Astronomical Myths. Camille Flammarion

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      Thus ♈ refers to the horns of the Ram; ♉ to the head of the Bull; ♏ to the joints and tail-sting of the Scorpion; ♐ is very clearly connected with an archer; ♑ is formed by the junction of the first two letters τ and ρ in τράγος, the Sea-goat, or Capricorn; ♎ for the Balance, is suggestive of its shape; ♒ refers to the water in the Watering-pot; and perhaps ♓ to the Two Fishes; ♊ for Twins may denote two sides alike; ♋ for the Crab, has something of its side-walking appearance; while ♌ for the Lion, and ♍ for the Virgin, seem to have no reference that is traceable.

      These constellations contain the following stars of the first magnitude—Aldebaran, Antares, and Spica.

      To these constellations admitted by the Greeks should be added the Locks of Berenice, although it is not named by Ptolemy. It was invented indeed by the astronomer Conon. The story is that Berenice was the spouse and the sister of Ptolemy Euergetes, and that she made a vow to cut off her locks and devote them to Venus if her husband returned victorious; to console the king the astronomer placed her locks among the stars. If this is a true account Arago must be mistaken in asserting that the constellation was created by Tycho Brahe in 1603. The one he did add to the former ones was that of Antinöus, by collecting into one figure some unappropriated stars near the Eagle. At about the same time J. Bayer, from the information of Vespuccius and the sailors, added twelve to the southern constellations of Ptolemy; among which may be mentioned the Peacock, the Toucan, the Phœnix, the Crane, the Fly, the Chameleon, the Bird of Paradise, the Southern Triangle, and the Indian.

      Augustus Royer, in 1679, formed five new groups, among which we may name the Great Cloud, the Fleur-de-Lis, and the Southern Cross.

      Hevelius, in 1690, added 16; the most important being the Giraffe, the Unicorn, the Little Lion, the Lynx, the Little Triangle.

      Among these newer-named constellations none is more interesting than the Southern Cross, which is by some considered as the most brilliant of all that are known. Some account of it, possibly from the Arabs, seems to have reached Dante, who evidently refers to it, before it had been named by Royer, in a celebrated passage in his "Purgatory." Some have thought that his reference to such stars was only accidental, and that he really referred only to the four cardinal virtues of theology, chiefly on account of the difficulty of knowing how he could have heard of them; but as the Arabs had establishments along the entire coast of Africa, there is no difficulty in understanding how the information might reach Italy.

      Americus Vespuccius, who in his third voyage refers to these verses of Dante, does not mention the name of the Southern Cross. He simply says that the four stars form a rhomboidal figure. As voyages round the Cape multiplied, however, the constellation became rapidly more celebrated, and it is mentioned as forming a brilliant cross by the Florentine Andrea Corsali, in 1517, and a little later by Pigafetta, in 1520.

      All these constellations have not been considered sufficient, and many subsequent additions have been made. Thus Lacaille, in 1752, created fourteen new ones, mostly characterized by modern names—as the Sculptor's Studio, the Chemical Furnace, the Clock, the Compass, the Telescope, the Microscope, and others.

      Lemonnier, in 1766, added the Reindeer, the Solitaire, and the Indian Bird, and Lalande the Harvestman. Poczobut, in 1777, added one more, and P. Hell another. Finally, in the charts drawn by Bode, eight more appear, among which the Aerostat, and the Electrical and Printing Machines.

      We thus arrive at a total of 108 constellations. To which we may add that the following groups are generally recognized. The Head of Medusa, near Perseus; the Pleiades, on the back, and the Hyades on the forehead of the Bull; the Club of Hercules; the Shield of Orion, sometimes called the Rake; the Three Kings; the Staff of S. James; the Sword of Orion; the Two Asses in the Crab, having between them the Star Cluster, called the Stall, or the Manger; and the Kids, near Capella, in the constellation of the Coachman.

      This brings the list of the constellations to 117, which is the total number now admitted.

      A curious episode with respect to these star arrangements СКАЧАТЬ