation with few notable deep sky objects and no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. It is sometimes also known as Equus Primus, or the First Horse, because it rises just before the constellation Pegasus.

Equuleus, the foal, is usually associated with Hippe, the daughter of the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology. Hippe was seduced by and became pregnant with his child. Too ashamed to tell her father, she hid the pregnancy from Chiron. She escaped to the mountains and stayed there until she gave birth to the child, named Melanippe.

When Chiron came looking for Hippe, she prayed to the gods that he doesn’t find her and they turned her into a mare. It was the goddess Artemis who placed Hippe among the constellations. She still appears to be hiding from Chiron, with only her head showing behind Pegasus. (Chiron is represented by the constellation Centaurus.)

Equuleus constellation is also sometimes associated with Celeris, a foal given as a present to Castor by Mercury. The name Celeris means “speed” or “swiftness.” The foal was either the brother or offspring of Pegasus, the famous winged horse, represented by the neighbouring constellation.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION ERIDANUS:

Eridanus constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. Its name is the Ancient Greek name for the river Po in Italy.

Eridanus represents the celestial river. In , it is called srotaswini, which means “stream,” “current,” or “torrent.” The constellation is associated with the Greek myth of Phaëton and usually depicted as a river flowing from the waters poured by Aquarius.

Eridanus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Notable features in the constellation include , one of the brightest stars in the sky, the nearby star , the Eridanus Supervoid, the largest void known, the of galaxies, and the Witch Head Nebula, a well-known reflection nebula located in the constellation.

In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with the story of Phaëton (or Phaëthon), the son of the Sun god Helios and the Oceanid Clymene. Phaëton wanted to drive his father’s chariot across the sky and kept begging for Helios’ permission to do so until the god agreed, advising Phaëton to follow the beaten track where he saw wheel marks.

Phaëton mounted the chariot and the horses, sensing that the driver was lighter, flew upwards into the sky, leaving the familiar track behind. The inexperienced driver could not control the horses and the reins slipped from his hands. The chariot plunged so close to the Earth that lands caught fire. It is said that this was how Libya became a desert, Ethiopians got dark skin, and the seas dried up. Zeus saw what was going on and had to intervene to prevent further disaster. He struck Phaëton down with a thunderbolt and, when Phaëton’s hair caught on fire, he leapt from the chariot and fell into the Eridanus. His father Helios, stricken with grief, did not drive his chariot for days, leaving the world in darkness.

The Greek poet Aratus called the constellation Eridanus, while a number of other sources including Ptolemy referred to it as Potamos, which means “the river.” associated the celestial river with the Nile, the only river that runs from south to north. Hyginus, a Latin author, agreed, pointing out that the bright star Canopus in the constellation Carina lay at the end of the river much like the island Canopus lies at the mouth of the great river in Egypt. The actual constellation, however, represents a river that runs from north to south. Later, the river came to be identified as the river Po in Italy by Greek and Latin authors.

The name Eridanus, according to a theory, comes from the name of a Babylonian constellation known as the Star of Eridu (MUL.NUN.KI). Eridu was a Babylonian city held sacred to the god Enki-Ea. Enki-Ea was the ruler of the cosmic domain of the Abyss, usually imagined as a reservoir of fresh water below the Earth’s surface.

FORNAX:

Fornax constellation lies in the southern hemisphere of the sky. Its name means “the furnace” in Latin.

Fornax is one of the constellations added by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the mid-18th century. There are no myths associated with it.

Fornax is a relatively obscure constellation, with only one star brighter than magnitude 4.0. It is notable for the bright galaxies in the , including the Great Barred Spiral galaxy (NGC 1365), Fornax A (NGC 1316), the , and UDFy-38135539, the galaxy that is the second most distant object in the universe to be observed.

Fornax was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756, after his trip to the Cape of Good Hope, where he observed the southern stars and constellations.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Lacaille originally named the constellation Fornax Chemica, the chemical furnace, after the small fuel heater used for chemical experiments.

It was the English astronomer Francis Bailey who shortened the constellation’s name to Fornax at ’s suggestion in 1845.

GEMINI:

Gemini constellation is located in the northern hemisphere of the sky. Its name means “the twins” in Latin.

Gemini is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation represents the twins Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces), also known as the Dioscuri in ancient times, in Greek mythology. Gemini is known mainly for its two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, the , and several notable deep sky objects, among them the open cluster , the , the Jellyfish Nebula, and the .

Gemini constellation represents the twins Castor and Polydeuces in Greek mythology. The brothers were also known as the Dioscuri, which means “sons of Zeus.” In most versions of the myth, however, only Polydeuces was Zeus’ son, and Castor was the son of the mortal King Tyndareus of .

The twins’ mother, Spartan Queen Leda, was raped by Zeus, who visited the queen in the form of a swan, associated with the constellation Cygnus (the Swan), and she became pregnant with Polydeuces and Helen (who would become the famous Helen of Troy). Leda later also became pregnant with Castor and Clytemnestra (who would later marry Agamemnon and eventually murder him and be killed by her own son Orestes). Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus and, unlike Zeus’ children, they were mortal.

Castor and Polydeuces grew up together and were very close. Castor was an excellent horseman and proficient at fencing – he is said to have taught Heracles himself to fence – and Polydeuces was famed for his boxing skills. The two were part of the Argonauts’ expedition to get the golden fleece. Polydeuces’ boxing skills came in handy when Amycus, a son of Poseidon who ruled Asia Minor, refused to let the Argonauts leave until one of them fought him in a boxing match. Polydeuces accepted the challenge and easily won.

The twins came to the crew’s rescue on a number of occasions. They have been known as the patron saints of sailors, and were said to have been given the power to rescue sailors who were shipwrecked by the sea god Poseidon himself, who also gave them two white horses, which the twins often rode.

The Dioscuri are associated with St. Elmo’s fire, an electrical phenomenon that occurs during thunderstorms, when a coronal discharge from a pointed object in a strong electric field creates luminous plasma. The phenomenon is named after another patron saint of sailors, St. Erasmus of Formiae. St. Elmo’s fire would appear to sailors as a glowing ball of light during thunderstorms and they considered it as a sign that their guardian saint was with them.

Castor and Polydeuces eventually clashed with Idas and Lynceus, who were also twins and former Argonauts, over two women, Phoebe and Hilaira. The other two brothers were engaged to them, and Castor and Polydeuces carried the women off. Idas and Lynceus pursued them and in the end, there was a fight between the four. Lynceus stabbed Castor with a sword and when Polydeuces saw this, he killed Lynceus. When Idas saw his brother die, he attacked Polydeuces, but Zeus intervened and sent a thunderbolt which saved his son. Polydeuces asked Zeus to share his immortality with his dead brother and the god placed them both in the sky, where they remain inseparable as the constellation Gemini.

The two brightest stars in the constellation, Alpha and Beta Geminorum, mark the twins’ heads.

Not everyone identified the constellation as Castor and Polydeuces in ancient times. Hyginus and Ptolemy associated the two stars with Apollo and Heracles, who were half-brothers and both sons of Zeus. Page 23 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION GRUS:

Grus constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the crane” in Latin.

The stars of Grus were once part of the constellation Pisces Austrinus. It was the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius who created the constellation Grus from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the late 16th century.

The constellation first appeared in in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. In the early 17th century, it briefly went by an alternative name, Phoenicopterus, which means “the flamingo” in Latin.

There are no myths associated with the constellation. Grus was one of the 12 constellations created by Dutch explorers in the late 16th century. The only connection the crane has with mythology lies in the fact that it was a sacred bird to the god Hermes.

The constellation was created from stars located to the south of the constellation Pisces Austrinus. The brightest star in Grus is called Alnair, which means “the bright one from the fish’s tail” in Arabic. Similarly, the proper name of Gamma Gruis, Al Dhanab, also means “the tail” in Arabic.

HERCULES:

Hercules constellation is located in the northern sky. It was named after Hercules, the Roman version of the Greek hero Heracles.

Heracles, in turn, was often associated with the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh, and the constellation itself has a long history, dating back to Sumerian times.

Hercules is the fifth largest constellation in the sky, but has no first magnitude stars. In traditional depictions, the star Ras Algethi () represents Hercules’ head and a prominent asterism, the Keystone, marks his torso, as he stands victoriously on Draco’s head.

In mythology, the constellation Hercules is usually associated with the penultimate labour of Heracles, which involved killing the dragon Ladon, who guarded the garden of the Hesperides. The dragon is represented by the constellation Draco. Hercules constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Notable deep sky objects in Hercules include the Great Globular Cluster (), the globular cluster , the planetary nebulae and NGC 6210, the of galaxies, and the galaxy cluster .

Hercules constellation dates back to ancient times and its origin was unclear even to the Greeks. They knew it as Engonasin, or “the kneeling one.” It was Eratosthenes who identified the kneeler as Heracles, standing over the dragon that guarded the garden of the Hesperides. Aeschylus associated the constellation with a different tale, describing Heracles as kneeling and exhausted after the battle with the Ligurians.

Heracles was the son of Zeus and , a mortal woman. When he was an infant, Zeus laid him at Hera’s breast while she slept. Having suckled her milk, Heracles became immortal. Hera was enraged, both at this and at her husband’s infidelity, and while she could not kill Heracles, she made his life difficult at every turn. She cast a spell that made him go insane and kill his children. Once he regained his senses and realized what he had done, he visited the Oracle at Delphi to see how he could atone for his deed. The Oracle sent him to serve , king of , for a period of 12 years. It was then that he got the name Heracles, which means “the glory of Hera.” His given name at birth was Alcides, , or Palaemon according to different sources.

King Eurystheus gave Heracles a series of tasks, known as the Labours of Heracles. The first was to kill the Nemean lion, a beast whose hide was impervious to any weapon. After Heracles had strangled the lion to death, he used its Page 24 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION claws to cut off the skin and later used the pelt as a cloak and the gaping mouth as a helmet, which both protected him and made him look even more frightening. The Nemean lion is represented by the constellation Leo.

The second task was to destroy the Hydra, represented by Hydra constellation, a monster with multiple heads. As he fought with the beast, Hera sent a crab to distract him. Heracles killed the crab, and Hera placed it in the sky as the constellation Cancer.

HOROLOGIUM:

Horologium constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the clock” in Latin.

It is a small, faint constellation that was created in the 18th century by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Lacaille originally named the constellation Horologium Oscillitorium, or “the pendulum clock,” but the name was later shortened to simply Horologium, “the clock.”

The constellation is not associated with any myths and does not have any bright stars. It is home to the Horologium , a massive supercluster containing some 5,000 galaxy groups.

Lacaille named the constellation after the pendulum clock to honour its inventor .

The constellation represents the pendulum clock Lacaille used to time his observations.

