Even since the dawn of the human species, utmost importance has been given to the celestial bodies in the sky. All through human history and several distinct cultures, mythical stories and names have been attributed to star systems in the sky, which later became what we now know as constellations. The earliest description of the constellations is most probably from the prehistoric era. Humans used star patterns to relate and tell stories of their experiences, beliefs, mythology or creation. Several cultures and kingdoms adopted their own unique constellation systems. A few of these even existed until the early twentieth century before modern-day constellations were globally recognised.
The identification of constellations has varied notably over time. Several of them varied in shape or size. A few became popular, and most of the others became insignificant in popular culture. In fact, there were exclusive constellations which were limited to a single nation or cultural group.
Archaeological researchers have found possible astronomical patterns painted on the surfaces of caves at Lascaux, France. Human ancestors may have depicted their observation of the night sky in their caves thousands of years ago. It is believed that the star cluster of Pleiades is depicted alongside the nearby Hyades cluster. Prominent Europeans who contributed to the new constellations are Johannes Hevelius, Gerard Mercator, Frederick de Houtman, Pieter Dirksz Keyser, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, Amerigo Vespucci, and Petrus Plancius.
The video explains the fundamental concepts of a star
Aquarius, Aquila, Aries, Leo, Orion, Pisces, and Ursa Major are some popular constellations in the night sky. The star patterns that are not categorised into constellations can be an asterism. An asterism can be a group of several stars inside a constellation. It can also be the common star in more than one constellation. Popular examples of asterisms are Hyades and Pleiades within the constellation Taurus, Venus’ Mirror in the Orion constellation, etc.
Important Constellations Questions with Answers
1) What is a constellation?
A constellation is a region in the night sky in which a set of visible stars forms an observable outline or pattern, often representing a mythological subject, an animal or an inanimate object.
2) Which were the earliest depictions of star patterns or constellations?
Archaeological researchers have found possible astronomical patterns painted on the surfaces of caves at Lascaux, France. Human ancestors may have depicted their observation of the night sky in their caves thousands of years ago. It is believed that the star cluster of Pleiades is depicted alongside the nearby Hyades cluster.
3) What are the contributions of ancient civilisations in the observation of constellations?
Over 50% of the 88 IAU recognised constellations are credited to the ancient Greeks, who accumulated the earlier observations by the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians. Approximately 48 constellations were represented in the eighth and seventh books of Claudius Ptolemy’s Almagest. However, the precise origin of those constellations is still uncertain. Descriptions of Ptolemy are predominantly influenced by the observations of Eudoxus of Knidos (around 350 BC). Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries AD, European celestial cartographers and astronomers added the latest constellations to the forty eight previously depicted by Ptolemy. Such new constellations were predominantly new observations made by Europeans who first observed the southern hemisphere.
4) Who are the main Europeans who contributed to the new constellations?
Prominent Europeans who contributed to the new constellations are Johannes Hevelius, Gerard Mercator, Frederick de Houtman, Pieter Dirksz Keyser, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, Amerigo Vespucci, and Petrus Plancius.
5) What are asterisms?
The star patterns that are not categorised into constellations can be an asterism. An asterism can be a group of several stars inside a constellation. It can also be the common star in more than one constellation. Popular examples of asterisms are Hyades and Pleiades within the constellation Taurus, Venus’ Mirror in the Orion constellation, etc.
6) Give some of the most popular constellations in the night sky.
Aquarius, Aquila, Aries, Leo, Orion, Pisces, and Ursa Major are some popular constellations in the night sky.
7) Explain the constellation of Aquarius.
Aquarius is one of the most famous, biggest and oldest recognised constellations in the night sky. It is a faint and optically weak constellation. In the stories of Greek mythology, Aquarius is depicted as Ganymede (a handsome young man). The Greek god Zeus recognised the young man’s good looks and summoned Ganymede to Mount Olympus to become the gods’ cupbearer. For this service, he was given the boon of eternal youth and a place in the night sky.
Even though Aquarius has a large size and prominent position, we can observe that it doesn’t really possess well-defined features. It also does not contain any bright stars. The arm of Aquarius is protruding to the right side of the pattern, with the huge downward formation being a combination of its right leg and the water flowing down from the vase. Usually, the entire constellation cannot be seen in the night sky, especially from a city. In order to fully observe the cupbearer, you have to find a darker sky away from the light-polluted cities.
8) What are the important facts about the Aquila constellation?
In Greek mythology, Aquila was the eagle which bore Ganymede up to Mount Olympus. The eagle was the thunderbolt carrier for the thunder god Zeus. The Aquila constellation is located in the Milky Way band. Its most important star is Altair (one of the closest visible stars to the Earth. The top section of Aquila forms a simple inverted ‘V’, with the star Altair near the point. This denotes the wings and head of the eagle. A line then comes down from Altair, which makes the eagle’s body.
9) What is the significance of the Aries?
