Milton Heifetz - A Walk Through The Southern Sky - A Guide To The Stars And Constellations

A Walk through the Southern SkyA Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends

2nd edition

What star is that? Where is the Southern Cross? Who was Orion? A Walk through theSouthern Sky is a beautiful guide to pathways in the night sky which answers thesequestions and many more. Its unique simplified maps make it easy to find by eye theconstellations and the stars within them. Clear instructions guide the user on how togauge sizes and distances, and how to move easily between constellations. This newedition has been updated with additional mythology information, and a list of the planetpositions up to 2016.

Ancient myths and legends of the sky, thousands of years old, are retold to add to themystery of the stars. Of value to all ages, this book introduces the patterns of the starryskies in a memorable way. No equipment is needed to use this practical guide, apart fromnormal sight and clear skies. Magically illustrated, this is an ideal introduction to launchthe young astronomer on a journey across the starlit skies.

M I LT O N H E I F E T Z is an amateur astronomer, professor of neurosurgery, and inventor of‘The Precession of the Equinoxes’ planisphere, now in the Harvard University Museumof Historical Scientific Instruments. It is used to determine positions of the stars inancient history and years in the future.

W I L T I R I O N is a freelance uranographer and graphic designer. He is co-author of TheMonthly Sky Guide, now in its seventh edition (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

✶

MILTON D. HEIFETZ & WIL TIRION

✶✶

✶✶

A WALK THROUGH THE

SOUTHERN SKYA Guide to Stars andConstellations and theirLegends

✶

✶✶

✶

✶✶

✶

CA M B R I D G E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S

Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521689458

© M. Heifetz and W. Tirion 2007

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exceptionand to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,no reproduction of any part may take place withoutthe written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2007

Printed in China by Printplus

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication dataHeifetz, Milton D., 1921– .

A walk through the southern sky : a guide to stars andconstellations and their legends.

2nd ed.ISBN 9780521689458 (pbk.).

1. Southern sky (Astronomy) – Observers’ manuals. 2.Astronomy – Southern Hemisphere – Observers’ manuals. 3.Constellations – Observers’ manuals. 4. Stars – Mythology –Southern Hemisphere. I. Tirion, Wil. II. Title.

523.80223

ISBN–13 978-0-521-68945-8 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external orthird-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on suchwebsites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

Acknowledgements page x

Introduction 1

Part 1 Measuring distances in the sky 3Distances to the stars 5The brightness of stars 5The Milky Way 6Life in the heavens 8Instructions for use of the atlas 8Four seasonal star maps 9

Part 2 A walk through the heavens 13A walk through the southern sky 15The Southern Cross (Crux) 17Pathways from Crux 19To locate Musca 19To locate Corvus 19To locate Carina 19To locate Achernar of Eridanus 19The Centaurus–Crux–Carina–Vela relationship

The True and False Southern Crosses 21To locate Vela and the False Southern Cross 21The Acrux–Canopus–Achernar triangle 23The Centaurus–Lupus–Ara–Libra–Scorpius

relationship 25Pathways from Centaurus 25To Lupus 25To locate Libra 25

To Ara 25To Circinus and Triangulum Australe 25The Sagittarius–Centaurus–Hydrus–Pavo–

relationship 27To locate Peacock in Pavo 27The Achernar–Fomalhaut–Peacock triangle 29To locate Grus 29Pathways from Grus 29To locate Tucana 29To locate Indus 29To locate Capricornus 29The Diphda–Fomalhaut–Achernar–Peacock

triangles 31To locate Ankaa in the constellation of Phoenix 31The Grus, Sagittarius, Scorpius and Lupus

relationship 33To locate Microscopium 33To locate Telescopium 33To locate Norma 33The Canis Major–Puppis–Carina relationship 35To locate Puppis 35The River Eridanus 37Guides to the South Celestial Pole (SCP) 39The Magellanic Clouds 39Starting from Orion 41Pathways from Orion 43To locate Sirius in Canis Major 43To locate Procyon in Canis Minor 43To locate Taurus and its star clusters the Hyades and

the Pleiades 43To locate Achernar and Canopus 43To locate Gemini 45To locate Auriga 45To locate Lepus, Columba and Cetus 47To locate Cetus 47Orion’s encirclement 49To locate Arcturus in Bootes 51To locate Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici 51To locate Corona Borealis 51To locate Spica in Virgo 53

Contents

To locate Corvus 53To locate Hydra, the Water Snake 53To locate Leo 55To locate Cancer 55To locate Vega in Lyra 57To locate the Northern Cross (Cygnus) 59To locate Pegasus 61To locate Altair in Aquila 61To locate Hamal in Aries, Diphda in Cetus and

Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus 63To locate Aries 63To locate Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus 63To locate Diphda in Cetus 63To locate Perseus and Andromeda 65To locate Hercules 67To locate Ophiuchus 69To locate Serpens 69To locate Antares in Scorpius 69To locate Sagittarius 69General summary of pathways 70The Milky Way and related constellations 73Four major localizing triangles 74

Part 3 Legends of the constellations 75Legend of Andromeda 75Legend of Aquarius 75Legend of Aquila 76Legends of Ara 76Argo Navis 77Legends of Aries 78Legend of Auriga 78Legend of Bootes 79Legends of Canis Major and Minor 79Legends of Canopus in Carina 79Legend of Cassiopeia 80Legends of Centaurus 81Legend of Cetus 82Legend of Columba 82Legend of Coma Berenices 82Legend of Corona Australis 82

Contents

Legend of Corona Borealis 82Legend of Corvus 83Legend of the Crater 83Legend of Crux 83Legend of Cygnus 84Legend of Delphinus 84Legend of Draco the Dragon 85Legend of Eridanus 85Legends of Gemini 85Legend of Grus 86Legend of Hercules 86Legend of Hydra the Water Snake 87Legend of Leo 87Legend of Libra 87Legends of Lyra 87Legends of Ophiuchus 88Legends of Orion 88Legend of Pegasus 89Legend of Perseus 90Legend of the Phoenix 91Legends of the Pleiades 91Legend of Sagitta the Arrow 92Legend of Sagittarius 92Legend of Scorpius 93Legend of Taurus 94Legend of Ursa Major 95Legend of Virgo 95Legends of the Milky Way 96

Part 4 There’s more to see! 99Circumpolar constellations 99Test of vision 100Color test 100Star brightness test 100Binocular sights 102Location of planets 102The Ecliptic and the Zodiac 105Navigational stars 108Minor constellations 108Constellations index 109

Contents

This book is dedicated to our grandchildren:Elena, Sari, Ariel, Jenny, Litan, Ilan, David, Ariana, Ori, Kylian, and those yet to come

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the courtesy ofLarry Schindler and Ron Dantowitz foruse of the Hayden Planetarium of Boston.I also wish to express my gratitude toRobert Kimberk and Freeman Deutsch ofthe Harvard University Center ofAstrophysics for their generous computerassistance and to Robert S. Strobie, BrianWarner and John Menzie of the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory inSutherland for their courtesy during mystudy of the Southern Constellations. Ialso wish to acknowledge the excellentadvice I received from Dan Ben-Amos,Yosef Dan, Jarita Holbrook, JanKnappert, Edwin Krupp, Harold Scheub,Gregory Schremp, and Gary Urtonregarding sources for the legends ofAfrica, South America and the PacificIslands, and especially Suzanne Blair,who allowed me complete access to hervoluminous research on the cosmologicalfolklore of the natives of Africa.

Any errors are strictly my own and theartistic license I may have taken inrelation to the legends is also my ownresponsibility.

Introduction

This book is written for those who look atthe stars with wonderment and wouldlike to feel more at home with them, to gofor a friendly walk with them.

In order to walk through the heavensand to know where you are, you must rec-ognize what your eye sees. To know thenames of stars and constellations is toform a friendship with our heavenlyneighbors.

As we walk among the constellations,you will feel the immensity and quietpeace of the night sky. Do not ignore thelegends about the constellations in Part 3of the book. These legends will lendgreater feeling to your vision of the worldabove. Friendship with the stars willdeepen as we sense the thoughts anddreams of people who imagined peopleand animals living among the constella-tions.

Our walk will take us to the brighteststars in the sky. When we become familiarwith them they will lead us to the dimstars.

It is not enough simply to find a con-stellation. Try to see relationshipsbetween constellations. This is best done

if you know different pathways to the con-stellations.

From the time of early humans, peoplehave looked at the stars to help them navi-gate across seas and deserts, know whento plant and to harvest, establish theirlegends, mark the change of seasons andeven align their temples of worship. To aidin recognizing specific stars they placedthe brighter ones into star group patternswe now call constellations.Constellations were recorded over 5000years ago and lists of such patterns werewritten 2400 years ago by the Greekastronomer Eudoxus who studied underPlato. Ptolemy, who lived 2100 years ago,compiled a list of 48 constellations whichhas remained relatively standard to thisday. Later, Johann Bayer (1572–1625),Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687) andNicolas de Lacaille (1713–1762) addedmore constellations to the list. Professionalastronomers now officially recognize 88constellations which they regard simply asareas of the sky, not as star ‘pictures’ orpatterns. These patterns have never beenmade ‘official’, so you should feel free tomake any constellation design you wish.