The brightest star in the constellation, Alpha Horologii, represents the pendulum in some depictions, and is located on one of the weights in others.

HYDRA:

Hydra, the water snake, is the largest constellation in the sky. It lies in the southern hemisphere, stretched across 102.5°.

Hydra’s head is located south of the constellation Cancer and its tail lies between Centaurus and Libra. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It represents the Lernaean Hydra from the Greek myth of Heracles’ Twelve Labours. Sometimes it is taken to represent the water snake from the myth about the crow that tried to trick the god Apollo by blaming the snake for its tardiness in fetching the god some water.

Notable deep sky objects in Hydra include the open cluster , the globular cluster , the Southern (), the of galaxies, Tombaugh’s Globular Cluster (NGC 5694), the Ghost of Jupiter nebula, and the spiral galaxy ESO 510-G13.

Hydra constellation as depicted by the Greeks is an adaptation of the Babylonian constellation MUL.DINGIR.MUŠ, which was one of the two Babylonian constellations that represented a serpent and loosely corresponded to Hydra. The other constellation corresponded to the Greek constellation Serpens. The Babylonian constellation represented a mythological hybrid of a serpent, bird and lion.

Hydra constellation is usually associated with the second of Heracles’ labours in Greek mythology. Hydra was a giant multi-headed creature fathered by the monster Typhon and Echidna, who was half-woman, half-serpent. The dragon Ladon, that guarded the garden of the Hesperides, was Hydra’s brother. The dragon, also killed by Heracles, is represented by the constellation Draco, while the hero is commemorated by the constellation Hercules.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION HYDRUS:

Hydrus constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. Its name means “the male water snake” in Latin.

Hydrus is also known as “the lesser water snake,” the counterpart to the larger Hydra constellation, from which it is separated by the constellations Eridanus and Orion, and by the Milky Way. Hydrus lies between the two Magellanic , between Eridanus and the south celestial pole.

Hydrus was one of the constellations that first appeared on a celestial globe by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1597, and was subsequently included in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603. The constellation was created by Plancius from the observations of Dutch sailors Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century.

Hydrus is not associated with any myths. It is a southern constellation, one that wasn’t visible to the ancient Greeks or Romans. The constellation was mapped by Dutch navigators and it represents the sea snakes they would have seen on their voyages.

The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille gave the constellation the name l’Hydre Mâle to emphasize the difference in gender between Hydrus and Hydra on his of the southern skies, published in 1756. Lacaille also transferred several stars to the constellations Tucana, Octans, Horologium, and Reticulum. In Bayer’s Uranometria (1603) Hydrus’ tail had extended to the star Lambda Octantis, which used to belong to Hydrus and is now part of the constellation Octans.

INDUS:

Indus constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. It does not contain any bright stars.

The constellation represents the Indian, referring to a native of either of Asia or the Americas at the time the constellation was created.

The constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and first depicted in a star atlas in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria atlas in 1603. Plancius depicted Indus as a naked male holding arrows in both hands. Indus is a relatively dim constellation. Its brightest stars are only of third magnitude. The constellation contains several notable galaxies, including NGC 7049, NGC 7064, NGC 7083, NGC 7090, and IC 5152.

There are no myths associated with the constellation. The Indian is usually depicted holding arrows or spears as though hunting. The early depictions, including the one in Bayer’s Uranometria, indicate that Indus might represent a native of Madagascar as depicted in an account of Dutch navigators’ first voyage to the .

It is unclear; however, whether the constellation really represents a native of the East Indies, or Madagascar, or South Africa, as the explorers encountered a number of indigenous peoples on their travels.

LACERTA:

Lacerta constellation lies in the northern sky, between Andromeda and Cygnus. Its name means “the lizard” in Latin.

Lacerta was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. It is a small, faint constellation that is sometimes referred to as Little Cassiopeia because its brightest stars form a “W” shape, just like the stars in the considerably larger Cassiopeia constellation.

The brightest stars in Lacerta are only of fourth magnitude and none of them have . There are no myths associated with the constellation.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The name Lacerta does not come from mythology. Johannes Hevelius introduced the constellation in Firmamentum Sobiescianum, his star atlas published in 1690.

He gave the constellation an alternative name, Stellio, after a type of lizard known as a starred agama, but this name was not used much and soon fell into oblivion.

LEO:

Leo constellation lies in the northern sky. It is one of the zodiac constellations and one of the largest constellations in the sky.

Leo represents the lion and is usually associated with the Nemean lion in Greek mythology. The constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, along with all the other constellations of the zodiac.

Leo constellation is home to the bright stars and , the nearby star , and to a number of famous deep sky objects, among them galaxies , , , Messier 96, Messier 105, and NGC 3628.

Leo is one of the oldest constellations in the sky. Archaeological evidence suggests that Mesopotamians had a constellation similar to Leo as early as 4000 BC. The Persians knew the constellation as Shir or Ser, Babylonians called it UR.GU.LA (“the great lion”), Syrians knew it as Aryo, and the Turks as Artan.

Bablyonians knew the star Regulus as “the star that stands at the Lion’s breast,” or the King Star. Both the constellation and its brightest star were well known in most ancient cultures.

The Greeks associated Leo with the Nemean lion, the beast killed by Heracles during the first of his twelve labours. Both Eratosthenes and Hyginus wrote that the lion was placed among the constellations because it was the king of beasts.

The lion lived in a cave in Nemea, a town located to the south-west of Corinth. It was killing the local inhabitants and could not be killed because its skin could not be pierced by any weapons.

Heracles could not kill the lion with arrows, so he trapped the lion in its cave, grappled with the beast and eventually choked it to death. He used the lion’s claws to cut off its pelt, and then wore the pelt as a cloak, complete with the lion’s head. The cloak both protected Heracles and made him appear even more fearsome.

In the sky, the six bright stars that form the shape of a sickle represent the lion’s head, and the brightest star in the constellation, Regulus (Alpha Leonis), marks the beast’s heart. Another bright star, Denebola (Beta Leonis) marks the tip of the lion’s tail. Algieba (), lies on the lion’s neck, even though its name means “the forehead.” Zosma () marks the lion’s rump.

LEO MINOR:

Leo Minor is a small, faint constellation in the northern sky, with only one star brighter than fourth magnitude.

The constellation’s name means “the smaller lion” in Latin. Leo Minor was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. Hevelius created the constellation from 18 stars between the larger constellations Leo and Ursa Major.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Leo Minor is located between Ursa Major to the north, Cancer to the southwest, Lynx to the west, and Leo, which represents the larger lion, to the south. Notable deep sky objects in Leo Minor include Hanny’s Voorwerp, a quasar ionization echo, and the interacting galaxies Arp 107.

Leo Minor is a relatively new constellation, and has no myths associated with it. It was first depicted in 1687 in Johannes Hevelius’ Catalogus Stellarum Fixarum. In 1845, the catalogue was revised by , who assigned Greek letters to stars that were brighter than magnitude 4.5, but he did not give the constellation’s brightest star the designation Alpha in his British Association Catalogue.

In 1870, the English astronomer Richard A. Proctor renamed the constellation to Leaena, or the Lioness, in an attempt to shorten constellation names in order to make them easier to manage on star charts, but the name was not widely adopted.

LEPUS:

Lepus constellation lies in the northern sky, just under the feet of Orion. The constellation’s name means “the hare” in Latin.

Lepus is not associated with any particular myth, but is sometimes depicted as a hare being chased by the mythical hunter Orion or by his hunting dogs, represented by the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. Lepus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation is home to the famous variable star , better known as Hind’s Crimson Star, and it contains several notable deep sky objects: (NGC 1904), the irregular galaxy NGC 1821, and the Spirograph Nebula (IC 418).

Lepus is usually depicted as a hare being hunted by Orion or by his hunting dogs. The constellation is located under Orion’s feet. It is not associated with any particular myth. Sometimes it is also represented as a rabbit, also chased by Orion and his dogs.

Alpha Leporis, the brightest star in the constellation, has the name Arneb, which means “the hare” in Arabic. The hare’s ears are delineated by the stars Kappa, Iota, Lambda and Nu Leporis.

LIBRA:

Libra constellation lies in the southern sky. It is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation’s name means “the weighing scales” in Latin, and Libra is usually depicted as the scales held by the Greek goddess of justice Dike (or ), represented by the neighbouring Virgo constellation. Libra is the only zodiac constellation that represents an object, not an animal or a character from mythology. The four brightest stars in the constellation form a quadrangle. Alpha and mark the scales’ balance beam, and Gamma and Sigma Librae represent the weighing pans. Libra is also home to HD 140283, popularly known as Methuselah, currently the oldest known star in the universe.

Ancient Greeks knew the part of the sky occupied by the Libra constellation as Chelae, or “claws,” and considered it part of constellation. Chelae represented the scorpion’s claws.

The association of this region of the sky with scales was established among the Romans in the first century BC. It is said that was located in Libra when Rome was founded. The Romans considered Libra to be a favoured constellation, one associated with balanced seasons and equal length of night and day. The Sun was at the autumnal equinox in Libra until the year 729, when the precession of the shifted the equinox to Virgo. The autumnal equinox will move to constellation Leo in the year 2439.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The Romans were not the first to associate Libra with the idea of balance. The Babylonians called it ZIB.BA.AN.NA, which means “the balance of heaven,” about a thousand years before Christ.

Once Libra became associated with balance, its association with Scorpio’s claws faded and the one with the goddess of justice, the Greek Dike or Astraeia, represented by the constellation Virgo, became stronger.

As a reminder that Libra was once considered to be part of Scorpio constellation, the brightest star in Libra, Beta Librae, has the name Zubeneschamali, which means “the northern claw” in Arabic, while , Zubenelgenubi, is “the southern claw.”

LUPUS:

Lupus constellation lies in the southern hemisphere, between Centaurus and Scorpius. Its name means “the wolf” in Latin.

Lupus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Even though it is an old constellation, Lupus is not associated with any myths.

The constellation is home to several interesting stars and deep sky objects. These include the historic SN 1006, the globular clusters NGC 5824 and NGC 5986, and the Retina Nebula (IC 4406).

The stars that now form the constellation Lupus used to be part of Centaurus constellation. They represented a sacrificed animal impaled by the centaur, who was holding it toward the constellation Ara, the altar.

The constellation was not associated with any animal in particular until the times, when the Latin translation of Ptolemy’s work identified it with the wolf.

The Greeks knew the constellation as Therium, a wild animal, and the Romans called it Bestia, the beast. In Greek times, the constellation was probably taken to represent a creature based on the Babylonian figure of the Mad Dog. The creature was a hybrid, with a human head and torso and legs and tail of a lion. The creature frequently associated with the sun god and Bison-man, which is another creature from myth, was called UR.IDIM, with UR referring to a large carnivore, which could have been a lion, wolf, or a dog.