Aries constellation is one of the important constellations in the zodiac system (astrology). It is positioned in the Northern hemisphere between Taurus to the east and Pisces to the west. Aries is the Latin name for ram. Its old astronomical notation is Aries symbol ♈︎. Aries is one of the forty-eight constellations represented by the astronomer Ptolemy. It also remains in the set of eighty-eight modern constellations. It is a medium-sized constellation with 39th rank in overall size (an area of 441 square degrees), approximately 1.1% of the celestial sphere.
Aries has denoted a ram since the Babylonian era. Before that time, the Aries stars formed a farmhand. Various cultures have integrated such stars into different constellations, including a porpoise (Marshall Islands) and twin inspectors (China). Aries is a fairly dim constellation, made of only four luminous stars: Alpha Arietis, Beta Arietis, Gamma Arietis, and 41 Arietis. There are also some deep-sky bodies within the Aries constellation which are very faint and comprise numerous interacting galaxy pairs. Hamal is the most visible and largest star, and it is categorised as an orange giant.
10) Explain the constellation of Leo.
Constellation of Leo has been depicted as a great lion across all ancient cultures and mythologies. In Greek mythology, Leo was a dangerous lion that was assassinated by the warrior Hercules during his twelve labours. The lion was not susceptible to mortal weapons as its fur was impervious to physical attacks. It even had claws that were sharper than any sword. In the end, Hercules hunted the great beast down and lost a finger in the battle.
As Leo looks somewhat like its name, it is the most recognisable constellation in the zodiac to observe. A characteristic backward question mark makes up the chest and head, then moves to the left section to make a triangle and the rear end of the lion. Regulus is the brightest in the Leo constellation, and it is located in the constellation’s bottom right, denoting the front right leg of the lion.
11) What are the important facts about the Orion constellation?
The Orion constellation is one of the biggest and most recognisable constellations in the night sky. It is visible all around the world. It has been mentioned by Virgil, Homer and even in the Bible, making it the most popular constellation. In Greek mythology, Orion was a gigantic hunter with supernatural powers. He was the son of the god Poseidon. He frequently hunted with the goddess Artemis on Crete island. He was killed by either Artemis’ bow or by the great scorpion’s sting, which later became the Scorpius constellation. The belt of Orion with three stars is the easiest asterism to observe, with Betelgeuse (top left) and Rigel (bottom right) being the two brightest individual stars. The two other sides make a rough quadrangle, with his bow and head also occasionally visible. Due to its unique characteristics, it can be used to find other different constellations in the night sky.
12) What are the main facts regarding the Pisces constellation?
The two fish in the sky represent Aphrodite and her son Eros. They transformed themselves into fish and knotted themselves together with a huge rope to escape from Typhon (the biggest and the vilest beast in Greek mythology. It is not likely that we will find Pisces in the centre of a city, as none of this constellation’s constituent stars is really optically worth noting or distinctively luminous. Pisces makes a huge ‘V’, with the left fish creating a small triangle in the end and the right fish creating a small ‘O’ in the end. Pisces is also the twelfth and final astrological symbol in the zodiac system.
13) Explain the Ursa Major constellation.
Ursa Major is known as the larger bear. The Big Dipper is commonly considered a constellation itself, but it is an asterism existing within the Ursa Major constellation. It is considered to be the most globally recognisable star system in the night sky. It is always observable in the northern hemisphere. Due to its global visibility, it has been part of most of the great mythologies throughout the world. It has great prominence in most cultures across the world.
In Greek mythology, Ursa Major is connected with the story of Ursa Minor. The Greek god Zeus was attracted to a beautiful nymph named Callisto. Zeus’s wife, Hera, became jealous. She metamorphosed Callisto into a bear.
When she was in animal form, she happened to meet her son Arcas. He was a great warrior and hunter; he was inclined to hunt down the bear. But Zeus didn’t let that happen, turned Arcas also into a bear and placed Callisto (Ursa Minor) and her son (Ursa Minor) forever in the night sky.
14) What are the characteristics of the Big Dipper?
The Big Dipper’s seven stars are easily recognisable and, most of the time, visible in the sky. They form the tail and backside of the large bear. Even though the rest of the bear clearly has the structure of its namesake, it is not commonly observable in light-polluted regions. The Big Dipper is much more than just a particular shape; the external edge of its bowl always leads the observer to the North Star, helping in navigation for thousands of years. Basically, make a line with two stars existing on the outer edge of the Big Dipper and extend the line up into the horizon, and you can find the North Star.
|
Related Topics |
|---|
Practice Questions
1) What is a star?
2) Which are the most familiar asterisms?
3) What is the main difference between a constellation and an asterism?
4) Which is the biggest constellation in the night sky?
5) What is a north star?
6) How many constellations are there in the zodiac system?
7) Which is the brightest star in the night sky?
8) How many stars are there in the Orion constellation?
9) What is the mythological correlation between the constellation Ursa Major and Ursa Minor?
Stay tuned to BYJU’S and Fall in Love with Learning!