1

Before we begin our walk through theheavens, we should understand two con-cepts: how to measure distances in thesky, and the brightness of the stars. Afterthis is done, follow the instructions onhow to use the atlas to best advantage.

In Part 2, ‘A walk through the heavens’,the design or picture of a group of stars toform a constellation image will usually,but not always, contain stars which arebright enough to be seen easily. Most ofthe constellation patterns are well recog-nized images, but some are new.

For convenience, each star in each con-stellation will be numbered and some willbe named so that we can more easilyidentify specific stars to help us walk

around the sky. We will follow severalpaths to a constellation. By doing this youwill have a better sense of star relation-ships.

Since I have been disturbed with theviolence that is part of the commonlyused legends associated with the constel-lations, I have taken the liberty of modify-ing and abridging them. Legends havebeen and will continue to be modifiedwith each generation.

This book applies to people living in theSouthern Hemisphere, but it is also ofvalue to those living slightly north as wellas south of the equator.

Relax and enjoy yourself as you travelacross the sky.

Introduction

2

Part 1Measuring distances in the sky

How do we measure the size of Scorpiusor the distance between two stars? Wecannot measure these distances in inchesor millimeters, which are linear measure-ments (measurements along a line).Instead, we must use a measuring systemusing angles to determine how far apartone star or constellation may be fromanother.

To do this in a practical way withoutfancy instruments we use our eye as thecorner of the angle and part of our handto hide the sky between the stars or con-stellations of interest. The further apartthe stars are, the more of our hand weneed to use to cover the space betweenthem. Look at Fig. 1.

3

Fig. 1 2 degrees

With your arm outstretched, your hand will help youdetermine angular distances. Extend your arm out infront of you and hold your thumb upright. It is nowhiding part of what is in front of your vision. Theamount of view that is hidden behind your thumb willdepend upon how long your arm is and how thick yourthumb may be. The shorter the arm, or the thicker thethumb, the more of your view will be hidden.

So our hand becomes an excellentdevice for measuring distances in degreesin the sky. Different parts of your handcan be used to measure different angles.Look at Fig. 2.

The tip of your small finger will coverapproximately 1 degree of sky. In yourroom look at the door knob or lightswitch across the room. Your finger cancover it. Now look at a building acrossthe street. The same finger will cover alarge part of the building. Now look atthe Moon. The same finger can cover theMoon. How can this be since one is somuch larger than the other? Look atFig. 3.

Measuring distances in the sky

4

Fig. 2

20° 10°15°

5° 2° 1°

Fig. 3

Although the Moon is so much larger than the buildingacross the street, it can actually be hidden by a narrowobject like a finger. The diameter of the Moon, whenmeasured this way, is seen to be only about 1⁄2 degreewide. The farther away an object is, the smaller the angleneeded to hide it from sight. The Moon looks muchbigger than a star because it is so much closer to us.

Distances to the stars

We measure the distance between a starand the Earth, not in miles or kilometers,but in light years by using the speed oflight. It is important to remember that alight year is a distance, it is not ameasure of time. The distance lighttravels in one year is a light year. Lighttravels 186000 miles per second (299000kilometers per second), which is680760000 miles per hour (1096000000kilometers per hour). Therefore, a lightyear is a distance of almost6000000000000 (6 trillion) miles, or 9.6trillion kilometers.

It takes more than one second for lightfrom the Moon to reach the Earth andmore than 8 minutes for light from theSun to reach Earth. Compare this withthe 4.3 years that it takes for the lightfrom the nearest star, Rigil of Centaurus,to reach the Earth. Deneb in theNorthern Cross is over 1000 light yearsaway. That means the light we now seeleft the star over 1000 years ago. It istherefore possible that the star may noteven be there any more.

Three-dimensional awareness

The stars within each constellationappear as if painted on a flat surface. Thisis an illusion. As you study the diagram ofthe constellation Crux (Fig. 4) try toimagine the tremendous degree of separa-tion of each star from what would appearto be its close neighbor. This three-

dimensional phenomenon holds true forthe relationships between all stars in theheavens.

The brightness of stars

Some stars appear much brighter thanothers. This does not necessarily meanthat the bright star is bigger or giving offmore light than the dimmer star. Theapparent brightness (how bright itseems to us) depends upon three things:(1) how big it is; (2) how far away it isfrom Earth; and (3) how much light itactually emanates per diameter of thestar. The brightest star to us is our Sun,but it is only an average size star. Itseems the brightest because it is thenearest star to us on Earth.