LYNX:

Lynx constellation is located in the northern hemisphere. It represents the lynx, and it is not usually associated with any myths.

Lynx is one of the several constellations that were introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century.

Hevelius created the constellation to fill a relatively large gap between the two neighbouring constellations, Auriga and Ursa Major. He named it Lynx because it was pretty faint and it took the eyesight of a lynx to see it. Other than Alpha Lyncis, the constellation does not contain any stars brighter than fourth magnitude.

Hevelius named the constellation after the lynx because it is a relatively faint one. He wrote in his Prodromus astronomiae that only those who have the sight of a lynx can see it. The book is an unfinished work published by Hevelius’ wife around 1690, a few years after his death. In the accompanying star catalogue, Hevelius called the constellation “Lynx, sive Tigris” – Lynx or Tiger.

While it is not known if Hevelius had any myths in mind when he named the constellation, there is a figure in mythology that might be linked to the constellation’s name. Lynceus, who sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, was

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION said to have the keenest eyesight of all men and could even see things underground. He and his twin brother Idas were part of the expedition for the Golden Fleece.

Some of the stars in Lynx were documented by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but only as “unformed” stars near Ursa Major, and not as part of any constellation.

LYRA:

Lyra constellation lies in the northern sky. It represents the lyre, a musical instrument with strings used in antiquity and later times.

The constellation is associated with the myth of the Greek musician and poet Orpheus. It was first catalogued by the astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Lyra contains , the fifth brightest star in the sky and second brightest star in the northern hemisphere, and the famous variable star RR Lyrae. It is also home to several notable deep sky objects, including the globular cluster Messier 56, the planetary nebula Messier 57 (the ), the merging triplet of galaxies NGC 6745, and the open cluster NGC 6791.

Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus, the musician and poet in Greek mythology who was killed by the Bacchantes. When he died, his lyre was thrown into a river. Zeus sent an eagle to get the lyre and placed both of them in the sky.

Orpheus was the son of the Thracian King Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. When he was young, god Apollo gave him a golden lyre and taught him to play it, and his mother taught him to write verses.

Orpheus was known for his ability to charm even stones with his music, for his attempts to save his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and for being the harpist and companion of Jason and the Argonauts.

Without Orpheus and his music, the Argonauts would not have been able to make it past the Sirens, whose song enticed sailors to come to them, which usually resulted in sailors crashing their ships into the islands on which the Sirens lived. When the Argonauts approached the islands, Orpheus drew his lyre and played music that drowned out the Sirens’ calls.

The most famous story involving Orpheus is that of the death of his wife Eurydice. Eurydice was trying to escape a satyr at her wedding, and fell into a nest of vipers. She was bitten on the heel and died. Orpheus found the body and, deeply shaken, he played songs that made the gods and the nymphs cry. The gods felt pity for him and advised him to travel to the underworld and try to retrieve Eurydice. Orpheus took their advice. Once there, his song deeply moved Hades and his wife Persephone and they agreed to return Eurydice to the world of the living on one condition: Orpheus should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. Orpheus and Eurydice started walking and, as much as he wanted to, he did not look back. However, he forgot that they both had to arrive to the upper world before he could turn. As soon as he reached it, he turned around, but Eurydice was not quite up there yet and she disappeared from his sight, for good this time.

Orpheus found his death at the hands of Thracian Maenads, who ripped him to shreds for not honouring Dionysus. His lyre was carried to heaven by the Muses, who also collected the fragments of his body and buried them below .

Lyra constellation was often depicted as a vulture or an eagle carrying Orpheus’ lyre in its wings or beak, and called Aquila Cadens or Vultur Cadens, which means “the falling eagle” or “falling vulture.”

In Wales, the constellation is known as King Arthur’s Harp (Talyn Arthur) or King David’s Harp.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION MENSA:

Mensa constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. Its name means “the table” in Latin.

Next to Octans, Mensa is the southernmost of the 88 constellations and it cannot be observed from the northern hemisphere. The constellation was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named it Mons Mensae, or , after the mountain in South Africa, from where he had observed the constellations in the southern sky.

Mensa does not contain any stars brighter than fifth magnitude and, other than a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, does not have any notable deep sky objects.

Mensa is not associated with any myths. Lacaille created it out of dim southern stars to commemorate Table Mountain near Cape Town in South Africa, from where he observed and catalogued southern stars in 1751 and 1752. Mensa contains a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which makes the constellation appear as if it were capped by a white cloud, similar to the way clouds cap the Table Mountain.

Lacaille originally named the constellation Montagne de la Table on his planisphere from 1756, but later Latinized it to Mons Mensae in the second edition in 1763. The English astronomer John Herschel suggested shortening the constellation’s name to Mensa, and in 1845, Francis Baily adopted this suggestion in his British Association Catalogue.

MICROSCOPIUM:

Microscopium constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. It represents the and is not associated with any myths.

Microscopium lies to the south of Capricornus, between the constellations Piscis Austrinus and Sagittarius. It is a small, faint constellation that is hard to see from northern . It was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century.

The brightest stars in Microscopium are only of fifth magnitude and the constellation cannot be seen without in less than ideal observing conditions. It does not have any bright deep sky objects.

Microscopium constellation was created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751-1752. Lacaille named it after an early type of compound microscope, one that used more than one lens and was widely used in the 18th century. He described the constellation as depicting “a tube above a square box.”

The official boundaries of the constellation as it is today were set by the Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930.

MONOCEROS:

Monoceros constellation lies in the northern sky, on the celestial equator. Its name means “the unicorn” in Latin.

Monoceros was introduced by the Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators in the 17th century. The constellation represents the mythical single-horned, horse-like creature. Monoceros is a relatively faint constellation, containing only a few fourth magnitude stars, but it is nevertheless home to several notable stars: the famous variables S Monocerotis, , and , Plaskett’s Star, which is one of the most massive binary stars known, and the triple star .

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Monoceros also contains several interesting deep sky objects: the open cluster Messier 50 (NGC 2323), the , the Christmas Tree Cluster, the , and Hubble’s Variable Nebula, among others.

Monoceros first appeared on a globe by the Dutch cartographer and clergyman Petrus Plancius in 1612 as Monoceros Unicornis. The constellation was created to fill the area between two large constellations, Orion and Hydra, where there weren’t any constellations introduced in Greek times.

Plancius introduced the unicorn figure because the mythical animal appears several times in the Old Testament of the Bible. The constellation is not associated with any particular myth. The German astronomer Jakob Bartsch included the constellation in his 1624- as Unicornus.

MUSCA:

Musca constellation lays in the southern sky, just to the south of Crux, the Southern Cross. Its name means “the fly” in Latin.

The constellation was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the late 16th century. It was first depicted in a celestial atlas in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria.

Musca has several notable stars and deep sky objects, among them Nova Muscae 1991, the binary system with a , the Spiral Planetary Nebula (NGC 5189), the Hourglass Nebula (MyCn 18), the globular clusters NGC 4833 and NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad Nebula.

Musca was one of the 12 constellations introduced by the Dutch navigators Keyser and de Houtman during their expeditions to the East Indies in the late 16th century. In de Houtman’s catalogue of 1603, the constellation is called De Vlieghe, which is Dutch for “the fly.”

The Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius was the first to include the constellation on his globe of 1598, but left it unnamed. When Johann Bayer included it is his star atlas Uranometria, he called the constellation Apis, the Bee, and this name was widely used for about two centuries.

The constellation first appeared under the name Musca in 1602, on a globe by the Dutch cartographer Blaeu. Plancius did not use any names for the constellation until 1612, when he named it Muia on his globe, which is Greek for “the fly.”

For a while, the constellation was known as the Southern Fly, Musca Australis, as there was a constellation called Musca Borealis, the Northern Fly, at the time, located in the north of what is today Aries constellation. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille was the one who named the constellation Musca Australis. The name was later shortened to simply Musca.

NORMA:

Norma constellation lies in the southern sky, between the constellations Scorpius and Centaurus.

Its name means “normal” in Latin (referring to a right angle) and it represents either a level, a set square, a rule, or a carpenter’s square. The constellation was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the mid- 18th century. Lacaille originally named the constellation l’Equerre et la Regle, after a draughtsman’s set-square and rule. Norma is one of the smaller constellations and does not have any prominent stars. It is home to the of galaxies, the bipolar Ant Nebula, the Fine-Ring Nebula, and the open clusters NGC 6067 and NGC 6087, among other objects.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Norma constellation is not associated with any myths. It was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s, during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, where he was mapping the southern skies. Lacaille created the constellation out of faint stars between Lupus and Ara and originally named it l’Equerre et la Regle, referring to a draughtsman’s set-square and rule.

The constellation represents a carpenter’s square, used by carpenters on exploratory vessels. The constellation’s name was Latinized to Norma et Regula, and eventually shortened to Norma.

As the constellation boundaries have changed since the 18th century, Norma no longer has stars designated Alpha or Beta. The stars that were Alpha and Beta Normae in Lacaille’s time now belong to Scorpius constellation and are designated N and .

OCTANS:

Octans constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. It was named after the octant, a navigational instrument.

The constellation was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Octans is the location of the South Celestial Pole. The constellation is circumpolar to the south pole – it never sets below the horizon. It does not have any stars brighter than fourth magnitude or any deep sky objects that are bright enough for observers. Octans contains the southern , , which is located about a degree away from the South Celestial Pole. The star cannot be used in navigation because it is too faint.

Octans was created by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752. There are no myths associated with the constellation, in part because it is located too far south. Lacaille created it out of dim circumpolar stars and originally named it l’Octans de Reflexion, or “the reflecting octant,” which was the precursor to the modern .

The constellation was also known as Octans Hadleianus, after John Hadley, the English mathematician who invented the octant in 1730. When he created the constellation, Lacaille moved several stars from the neighbouring constellation Hydrus.

OPHIUCHUS:

Ophiuchus constellation lies in the southern sky, near the celestial equator. Its name means “the serpent bearer” in Greek.

It is pronounced /ˌɒfiːˈjuːkəs/ (off-ee-YOO-cuss). The constellation is associated with the figure of Asclepius, the famous healer in Greek mythology. It was one of the constellations first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Sometimes, it is also known by its Latin name, Serpentarius. Ophiuchus is generally depicted as a man holding a snake, represented by the neighbouring constellation Serpens, which is divided into two parts by Ophiuchus: Serpens Caput, the snake’s head, and Serpens Cauda, the snake’s tail. The snake is usually depicted coiled around his waist.

Even though Ophiuchus is one of the constellations that cross the ecliptic and there have been attempts to include it among the signs of the zodiac, it does not belong to the Zodiac family, but to the Hercules family of constellations.

