THE CONSTELLATIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1933, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CONSTELLATIONS

“CIRCLE OF ANIMALS”

(By

Rev. B. Dudley,

FJR.A.S.)

Readers of this column have from time to time asked for a complete list of the constellations. Nor is it improbable, that a' perusal of the medley (for such it is) may be of interest and perhaps even useful. The constellations are an arrangement of certain stars in groups for the purpose of indicating the different regions of the heavens and for identifying the stars. The most ancient of these groups form the Zodiac. They have but slightly changed during the many centuries over which they have reached us —a period of nearly 5000 years—and were designed, it is thought, by a people who have been traced back to the head of the Euphrates valley, say about 2700 years B.C.

Ptolemy’s list contains 48 constellations, 21 northern, 12 zodiacal, and 15 southern. These are as follows: Ursa Minor, the Little Bear; Ursa Major, the Great Bear; Draco, the Dragon; Cephas, the Monarch; Bootes, the Bear Keeper; Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown; Hercules, the Kneeler; Lyra, the Harp; Cygnus, the Swan; Cassiopeia, the Seated Lady; Perseus, the Hiro; Auriga, the Charioteer; Ophiuchus, the .Serpent Bearer; Serpens, the Serpent; Sagitta, the Arrow;. Aquila, the Eagle; Delphinus, the Dolphin; Equuleus, the Little Horse; Pegasus, . the Winged Horse; Andromeda, the Chained Lady; Triangulum, the Triangle. All the above are in the northern heavens. There are 12 zodiacal groups, the zodiac being the celestial zone, about 16 degrees in width, within which the sun, moon and planets are always toi be found. The central line of this zone (the line or path followed by the sun in his passage across the heavens) is called the ecliptic. The zone bears the name of the zodiac because the several constellations along its track have the names of animals, the Greek root denoting the “animal circle.” Following are the 12 constellations: Aries, the Ram; Taurus, the Bull; Gemini, the Twins; Cancer, the Crab; Leo, the Lion; Virgo, the Virgin; Libra, the Balance (formerly the claws of the Scorpion); Scorpio, the Scorpion; Sagittarius, the Archer; Capricornus, the Goat; Aquarius, the Water Bearer; Pisces, the Fishes.

The southern constellations (enumerated by Ptolemy) were: Cetus, the Whale; Orion, the Huntsman; Eridanus, the River; Lepus, the Hare; Canis Major, the Great Dog; Canis Minor, the Little Dog; Argo Navis, the Ship Argo; Hydra, the Snake; Crater, the Chailice; Corvus, the Crow; Centaurus, the Centaur; Lupus, the Wolf; Ara, the Altar; Corona Australis, the Southern Crown; Piscis Australis, the Southern Fish. To these (in the 16th century) Tycho Brake added Coma Berenices, the Hair of Berenice, and Antinous, part of the constellation Aquila, both being in the northern hemisphere; while Bayer, during the same century, added to the southern constellations the following, or rather he adopted them: Pavo, the Peacock; Toucan, the American Goose; Grus, the Crane; Phoenix, the fabled bird of that name; Dorado, the Sword Fish; Piscis Volans, the Flying Fish; Hydrus, the Water Snake; Chameleon, the Reptile of that name; Apis, the Bee; Avis Indica, the Bird of Paradise; Triangulam Australe, the Southern Triangle; Indus, the Indian. The southern constellations were further added to by Royer, in 1679, the additions being Columba Noachi, the Dove of Noah; Crux Australis, the Southern Cross; Nubes Major, the Great Cloud (the Larger Cloud of the Magellan); Nubes Minor, the Little Cloud (the Lesser Cloud of Magellan); Lilium, the Lily. To these Halley made an addition at about the same time. This was Robur Caroli, Charle’s Oak. Flamsteed (16461719), first Astronomer Royal at Greenwich, made two additions to the northern constellations — Mons Maenalus, the Mountain Maenalus; Cor Caroli, Charle’s Heart. The additions made by Hevelius in 1690 were: Camelopardus, the Camelopard; Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs; Vulpecula et Anser, the Fox and the Goose; Lacerta, the Lizard; Leo Minor, the Little Lion; Lynx, the animal of that name; Scutum Sobieskii, the Shield of Sobieski; Trangulum Minor, the Little Triangle; Cerberus, the fabled Hound that guarded the entrance to Hades. These belong to the northern skies. Further additions by the same astronomer were made to the southern heavens. These are: Monoceros, the Unicom; Sextans Uraniae, the Sextant of Urania. La Caille, in 1752, added: Apparatus Sculptoris, the Apparatus of the Sculptor; Fornax Chemica, the Chemical Furnace; Horologium, the Clock; Reticulum, the Net; Caela Sculptoris, the Sculptor’s Tools; Equuleus Pictoris, the Painter’s Easel; Pyxis Nautica, the Mariner’s Compass; Antlia Pneumatica, the Air Pump; Octans, the Octant; Circinus, the Compasses; Norma, the Rule; Telescopium, the Telescope; Microscopium, the Microscope; Mons Mensae, the Table Moun-. tain; all of which are southern constellations. Le Monnier, in 1776, gave us two, one in the northern heavens and one in the southern. These were respectively Tarandus, the Rein Deer, and Solitarius, the Solitaire. Near Tarandus is a constellation known as Messier, formed in his honour by Lalande. Between Aquila and Ophiuchus is Taurus Poniatowskii, added by Poczobut in 1777. This is the Bull of Poniatowski. Psaltirium Georgianum, or George’s Lute, was formed by the astronomer Hell. It is part of the River Eridanus.

Other constellations are found in certain maps (Bode’s mostly). They are: Honores Frederici, the Honours of Frederick; Sceptrum Bradenburgicum, the iSceptre of Brandenburg; Telescopium Herschelii, Herschel’s Telescope; Globus Aerostaticus, the Baloon; Quadrans Muralis, the Mural Quadraht; Lochium Funis, the Log Line; Machina Electrica, the Electrical Machine; Officina Typographica, the Printing Press; Felis, the Cat. The total number in the above lists is 109, but many others have been proposed from time to time. A great many of those contained herein are seldom used; and those employed are often a source of inconvenience.

Sir J. Herschel once wrote: “The constellations seem to have been almost purposely named and delineated to cause as much confusion and inconvenience as possible; innumerable snakes twine through long and contorted areas of the heavens, where no memory can follow them; bears, lions, and fishes, small and large, northern and southern, confuse all nomenclature.” Only 90 of the total number as here given are now recognised, the approved list drawn up by the International Astronomical Union in 1922.

During each month the sun moves eastward 30 degrees through one of the constellations of the Zodiac. In the time of Hipparchus the sun was in Aries, the Ram, at the beginning of spring, at the point where the ecliptic crosses the equator, or, as it was called the First Point in Aries. Now, for reasons which cannot be gone into here, the equinoctial points are not fixed in position, but shift gradually westward at the rate of one degree in 70 years. This' is called the Precession of the Equinoxes.