Ophiuchus contains a number of notable stars, including Rasalhague, Barnard’s Star, and Kepler’s Supernova, and many famous deep sky objects, including the Twin Jet Nebula, the Little , the dark nebulae , the , the , and the Nebula, and the globular clusters Messier 9, , , , Messier 19, Messier 62, and Messier 107.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Ophiuchus is most frequently associated with the Greek mythical figure of Asclepius, son of the god Apollo, who was said to be able to bring people back from the dead with his healing powers. Asclepius learned how to do this after seeing one snake bringing healing herbs to another. This happened when Glaucus, the son of King Minos of Crete, fell into a jar of honey and drowned. Asclepius saw a snake slithering toward his body and killed it. Then another snake came along and placed an herb on the first one, which miraculously brought the first snake back to life. Asclepius saw this and took the same herb and placed it on Glaucus’ body. The king’s son was miraculously resurrected.

Asclepius was raised by Chiron, the wise centaur, associated with Centaurus constellation, who taught him the art of healing. In one of the myths, Asclepius was given the blood of the Gorgon Medusa by the goddess Athene. The Gorgon’s blood from the veins on her left side was poison, but the blood from the veins on the right side was said to be able to bring people back to life.

In another tale, Asclepius resurrected Theseus’ son Hippolytus after the king’s son was thrown from his chariot. In this version of the myth, Hippolytus is associated with Auriga constellation, the charioteer.

The healer was killed by Zeus because the god was worried that the human race would become immortal with Asclepius around to heal them. Zeus’ brother Hades, the god of the Underworld, was concerned that the flow of dead souls into his domain would dry up as a result of Asclepius’ healing ability. Hades complained about this to Zeus and the thunder god killed the healer with a bolt of lightning. Zeus later placed Asclepius’ image in the sky to honour his gift and good deeds. The healer became the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer.

Ophiuchus constellation may be descended from an ancient Babylonian constellation that represented the serpent- god Nirah, who was sometimes depicted as a hybrid being, with a human head and torso, and serpents for legs. This theory, however, has not been confirmed by sufficient evidence.

The constellation got a notable mention in John Milton’s Book 2 of Paradise Lost, in which Satan was compared to a “that fries the length of Ophiuchus huge/In th’ sky.”

ORION:

Orion constellation is one of the brightest and best-known constellations in the night sky. It lies on the celestial equator.

Orion has been known since ancient times. The constellation is also known as the Hunter, as it is associated with one in Greek mythology. It represents the mythical hunter Orion, who is often depicted in star maps as either facing the charge of Taurus, the bull, pursuing the Pleiades sisters, represented by the famous open cluster, or chasing after the hare (constellation Lepus) with his two hunting dogs, represented by the nearby constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor.

The constellation Orion contains two of the ten brightest stars in the sky – (Beta Orionis) and (Alpha Orionis) – a number of famous nebulae – the (Messier 42), De Mairan’s Nebula () and the , among others – the well-known , and one of the most prominent asterisms in the night sky – Orion’s Belt.

In Greek mythology, the hunter Orion was the most handsome of men. He was the son of the sea god Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. In ’s , Orion is described as exceptionally tall and armed with an unbreakable bronze club.

In one myth, Orion fell in love with the Pleiades, the seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and . He started pursuing them and Zeus scooped them up and placed them in the sky. The Pleiades are represented by the famous of the same name, located in the constellation Taurus. Orion can still be seen chasing the sisters across the sky at night. Page 34 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In another story, Orion fell in love with , the beautiful daughter of King Oenopion, who didn’t return his affections.

One night, he had too much to drink and tried to force himself on her. The king, enraged, put out Orion’s eyes and banished him from his land, the island of Chios. Hephaestus felt sorry for the blind, wandering Orion and offered one of his assistants to guide the hunter and act as his eyes. Orion eventually encountered an oracle that told him if he went east toward the sunrise, his sight would be restored. Orion did so and his eyes were miraculously healed.

The constellation Orion has its origins in Sumerian mythology, specifically in the myth of Gilgamesh. Sumerians associated it with the story of their hero fighting the bull of heaven, represented by Taurus. They called Orion URU AN-NA, which means “the light of heaven.” Their name for the constellation Taurus was GUD AN-NA, or “the bull of heaven.”

Orion is often shown as facing the attack of a bull, yet there are no myths in Greek mythology telling any such tale. When describing the constellation, the Greek astronomer Ptolemy describes the hero with a club and lion’s pelt, both of which are usually associated with Heracles, but there is no evidence in mythology books of a direct relation between the constellation and Heracles. However, since Heracles, the most famous of Greek heros, is represented by the much less conspicuous constellation Hercules, and since one of his tasks was to catch the Cretan bull, there are at least hints of a possible connection between the two.

Most myths about Orion’s death involve a scorpion, but the stories differ from one mythographer to another. In one tale, Orion boasted to the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto that he could kill any beast on earth. The Earth Goddess heard him and sent a scorpion, which stung the giant to death. In another story, he tried to force himself on Artemis and she was the one who sent the scorpion. In yet another account of his death, Orion was stung while trying to save Leto from the scorpion. All myths of Orion’s death share the same outcome: Orion and the scorpion were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so that when the constellation Scorpius rises in the sky, Orion sets below the horizon in the west, fleeing from the scorpion.

There is one myth; however, that does not involve a scorpion: Artemis, the goddess of hunting, fell in love with the hunter and, to stop her from giving up her vows of chastity, her brother Apollo dared her to hit a small target in the distance with her bow and arrow. Not knowing that the target was Orion, who was enjoying a swim, she hit it in a single shot, killing her would-be lover. Devastated by his death, she placed Orion among the stars.

Orion is a well-known constellation in many cultures. In Australia, the stars forming Orion’s Belt and sword are sometimes called the Pot or the Saucepan. In South Africa, the three stars of Orion’s Belt are known as Drie Konings (the three kings) or Drie Susters (the three sisters). In Spain and Latin America, the stars are called Las Tres Marías, or The Three Marys.

Babylonians knew Orion as MUL.SIPA.ZI.AN.NA or The Heavenly Shepherd (The True Shepherd of Anu) in the Late Bronze Age and associated the constellation with Anu, the god of the heavenly realms. Egyptians associated it with Osiris, the god of death, afterlife and rebirth. Orion was also identified with Unas, the last Pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty, who was said to have eaten the flesh of his enemies and devoured the gods themselves to become great and bring inheritance of his power. According to myth, Unas travels through the sky to become the star Sabu, or Orion.

Because pharaohs were believed to be transformed into Osiris after death, some of the greatest pyramids – the ones at Giza – were built to mirror the pattern of the stars in the constellation. To make the transformation easier, the air shaft in the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid was aligned with the star , Zeta Orionis, the easternmost star in Orion’s Belt.

The Aztecs called the stars of Orion’s Belt and sword the Fire Drill; their rising in the sky signalled the beginning of the New Fire ceremony, a ritual Aztecs performed to postpone the end of the world.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In Hungarian mythology, Orion is identified with Nimrod, a famous hunter and father of Hunor and Magor, the two twins also known as Hun ad Hungarian. In Scandinavian tradition, the constellation is associated with the goddess Freya and called Frigg’s Distaff (Friggerock), after the tool she used for spinning. The Chinese knew the constellation as Shen, a great hunter or warrior.

Another ancient legend dates back to the second millennium BC. The Hittites (a Bronze Age people of Anatolia, the region comprising most of present-day ) associated the constellation with Aqhat, a famous mythical hunter. The war goddess Anat fell in love with him, but after he refused to lend her his bow, she tried to steal it. However, the man she sent to get the bow messed up the assignment pretty badly, killing Aqhat and dropping the bow into the sea. This is why, according to the myth, the constellation drops below the horizon for two months in the spring.

PAVO:

Pavo constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the peacock” in Latin.

The constellation was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch navigators Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century. Pavo was first depicted in 1598 on Plancius’ globe and first appeared in a star atlas in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. In Australia, a part of the constellation is known as “the Saucepan” and used as a guide to finding the south. Pavo is notable for its bright star Peacock, the nearby solar analogue , the interacting galaxies NGC 6872 and IC 4970, and several other deep sky objects.

The constellation is believed to represent the Java green peacock which the Dutch navigators de Houtman and Keyser probably encountered on their journey to the East Indies.

In Greek mythology, the peacock was Hera’s sacred bird. The goddess drove through the air in a chariot drawn by peacocks. There is a myth specifically associated with the peacock’s tail and how it came to have eyes on it. When Zeus fell in love with Io, a nymph and priestess of Hera in Argos, he turned her into a cow to hide her from Hera when the goddess almost caught the two. Hera was suspicious nonetheless and tasked the giant Argus with keeping an eye on the heifer. Argus had a hundred eyes, which made him an excellent guard. (He is also sometimes known as Argus Panoptes, the epithet Panoptes meaning “all seeing.”)

Argus tied Io to an olive tree in Nemea, and Zeus dispatched Hermes to free the nymph from the giant. Hermes obliged and came to Earth disguised as a shepherd. He spent a day telling Argus stories and playing reed pipes until all of Argus’ eye became tired. When the giant fell asleep, Hermes hit him with a stone and killed him. To honour Argus’ memory, Hera placed his eyes on her sacred bird’s tail.

PEGASUS:

Pegasus constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the largest constellations in the sky.

It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation was named after Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology.

The constellation is known for the Great Square of Pegasus, a familiar asterism in the northern sky, as well as for a number of bright stars and deep sky objects, among them (NGC 7078, Cumulo de Pegaso), Stephan’s Quintet of galaxies, the (a gravitationally lensed quasar), and the NGC 7742.

In Greek mythology, Pegasus is a white winged horse that sprang from the neck of the Gorgon Medusa when Perseus beheaded her. Medusa was a beautiful young woman before she was turned into a monster by the goddess

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Athena after being caught being defiled by the sea god Poseidon in the goddess’ temple. Athena turned Medusa’s hair into snakes and made her face so ugly that anyone who looked at her immediately turned to stone.

Perseus was sent to kill Medusa by King of Seriphus, who was the brother of , the man who took Perseus and his mother Danaë in and raised Perseus as his own son. Polydectes wanted Danaë for himself and Perseus stood in his way because he defended his mother from the king’s advances. He did not expect the hero to come back from his mission alive.

When Perseus killed Medusa, Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor sprang from her neck, both of them offspring of Poseidon.

The name Pegasus is derived from the Greek pegai which means “springs” or “waters,” and Chrysaor’s name means “the golden sword.”

When he was born, Pegasus flew away to Mount Helicon in Boeotia, where the Muses lived, and he befriended them. He created a spring that was named Hippocrene by striking the ground with his hoof. The name Hippocrene means “the horse’s fountain.” It was said that those who drank from the spring were blessed with the gift to write poetry.

The most famous myth involving Pegasus is the one of , the hero who was sent by King Iobates of Lycia to kill the Chimaera, a monster that breathed fire and was devastating the king’s land. Bellerophon found Pegasus and tamed him using a golden bridle given to him by the goddess Athena. Then he swooped down on the Chimaera from the sky and killed the monster with his lance and arrows. After this and several other heroic deeds for King Iobates, Bellerophon let the successes get to his head. Riding Pegasus, he tried to fly to Olympus and join the gods. He didn’t succeed. He fell off the horse and back to Earth.

Pegasus did however make it to Olympus. There, Zeus used the horse to carry his thunder and lightning, and eventually placed him among the constellations. The constellation Pegasus is depicted with only the top half of the horse, and it is nevertheless one of the largest constellations in the sky, seventh in size.

PERSEUS:

Perseus constellation lies in the northern sky, next to Andromeda. It was named after the hero Perseus in Greek mythology.

Perseus is one of the larger northern constellations. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation is best known for its annual Perseid . It is also home to the famous variable star , Beta Persei. Perseus also contains a number of famous deep sky objects, among them , the , the (NGC 1499) and the Little (Messier 76).

The constellation Perseus represents the Greek hero Perseus in the sky and is one of the six constellations associated with the myth of Perseus. Perseus was the son of Danaë, daughter of King . Acrisius ruled Argos and after an oracle foretold him that he would die at the hand of his own grandson, he had locked away Danaë in a dungeon. Zeus fell in love with her and took the form of golden rain to visit her. When the rain fell into her lap, Danaë got pregnant. Acrisius found out about the pregnancy and, once Perseus was born, the king locked both his daughter and grandson into a wooden chest and cast them out to sea. Danaë prayed to Zeus and the god heard her. The chest washed ashore within a few days, and Perseus and his mother found themselves on the island of Seriphos. A fisherman called Dictys found them and took them home with him. He raised Perseus as his own son.

However, their troubles did not end there. Dictys had a brother, King Polydectes, who wanted Danaë for himself. Perseus defended her from the king’s advances and Polydectes came up with a plan that would put Perseus out of the picture. He made up a story about being engaged to another woman, Hippodameia, who was the daughter of

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION King Oenomaus of Elis. He asked everyone to give them horses as a wedding present. Since Perseus did not have any horses and could not afford to buy one, the king sent the youngster to bring him the head of the Gorgon Medusa.

Medusa was one of the three hideous sisters, who had tusks, hands of brass, golden wings, and faces covered with dragon scales. They were daughters of the sea god Phorcys and his sister Ceto. Their gaze could turn anyone who looked at them into stone.

Medusa was the only mortal sister. She had been condemned to a life of ugliness by the goddess Athena after Poseidon had ravished Medusa in the goddess’ temple. Before the curse, she was known for her beauty, especially of her hair. Once cursed, she had snakes for hair, which made her distinguishable from the other two .

Polydectes expected Perseus to die in the attempt to kill the Gorgon, but he underestimated Perseus’ allies on Olympus. Athena gave the hero a bronze shield and Hephaestus made him a sword of diamond. Hades gave him a helmet that made him invisible, and Hermes gifted him with winged sandals.

Helped by Athena, Perseus found the Gorgon sisters on Mount Atlas. The Gorgons’ sisters called the Graeae, were standing guard. The three of them had only one eye and shared it among themselves. Perseus took the eye and threw it away.

Following the trail of people turned to stone by Medusa and her sisters, Perseus found the Gorgons. He was wearing his helmet which made him invisible and he was able to sneak up on the sisters. Once they had fallen asleep, Perseus decapitated Medusa using his shield to see her reflection, as he could not look at her directly without turning into stone. The myth goes, when Medusa died the winged horse Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor, fully armed, sprang fully grown from her body. They were the offspring of the Gorgon and the sea god Poseidon.

On the way home, Perseus stopped to rest in Atlas’ kingdom. Atlas refused him hospitality and Perseus used Medusa’s head to turn him into stone, or into the mountain range that his name. Later, Perseus came across the princess Andromeda, chained to a rock and left to die by her parents, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia, to appease the sea monster Cetus. Perseus rescued Andromeda and took her home with him.

Once home in Seriphos, Perseus found his mother and foster father Dictys hiding from Polydectes in a temple. Perseus went to see the king and, greeted with hostility, he used the Gorgon’s head to turn Polydectes and his followers to stone. He appointed Dictys king of Seriphos.

The old prophecy about King Acrisius being killed by his grandson came true eventually, but the king’s death came as an accident. At an athletics contest, Perseus threw a discus that accidentally hit Acrisius and killed him.

Andromeda and Perseus were married and had many children, among them Perses, who was said to be an ancestor to the kings of Persia.

Perseus and Andromeda lie next to each other in the sky, with her parents Cepheus and Cassiopeia nearby. Cetus, the sea monster, also lies in the vicinity, as does Pegasus, the winged horse.

Perseus is usually depicted holding the head of Medusa in one hand and the jewelled sword in the other. The Gorgon’s head is represented by the famous variable star Algol, Beta Persei.

PHOENIX:

Phoenix constellation lies in the southern sky. It was named after the phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes.

The constellation was originally introduced by the Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius from the observations of the Dutch navigators Frederick Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century. It is a

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION relatively small constellation, but it is the largest among the 12 constellations created and named by Plancius. It was first depicted on his globe in 1598 and later appeared in Johann Bayer’s atlas Uranometria in 1603.

Phoenix constellation is easy to see for anyone in Australia and South Africa during southern hemisphere summer, but generally can’t be observed by anyone living north of the 40th parallel, and lies pretty low in the sky for observers north of the equator.

Phoenix contains several notable deep sky objects, among them the of galaxies, the black hole candidate HLX-1, and Robert’s Quartet, a compact .

The mythical bird phoenix is known as the sacred fire bird across many mythologies: Greek, Persian, Arabic, Egyptian, Roman, Turkish, Indian and Chinese among others. The phoenix was said to have resembled an eagle with purple, red and gold feathers, and a scarlet and gold tail.

Ovid wrote in his that the bird lived for 500 years. When it reached the end of its life span, the phoenix would build itself a nest at the top of a palm tree, using incense and cinnamon bark, then ignite the nest and die in the fire.

A new bird would be born from its father’s body and, according to legend, when the young phoenix was strong enough, it would take the nest and carry it to the temple of Hyperion, who was one of the 12 Titan deities and the lord of light.

In another version of the tale, the young phoenix would embalm the ashes of the dead one in an egg made of myrrh and carry the egg to the Egyptian city Heliopolis. The name Heliopolis means “sun city” in Greek.

PICTOR:

Pictor constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for “painter,” but the constellation really represents the painter’s easel.

Pictor can be found between the bright star Canopus in Carina constellation and the Large Magellanic Cloud in Dorado and Mensa.

The constellation was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 17th century. Its early name, Equuleus Pictoris, Latin for “the painter’s easel,” was later shortened to simply Pictor.

Pictor constellation is not associated with any myths. It was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756 as le Chevalet et la Palette, which means “the easel and palette.” In 1763, he named the constellation Equuleus Pictoris on his planisphere.

The name was shortened to Pictor in 1845 by the English astronomer Francis Baily in his British Association Catalogue on the suggestion of the English astronomer and mathematician John Herschel.

PISCES:

Pisces constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the fish” (plural) in Latin.

Pisces is one of the largest constellations in the sky. It is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

Pisces lies between Aries constellation to the east and Aquarius to the west. The two celestial fish represent and Cupid in Roman mythology, who transformed themselves into fish in order to escape the monster Typhon. The

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Vernal equinox, the point at which the Sun moves to the northern hemisphere across the equator every year, is currently located in Pisces.

Pisces constellation also contains a number of interesting deep sky objects, among them the face-on grand design spiral galaxy (NGC 628), the galaxy, the double 3C 31, and the colliding galaxy pair Arp 284.

Pisces constellation is of Babylonian origin. The Babylonians saw it as a pair of fish joined by a cord. The constellation is usually associated with the Roman myth of Venus and Cupid, who tied themselves with a rope and transformed into fish to escape the monster Typhon. The star , or Alrescha (“the cord” in Arabic) marks the knot of the rope.

The constellation is associated with a similar story in Greek mythology. After the Olympian gods had defeated the Titans and the Giants, Gaia, or Mother Earth, coupled with Tartarus, the region of the Underworld where Zeus held the Titans imprisoned, and they had Typhon, the scariest monster the world had ever seen. Typhon had a hundred dragon’s heads, with fire blazing from all his eyes.

Gaia sent Typhon to defeat the gods. Pan was the first to see him coming.

He alerted the other gods and then transformed himself into a goat-fish and jumped into the river Euphrates to escape the monster. The goat-fish is represented by the constellation Capricornus.

The goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros called to the water nymphs for help and jumped into the river. In one version of the legend, two fishes came to the rescue and carried Aphrodite and Eros on their backs to safety. In another version, the mother and son were themselves transformed into fish.

PISCIS AUSTRINUS:

Piscis Austrinus constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the southern fish” in Latin.

The constellation is sometimes also called Piscis Australis. It was first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but its history dates back to Babylonian times. Until the 20th century, it went by the name Piscis Notius. In the late 16th century, the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius separated some of the stars to form a new constellation, Grus.

Piscis Austrinus is a relatively small and faint constellation, with only one star brighter than fourth magnitude and not many notable deep sky objects. The brightest star in the constellation, , is also one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Piscis Austrinus is one of the 48 Greek constellations, listed by the astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It used to contain the stars that now belong to Grus constellation.

The constellation has its origins in Babylonian culture, where it was known as the Fish, or MUL.KU. It was associated with the myth about the Syrian fertility goddess Atargatis, who fell into a lake near the river Euphrates in what is today northern Syria, and was rescued by a large fish. The goddess would later punish all those who ate fish, but her priests were allowed to eat it every day.

In a different version of the story, she deliberately threw herself into the lake, attempting to commit suicide after having an affair with a man and bearing his child. In this version, she killed the man and abandoned her daughter, and was turned into a mermaid in the lake. Her daughter was brought up by doves and grew up to be Semiramis, the Assyrian queen.

The Greeks knew the constellation as the Great Fish and depicted it as swallowing the water poured by Aquarius, the water bearer. The two fish represented by Pisces constellation were said to be the offspring of the Great Fish.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION In Greek mythology, there is a similar tale associated with Pisces. In the tale, the goddess Aphrodite took the form of a fish to hide from the monster Typhon. She and her son Eros and leapt into the river Euphrates and begged the river nymphs for help. Two fish bore them up and the goddess later honoured them by transforming them into the constellation Pisces.

Egyptians also associated the constellation with a fish, one that saved the life of the goddess Isis. To honour the fish, she placed it into the sky as a constellation, and did the same with its offspring.

PUPPIS:

Puppis constellation is located in the southern hemisphere. It represents the stern of a ship.

Puppis used to be part of the much larger constellation Argo Navis, which represented the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to get the Golden Fleece, before the constellation was divided into several smaller ones: Carina (the keel), Vela (the sails) and Puppis (the stern).

Argo Navis was first catalogued by the astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It was divided into the smaller constellations by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752.

Puppis is a relatively large constellation which contains many notable deep sky features, including three Messier objects – the open clusters M46, M47 and M93 – and the planetary nebulae NGC 2438, NGC 2440 and NGC 2467 (the Skull and Crossbones Nebula).

Puppis is one of the three constellations that used to form the Greek constellation Argo Navis, which represented the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to get the Golden Fleece. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided the Argo Navis constellation into the three smaller ones – Carina, Puppis and Vela – in the 18th century. Puppis is the largest of the three.

Neither Puppis nor Vela have stars designated Alpha and Beta, as these stars were allocated to Carina constellation.

PYXIS:

Pyxis constellation lies in the southern sky. It represents a mariner’s compass.

Pyxis was one of the constellations created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named the constellation Pyxis Nautica, but the name was later simplified to Pyxis.

Pyxis lies near the former constellation Argo Navis, which represented the Argonauts’ ship, but was eventually broken into several smaller constellations. Pyxis contains several notable deep sky objects, including the planetary nebula NGC 2818, the open cluster NGC 2627, and the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2613.

The constellation Pyxis was created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751-52 during his exploration of the southern skies. He named the constellation la Boussole and later Latinized the name to Pixis Nautica. The constellation appeared under this name in the second edition of Lacaille’s chart in 1763. The name was eventually shortened to Pyxis.

The constellation represents the magnetic compass used by navigators and seamen and should not be confused with Circinus, which was named after a draftsman’s compasses. Pyxis lies in the vicinity of the three constellations that were once known as Argo Navis, a single large constellation that represented the ship of the Argonauts. Lacaille was the one who divided the constellation into three smaller ones – Carina, Puppis and Vela – and this might be the reason why Pyxis is sometimes mentioned as the fourth constellation that was part of Argo Navis, even though it

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION wasn’t. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy had catalogued the stars from Alpha to Delta Pyxidis, but not as part of Argo Navis, but as stars located on or around the ship’s mast.

In 1844, the English astronomer John Herschel suggested that the name Pyxis be replaced with Malus, the mast, which would have made the constellation a subdivision of Argo Navis if Herschel’s suggestion had been accepted, but it wasn’t. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) eventually adopted Pyxis as one of the 88 modern constellations.

RETICULUM:

Reticulum constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the reticule” or “small net” in Latin.

Reticulum represents the small net at the focus of an eyepiece on the which makes it possible to measure star positions. The constellation was introduced in 1621 by the German astronomer Isaac Habrecht II, who originally named it Rhombus. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille changed its name to Reticulum in the 18th century.

Reticulum contains two notable deep sky objects: the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1559 and NGC 1313, also known as the Topsy Turvy Galaxy.

Reticulum constellation was created by Isaac Habrecht II, who included it on his celestial globe in 1621. Habrecht named the constellation Rhombus. In the 18th century, the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille renamed it to le Réticule Rhomboide, or Reticulum, to commemorate the reticule in his telescope, which he used to measure star positions during his trip to the Cape of Good Hope in the early 1750s. The constellation was officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union in 1922.

SAGITTA:

Sagitta constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the arrow” in Latin.

Sagitta is one of the Greek constellations. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It represents Heracles’ arrow in Greek mythology.

Sagitta is the third smallest constellation in the sky. It has no stars brighter than fourth magnitude and contains few notable deep sky objects. These include the globular cluster (NGC 6838) and the Necklace Nebula, a planetary nebula discovered in 2005.

Sagitta constellation is usually associated with the arrow that Heracles used to kill the eagle that Zeus sent to gnaw Prometheus’ liver. In mythology, Prometheus moulded men and women out of clay in gods’ likeness, and gave them fire that he had stolen from the gods. Zeus decided to punish him for this, and chained him to Mount Caucasus, where the eagle perpetually gnawed his liver, which would always grow again at night.

The eagle is represented by the neighbouring constellation Aquila. Heracles found Prometheus during one of his journeys, killed the eagle with an arrow, and freed Prometheus.

In a different myth, Sagitta is identified as the arrow Apollo used to kill the Cyclopes because they had made the thunderbolts of Zeus that killed Apollo’s son Asclepius, the famous healer, who is represented by Ophiuchus constellation.

In yet another story, Sagitta is associated with the arrow of Eros which made Zeus fall in love with Ganymede, the shepherd represented by Aquarius constellation. In this story, Zeus’ eagle guards the arrow in the sky.

The Greeks knew the constellation as Oistos, and the Romans later named it Sagitta.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION SAGITTARIUS:

Sagittarius constellation lies in the southern sky. It is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It represents the archer.

Sagittarius is usually depicted as a centaur holding a bow and arrow. It is also associated with Crotus, the satyr who kept company of the Muses on Mount Helicon. Sagittarius is one of the largest southern constellations. It is easy to find because it lies on the Milky Way and its brightest stars form an asterism known as the Teapot. Like other zodiac constellations, Sagittarius was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation contains the luminous , the galactic centre, the radio source , and a number of very famous deep sky objects, including the Sagittarius Dwarf , the Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, Barnard’s Galaxy, the Bubble Nebula, and as many as 15 Messier objects, among them the Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24), the (Messier 17), , the (Messier 8), and the (Messier 20).

In Greek mythology, Sagittarius represents a centaur, a half human, half horse creature with the torso of a man and the body and four legs of a horse. The centaur is depicted as aiming an arrow toward the heart of the neighbouring constellation Scorpio, represented by the red . Sometimes Sagittarius is wrongly identified as the centaur Chiron, represented by the constellation Centaurus. Sagittarius constellation has its roots in Sumerian mythology. Eratosthenes associated it with Crotus, a mythical creature with two feet and a satyr’s tail, who was the nurse to the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus.

Eratosthenes argued that the constellation really represented a satyr and not a centaur. According to the Roman author Hyginus, Crotus was the son of Pan and the archer the constellation was named after. Crotus invented archery and lived on Mount Helicon. Because he was close to the Muses, they were the ones who asked Zeus to place him in the sky.

In Babylonian mythology, Sagittarius is associated with the centaur-like god Nergal, and depicted with two heads – one human and one panther – and also wings, and the stinger of a scorpion positioned above a horse’s tail.

SCORPIUS:

Scorpius constellation lies in the southern sky. It represents the scorpion and is associated with the story of Orion in Greek mythology.

Scorpius is one of the zodiac constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Scorpius pre-dates the Greeks, and is one of the oldest constellations known. The Sumerians called it GIR-TAB, or “the scorpion,” some 5,000 years ago. The constellation is easy to find in the sky because it is located near the centre of the Milky Way. It contains a number of notable stars and deep sky objects, including the bright stars Antares and Shaula, the (Messier 6), the Ptolemy Cluster (), Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), the Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302), and the War and Peace Nebula (NGC 6357)

In Greek mythology, the constellation Scorpius was identified with the scorpion that killed Orion, the mythical hunter. The two constellations lie opposite each other in the sky, and Orion is said to be fleeing from the scorpion as it sets just as Scorpius rises. In one version of the myth, Orion tried to ravish the goddess Artemis, and she sent the scorpion to kill him. In another version, it was the Earth that sent the scorpion after Orion had boasted that he could kill any wild beast.

In ancient Greek times, the constellation Scorpius was significantly larger and comprised of two halves, one with the scorpion’s body and the sting, and one containing the claws. The latter was called Chelae, or “claws.” In the first century BC, the Romans turned the claws into a separate constellation, Libra, the Scales.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION SCULPTOR:

Sculptor constellation lies in the southern sky, to the south of Aquarius and Cetus.

It was one of the southern constellations introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille originally named it Apparatus Sculptoris, which means “the sculptor’s studio,” but the name was later shortened to Sculptor.

Sculptor is a rather faint constellation, with no stars brighter than third magnitude. It contains the south galactic pole and is home to several interesting deep sky objects, including the , the (NGC 253), and the Sculptor Dwarf.

Sculptor constellation is not associated with any myths. It is one of the southern constellations introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751-1752. On his planisphere of 1756, Lacaille named the constellation l’Atelier du Sculpteur, which is French for “the sculptor’s studio.” The constellation was depicted as a carved head lying on a tripod table, next to a sculptor’s mallet and two chisels.

The name was Latinized to Apparatus Sculptoris on Lacaille’s 1763 planisphere and, in 1844; the English astronomer John Herschel proposed shortening the name to Sculptor. His suggestion was adopted by Francis Baily in his British Association Catalogue of 1845, and the constellation has been known as Sculptor ever since.

SCUTUM:

Scutum constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the shield” in Latin. It is the fifth smallest constellation in the sky.

The constellation was originally introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Hevelius named it Scutum Sobiescianum, Shield of Sobieski, in honour of the Polish King Jan III Sobieski, who had been victorious in the in 1683. Hevelius created the constellation a year later to commemorate the event, and the name was eventually simplified to Scutum.

The most famous deep sky objects in Scutum are Messier 11, the , and the open cluster Messier 26. The constellation is also home to the famous variable star .

Scutum constellation is not associated with any myths. It is the only constellation associated with a non-classical historical figure, the Polish King John III Sobieski.

The Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, who created the constellation in 1684, named it Scutum Sobiescianum, or Shield of Sobieski, to commemorate the king’s victory in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. King John III Sobieski also helped Hevelius rebuild his observatory after a fire in 1679.

Scutum constellation first appeared charted in the scientific journal Acta Eruditorumin August 1684. Hevelius cited Robur Carolinum, a constellation introduced by the English astronomer Sir in 1679 to honour King Charles II of . Halley’s constellation was located between Crux and Carina and its name referred to the oak where King Charles II hid from Oliver Cromwell’s troops after the Battle of Worcester, the last battle of the English Civil War in 1651. Robur Carolinum later fell into disuse. The name Scutum Sobiescianum was eventually shortened to Scutum, the shield.

SERPENS:

Serpens constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name means “the serpent” in Latin. Serpens is one of the Greek constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Page 44 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The constellation is divided into two parts by Ophiuchus, the snake bearer: Serpens Caput, representing the serpent’s head, and Serpens Cauda, the serpent’s tail.

Serpens contains one of the best-known nebulae in the sky, the (Messier 16), which in turn contains the Pillars of Creation, a star-forming region famously imaged by Hubble. Other notable deep sky objects in the constellation include the large globular cluster , the emission nebula IC 4703, Seyfert’s Sextet of galaxies, the known as Hoag’s Object, the , and the star cluster.

In Greek mythology, Serpens constellation represents a giant snake held by the healer Asclepius, represented by Ophiuchus constellation. Asclepius is usually depicted holding the top half of the snake in his left hand and the tail in his right hand.

Asclepius was the son of the god Apollo who was said to be able to bring people back from the dead with his healing powers. In one of the stories, he killed a snake and saw it be brought back to life by an herb that another snake placed on it. It was said that Asclepius later used the same technique.

The brightest star in the constellation, Unukalhai (Alpha Serpentis), represents the serpent’s neck, and Alya () marks the tip of the snake’s tail.

Serpens constellation dates back to Babylonian times. The Babylonians had two snake constellations. One represented a hybrid of a dragon, lion and bird and roughly corresponded to the constellation we know as Hydra, the water snake.

The other Babylonian constellation, called Bašmu, was depicted as a horned serpent, and loosely corresponded to the constellation Ὄφις, created by the Greek astronomer in the 4th century BC, on which Ptolemy’s Serpens constellation was based.

SEXTANS:

Sextans constellation lies in the southern sky, near the celestial equator. It represents the astronomical sextant.

Sextans is located in a dim region of the sky between the constellations Hydra, Crater, and Leo. The constellation was created by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. It is a rather faint one, with only one star brighter than fifth magnitude.

Sextans contains several notable deep sky objects, among them the Spindle Galaxy (NGC 3115), the spiral galaxies NGC 3166 and NGC 3169, and the irregular galaxies and . It is also home to the most distant known galaxy cluster, CL J1001+0220, and the Cosmos 7 galaxy, which contains stars formed soon after the .

Sextans constellation is not associated with any myths. It was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687.

He originally named the constellation Sextans Uraniae after the instrument he had used to measure star positions until it was destroyed in a fire at his observatory in 1679.

Even though were available to him, Hevelius preferred to use the Sextans for naked-eye sightings, and continued to do so throughout his life.

TAURUS:

Taurus constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “bull” in Latin.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Taurus is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation’s history, however, dates back to the Bronze Age.

Taurus is a large constellation and one of the oldest ones known. In Greek mythology, the constellation is associated with Zeus, who transformed himself into a bull in order to get close to Europa and abduct her.

Taurus is known for its bright stars , El Nath, and , as well as for the variable star . The constellation is probably best known for the Pleiades (Messier 45), also known as the Seven Sisters, and the , which are the two nearest open star clusters to Earth.

Taurus also has a number of famous deep sky objects, among them the supernova remnant Messier 1 (the ), Hind’s Variable Nebula (NGC 1555), the colliding galaxies NGC 1410 and NGC 1409, the Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514), and the Merope Nebula (NGC 1435).

Taurus constellation has been known since at least the Early Bronze Age, when it marked the Sun’s location during the spring equinox. It has been associated with the bull in many cultures and mythologies: Greek and Egyptian among other, and even going back to Ancient Babylon.

Depictions of Taurus and the Pleiades star cluster have even been found in a cave painting at Lascaux, dating back to 15,000 BC. Both the constellation and the Pleiades have been known in many indigenous cultures and referred to as the bull and the seven sisters, which indicates a common origin for the names.

In Greek mythology, Taurus is usually associated with Zeus, who adopted the shape of a bull in order to seduce and abduct Europa, the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician King .

Zeus mingled with the king’s herd and, being the most handsome bull there, he got Europa’s attention. The princess admired the bull and, when she sat on his back, he rose and headed for the sea. Zeus carried Europa all the way to the island of Crete, where he revealed his true identity and lavished the princess with presents.

The two had three sons together, including Minos, who grew up to be the famous king of Crete, who built the palace at Knossos where bull games were held and who also sacrificed seven young boys and girls to the Minotaur each year. Zeus later commemorated the bull by placing it among the stars.

An alternative interpretation associates Taurus with the nymph Io, whose line Europa was descended from, who was also seduced by Zeus and then transformed into a heifer when the two were nearly caught by Hera.

Babylonian astronomers called the constellation MUL.APIN, or “The Heavenly Bull.” In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest literary works from , Gilgamesh faces the Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar to kill the hero after he had rejected her advances.

Gilgamesh is sometimes associated with the nearby Orion, another ancient constellation, and the two constellations are depicted as Gilgamesh and the bull in combat.

TELESCOPIUM:

Telescopium constellation lies in the southern sky, to the south of Sagittarius and Corona Australis.

As the name indicates, Telescopum represents the telescope. The constellation was created by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. Lacaille named it after a type of telescope in of honour its invention.

The constellation is a relatively faint one, with no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. It also has relatively few notable deep sky objects. It is home to the Telescopium Group, a group consisting of about 12 galaxies.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Telescopium is not associated with any myths. The constellation was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who mapped the southern skies from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 1751-1752. It represents an aerial telescope, a type of refractor that was used by J.D. Cassini at .

As defined by Lacaille, the constellation originally extended to the north between Sagittarius and Scorpius, but what used to represent the top of the telescope’s tube and mounting was cut off later. The official boundaries of the constellation were set by the Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930.

Today, Telescopium takes up a region of the sky south of the constellations Sagittarius and Corona Australis.

The star that was placed in the pulley at the top of the mast by Lacaille and designated Beta Telescopii became and the star that used to be Gamma Telescopii and was positioned in the upper part of the telescope’s tube, became in Scorpius constellation. The former Theta Telescopii, which used to mark the objective lens on the refractor, was moved to Ophiuchus as designated 45 Ophiuchi.

The constellation was also sometimes known as Tubus Astronomicus, but this name is long obsolete.

TRIANGULUM:

Triangulum constellation is located in the northern sky. Its name means “the triangle” in Latin.

Triangulum is one of the Greek constellations. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It does not have any first magnitude stars. The three brightest stars in the constellation form the shape of a long, narrow triangle.

The constellation is home to the (Messier 33), one of the nearest and best-known galaxies in the night sky.

The Greeks knew the constellation as Deltoton, named for its shape, which resembled the capital Greek letter delta. Eratosthenes said that the constellation represented the delta of the river Nile, and Hyginus wrote that some people saw it as the island of Sicily. Sicilia was one of the early names for the constellation because Ceres, who was the patron goddess of the island, was said to have begged Jupiter to place the island in the sky.

The Babylonians saw Triangulum and the star in Andromeda constellation as a constellation called MUL.Apin, or the Plough.

The Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius introduced a smaller triangle, Triangulum Minus, in 1687, formed by three stars located near Triangulum, but the division soon fell into disuse.

TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE:

Triangulum Australe constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “the southern triangle” in Latin.

The three brightest stars in the constellation form an equilateral triangle. Triangulum Australe was created by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century and the first depiction of the constellation appeared in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria.

The constellation is located too far south to be visible from Europe and most of the northern hemisphere, but it never sets below the horizon south of the equator.

Triangulum Australe is not associated with any myths. It is the smallest of the 12 constellations created by the Dutch navigators Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The first depiction of the constellation appeared in 1589 on a celestial globe by the Flemish cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius, where it was called Triangulus Antarcticus and incorrectly placed to the south of the constellation Argo Navis, which has since been split into three smaller constellations. Johann Bayer gave the constellation the name Triangulum Australe in his Uranometria in 1603.

Nicolas Louis de Lacaille called the constellation “le Triangle Austral ou le Niveau” on his planisphere in 1756 and described it as a surveyor’s level (“niveau”). It was one of the several constellations that represented instruments. The other two were Circinus, the compass, and Norma, the set square.

Johann Bode gave the constellation the alternative name, Libella (the level), in his Uranographia in 1801.

TUCANA:

Tucana constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. It represents the toucan, a bird found in tropical and sub- tropical regions.

The constellation was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius from the observations of Dutch sailors Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century. It was first depicted in a celestial atlas in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria.

The constellation is home to the galaxy, the , the globular cluster , and several other notable deep sky objects.

Tucana is not associated with any myths. The constellation’s name is Latin for “the toucan,” a South American bird with a huge bill. The Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius first depicted the constellation on a celestial globe in 1598 and gave it the name Tucana.

Johann Bayer kept the name in his atlas of 1603, but Frederick de Houtman called the constellation Den Indiaenschen Exster, op Indies Lang ghenaemt, which means “the Indian magpie, named Lang in the Indies,” in his 1603 catalogue. Presumably, de Houtman was describing the hornbill, a different bird that is also native to the East Indies and Malaysia. In the end, the name Tucana won out.

URSA MAJOR:

Ursa Major constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the great bear,” or “the larger bear,” in Latin.

The smaller bear is represented by Ursa Minor. Ursa Major is the largest northern constellation and third largest constellation in the sky. Its brightest stars form the asterism, one of the most recognizable shapes in the sky, also known as the Plough. Ursa Major is well-known in most world cultures and associated with a number of myths. It was one of the constellations catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. In Greek mythology, it is associated with Callisto, a nymph who was turned into a bear by Zeus’ jealous wife Hera.

Ursa Major contains a number of notable stars and famous deep sky objects; among them, the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), Bode’s Galaxy, the Cigar Galaxy, and the .

Ursa Major is a well-known, significant constellation in many cultures. It is one of the oldest constellations in the sky, with a history dating back to ancient times. The constellation is referenced in Homer and the Bible. A great number of tales and legends across the globe associate Ursa Major with a bear.

Ancient Greeks associated the constellation with the myth of Callisto, the beautiful nymph who had sworn a vow of chastity to the goddess Artemis. Zeus saw the nymph one day and fell in love. The two had a son, and named him Arcas. Page 48 of 52

CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Artemis had already banished Callisto when she had learned about the nymph’s pregnancy and broken vow.

However, it was Zeus’ jealous wife Hera, who was not amused by her husband’s philandering, who would do even more damage. Angered by Zeus’ betrayal, she turned Callisto into a bear.

Callisto lived as a bear for the next 15 years, roaming the forest and always running and hiding from hunters. One day, her son Arcas was walking in the forest and the two came face to face. At the sight of the bear, Arcas quickly drew his spear, scared.

Seeing the scene from Olympus, Zeus intervened to prevent disaster. He sent a whirlwind that carried both Callisto and Arcas into the heavens, where he turned Arcas into the constellation Boötes, the Herdsman, and Callisto into Ursa Major. (In another version, Arcas becomes the constellation Ursa Minor.) This only further infuriated Hera and she persuaded her foster parents Oceanus and Tethys never to let the bear bathe in the northern waters. This, according to the legend, is why Ursa Major never sets below the horizon in mid-northern latitudes.

In a different version of the tale, it is not Hera but Artemis who transforms Callisto into a bear. Artemis does this to punish the nymph for breaking her vow of chastity to the goddess. Many years later, both Callisto and Arcas get captured in the forest and taken to King Lycaon as a gift. The mother and son take refuge in the temple of Zeus, where trespassing is punishable by death, but the god intervenes and saves them, placing them both in the sky.

There is an entirely different Greek myth associated with Ursa Major, the one about Adrasteia. Adrasteia was one of the nymphs who took care of Zeus when he was very young. Zeus’ father Cronus was told by an oracle that one of his children would eventually overthrow him and, fearful of the prophecy, Cronus swallowed all his children until Zeus was born. Rhea, Zeus’ mother, smuggled their youngest child to the island of Crete, where the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida nursed young Zeus for a year. In this version of the myth, Ida is associated with the constellation Ursa Minor. Amaltheia, the goat that nursed Zeus, was placed in the sky as the bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga. The prophecy eventually came true; Zeus overthrew Cronus and freed his brothers Hades and Poseidon and sisters Demeter, Hera and Hestia.

The Romans called the constellation Septentrio, or “seven plough oxen,” even though only two of the seven stars represented oxen, while the others formed a wagon.

Ursa Major is associated with many different forms in the sky in different cultures, from the camel, shark and skunk to the sickle, bushel and canoe. The Chinese know the seven brightest stars, or Tseih Sing, as the Government, or Pih Tow, the Northern Measure.

In Hindu legend, the brightest stars of Ursa Major represent the Seven Sages and the constellation is known as Saptarshi. The sages in question are , , Angirasa, Vasishta, , Pulalaha and Kratu.

In some Native American tales, the bowl of the Big Dipper represents a large bear and the stars that mark the handle are the warriors chasing it. Since the constellation is pretty low in the sky in autumn, the legend says that it is the blood of the wounded bear that causes the leaves to turn red.

In more recent American history, the Big Dipper played a role in the Underground Railroad, as its position in the sky helped slaves find their way north. There were numerous songs that spread among slaves in the south that said to follow the ‘Drinking Gourd’ to get to a better life.

URSA MINOR:

Ursa Minor constellation lies in the northern sky. The constellation’s name means “the smaller bear,” or “the lesser bear,” in Latin.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION The Great Bear constellation is represented by its larger neighbour Ursa Major. Ursa Minor was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is easy to recognize because it contains the famous Little Dipper asterism. Ursa Minor is also notable for marking the location of the north celestial pole, as it is home to , the North Star, which is located at the end of the dipper’s handle.

The constellation is believed to have been created by Thales of Miletus, a philosopher and astronomer who lived between 625 and 545 BC and was known as one of the Seven Sages of Greece (early 6th century philosophers known for their wisdom).

It is also possible that Thales merely introduced the constellation to the Greeks. He was believed to be descended from a Phoenician family, and Phoenicians frequently used Ursa Minor in navigation because, lying so close to the North Pole, the constellation was an excellent guide to true north. The Greeks sometimes called the constellation the Phoenician. Before it became known as the Little Bear (Μικρὰ Ἄρκτος), Ursa Minor was known as Dog’s Tail, or Cynosura (originally Κυνόσουρα in Greek).

Ursa Minor is usually associated with two different myths. In one, the constellation represents Ida, the nymph who took care of Zeus on the island of Crete when he was small, along with Adrasteia, the nymph represented by the larger constellation Ursa Major. Zeus’ mother Rhea hid Zeus on the island when he was very young to protect him from his father Cronus. Cronus, fearful of an old prophecy that said that one of his children would overthrow him, swallowed five of his children after they were born. When Zeus was born, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone instead, and Zeus eventually fulfilled the prophecy. He freed his brothers Poseidon and Hades and sisters Hera, Hestia and Demeter, and became the supreme god of the Olympians. In a different myth, the constellation represents Arcas, son of Zeus and the nymph Callisto. Callisto had sworn a vow of chastity to Artemis, but was later unable to resist Zeus’ advances and the two had a child, Arcas.

When Zeus’ wife Hera found out about the betrayal and the child, she turned the nymph into a bear. Callisto spent the next 15 years wandering in the woods and avoiding hunters.

One day, she came face to face with her son. Scared, Arcas drew a spear, ready to kill the bear. Luckily, Zeus saw the scene and intervened before it was too late. He sent a whirlwind that scooped the mother and son up to the heavens, where Callisto became Ursa Major and Arcas, Ursa Minor. Arcas, however, is more frequently associated with the constellation Boötes, the herdsman. In a slightly different version of the myth, it is the goddess Artemis who turns Callisto into a bear for breaking her chastity vow.

In an older myth, the seven stars that form the Little Dipper were said to represent the Hesperides, seven daughters of Atlas, who tended to Hera’s orchard (Garden of the Hesperides) where a tree of golden, immortality-giving apples grew.

VELA:

Vela constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. Its name means “the sails” in Latin.

Vela was once part of the much larger constellation, Argo Navis, which represented the Argonauts’ ship, but was eventually divided into three smaller constellations: Vela (the sails), Carina (the keel) and Puppis (the stern).

Argo Navis constellation was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The French astronomer Nicolas Lous de Lacaille divided it into three separate constellations in the 1750s.

Vela contains a number of interesting stars and deep sky objects, among them the Eight-burst Nebula (NGC 3132), the Gum Nebula, the , the Pencil Nebula (NGC 2736), and the Cluster (IC 2391).

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Vela represents the sails of the Argo Navis, the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to get the Golden Fleece. The ship was named after Argus, the shipwright who built it. It was said that the ship was constructed with the help of the goddess Athena. Once the expedition was a success, Argo was consecrated to the sea god Poseidon and then turned into a constellation.

Vela used to be part of the larger Greek constellation Argo Navis along with the constellations Puppis and Carina, which represented the stern and keel of the ship. Argo Navis was divided into the three smaller constellations in 1752 by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille.

Lacaille only used one set of Greek letters for all three constellations, which is why Vela does not have any stars designated Alpha or Beta. The stars that were labelled Alpha and Beta in the constellation Argo Navis now belong to Carina constellation.

VIRGO:

Virgo constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name means “virgin” in Latin. Virgo is one of the 12 zodiac constellations, first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It contains , one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It also contains the autumn equinox point, which lies close to the star . This is one of the two points in the sky (the other being in the constellation Pisces) where the celestial equator intersects with the ecliptic. Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky. The only constellation larger in size is Hydra.

Notable deep sky objects in Virgo include the bright galaxies , Messier 58, Messier 59, Messier 60, and , the (M104), the , the Siamese Twins, and the quasar .

The constellation Virgo is usually associated with the Greek goddess of justice, Dike. Dike was the daughter of Zeus and Greek Titaness Themis. Virgo is usually depicted with angel-like wings, with an ear of wheat in her left hand, marked by the bright star Spica. She is located next to Libra, the constellation representing the scales of justice. Dike was also sometimes known as Astraeia, daughter of Astraeus, considered father of the stars, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. In Greek mythology, Dike lived in the Golden Age of mankind. She was born a mortal and placed on Earth to rule over human justice. The Golden Age was marked by prosperity and peace, everlasting spring, and humans never knowing old age. When Zeus fulfilled the old prophecy and overthrew his father, this marked the beginning of the Silver Age, which was not as prosperous. Zeus introduced the four seasons and humans no longer honoured the gods as they had used to. Dike gave a speech to the entire race, warning them about the dangers of leaving behind the ideals of their predecessors and saying worse was yet to come. Then she flew to the mountains, turning her back on humans. When the Bronze and Iron Ages came and humans started warring among themselves, Dike left the Earth altogether, and flew to the heavens.

In other stories, the constellation Virgo is identified with Demeter, the corn goddess Atargatis, the Syrian goddess of fertility, and Erigone, the daughter of Icarius, who hanged herself after her father’s death. In this version of the myth, Icarius is associated with the constellation Boötes and the star Procyon in Minor represents Icarius’ loyal dog Maera.

Historians Eratosthenes and Hyginus also associate the constellation Virgo with Tyche, the goddess of fortune, even though Tyche is usually depicted as holding the horn of plenty and not an ear of grain. The name of the star Spica, which marks the ear of grain held by the goddess, means exactly that, “the ear of grain” in Latin.

VOLANS:

Volans constellation lies in the southern sky. It is one of the smallest constellations. It represents the flying fish.

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CONSTELLATION HISTORY AND INFORMATION Volans is not associated with any myths. It was one of the constellations created by the Dutch astronomer and cartographer Petrus Plancius in the late 16th century that first appeared depicted in a star atlas in 1603, in Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. The constellation was originally named Piscis Volans, the flying fish, by Plancius, but the name was eventually shortened to Volans.

Volans contains several notable deep sky objects, among them the Lindsay-Shapley Ring (AM0644-741), the Meathook Galaxy (NGC 2442), and the spiral galaxy NGC 2397.

Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the late 16th century. It was first depicted on Petrus Plancius’ globe in 1598. Plancius called the constellation Vliegendenvis.

In 1603, Johann Bayer included the constellation in his star atlas Uranometria under the name Piscis Volans, the flying fish. It was known by that name until the mid-19th century. It was John Herschel who suggested that the name be shortened to just Volans.

In 1845, Francis Baily included the constellation in his British Association Catalogueas Volans, and the name has stuck ever since.

Volans represents a type of tropical fish that can jump out of the water and glide through the air on wings. In the sky, the flying fish is often depicted as being chased by the predatory fish represented by Dorado constellation.

VULPECULA:

Vulpecula constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the little fox” in Latin. It is not associated with any myths.

The constellation is a relatively faint one, with no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. It lies in the middle of the , an asterism formed by the bright stars Vega in the constellation Lyra, Altairin Aquila, and Deneb in Cygnus.

Vulpecula was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the late 17th century. Hevelius originally named the constellation Vulpecula cum ansere, or Vulpecula et Anser, which means the little fox with the goose. The constellation was depicted as a fox holding a goose in its jaws. The stars were later separated to form two constellations, Anser and Vulpecula, and then merged back together into the present-day Vulpecula constellation. The goose was left out of the constellation’s name, but instead the brightest star, Alpha Vulpeculae, carries the name Anser.

Notable deep sky objects in Vulpecula include the famous Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27), which was the first planetary nebula to be discovered, the elliptical galaxy NGC 7052, and Brocchi’s Cluster. The constellation is also home to the first pulsar ever discovered, PSR B1919+21, first observed by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish in 1967.

Vulpecula constellation has not been named after a figure in mythology. It was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in 1687, who placed it near two constellations that also represent hunting animals: the eagle (Aquila) and the vulture (which the constellation Lyra used to be associated with).

Hevelius said that Vulpecula et Anser, or the little fox with the goose, represented a fox carrying a goose to , the dog that guarded the entrance to the Underworld in Greek mythology. Hevelius had invented the Cerberus constellation too, but it is now obsolete.

Vulpecula and Anser were later split into two constellations, the Fox and the Goose, only to be merged again under the name Vulpecula. The brightest star in the constellation, Alpha Vulpeculae, carries the name Anser and now represents the Goose.

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