The star Sirius in the constellation of


5

Canis Major appears considerablybrighter than Rigel in Orion. However,Rigel is actually thousands of timesbrighter than Sirius. It appears fainterbecause it is over a thousand light yearsaway, while Sirius is only 81⁄2 light yearsfrom us.

We measure the brightness of the starsas seen with the naked eye on a scalecalled the magnitude scale. Hipparchus,a Greek astronomer, rated the impor-tance of stars by their brightness andused the word magnitude to describetheir relative brightness. Magnitudemeans bigness. In ancient times theymay have assumed that the brighter staris a bigger star. A very bright star wouldhave a magnitude of 1 or less and a veryfaint star a magnitude of 6. The smallerthe number, the brighter the star. A verypowerful telescope can see very faintstars beyond magnitude 20. You may beable to see stars with a magnitude of 6 to7 with your naked eye under very clear,moonless skies. The very brightestplanets have a magnitude of �1 to �4.Unfortunately, light pollution from homeand street lamps may prevent you fromseeing as many stars as you could if yoursurroundings were in total darkness.Remember, magnitude is a measure of

star brightness, not how much light thestar actually produces, nor how big it is.

Although there are billions of stars, wecan only see approximately 2500 starswith our naked eye at one time under thebest of conditions. Read how to test yourvision in Part 4.

The Milky Way

The space around us seems to be endless.It is a space occupied by billions upon bil-lions of galaxies, each of which is com-posed of billions and billions of stars, ofwhich our Sun is an average-sizedexample. The faint band of stars thatarches across the sky was called theMilky Way by the early Greeks. It is ourview of the galaxy in which we live fromwithin one of our galaxy’s spiral arms.The location of our Sun and Earth inthat spiral arm is approximately30000 light years from the center of ourgalaxy.

What we see with our naked eye isconfined to our own galaxy. However, withgood eyesight, and if the night is darkenough, you may see a neighboringgalaxy as a faint blur in the constellation


6

Fig. 5 — Side view of a galaxy

Andromeda, or the Small and LargeMagellanic Clouds in the region of theconstellation Hydrus.

Although our galaxy is whirling inspace at tremendous speed it still takes225 million years to complete one revolu-tion. That time period is called theGalactic Year.

Imagine yourself sitting near the end ofa spiral arm of our galaxy. If you lookstraight up or down you will see neighbor-ing stars in our spiral arm of our galaxybut when you look toward Sagittarius youare looking along the flat side of the spiral

arm toward the wider and more densecenter bulge of our galaxy. We cannot seethe spiral arm opposite us because it ishidden by the billions of stars in thecenter of the galaxy.

As you look along the Milky Way youwill notice that some areas appear tohave dark holes or slots in it. These arenot empty spaces, but rather dark massesof dust, star debris and gases that hidethe stars behind them. There is a verydefinite dark slit in the area of Cygnus,sometimes called the Cygnus Rift, or theNorthern Coalsack, and a similar dark


7

Fig. 6 — Top view of our galaxy, showing the position of our Sun

SUN

patch in area of the Southern Cross,called the Southern Coalsack.

Life in the heavens

There are nine known planets orbitingour Sun. There are over 100000000000(100 billion) suns (stars) in our galaxy.There are billions of galaxies. Justimagine how many planets there must bein our galaxy alone.

In 1995, three planets were almost cer-tainly identified in distant stars. Two ofthem appear to be as far from their Sunas Earth is from our Sun. This suggeststhat at least as far as distance to the life-giving source of a Sun is concerned theyare not unlike Earth. It is also importantto realize that the basic elements neces-sary for life as we know it, carbon, hydro-gen, oxygen and nitrogen, existthroughout the heavens, and that aminoacids have been found in meteorites.Given the proper environmental condi-tions these molecules may join to form theproteins and RNA of living cells, whichcan then replicate themselves. Suchaction would signify life.

It is almost impossible to assume thatwe are the only planet with life on it.There are probably massive colonies ofmicroorganisms living in the deep rockstructures of planets. The question is notwhether there are any living organismsamong the stars, but rather, what kind oflife is there and are they trying to contactus?

Instructions for use of the atlas

Begin your walk through the sky by firstdetermining which constellations arevisible overhead during the month of yourwalk. Look at the following four starcharts which give an overview of the con-stellations visible during each of the fourseasons. Hold the chart in front of you likereading a book. Do not place it overhead.You will notice north or south marked atthe bottom of the diagram. Face north orsouth and compare the lower half of thechart with the stars in the sky. Then faceeast or west and turn the star chartaround so that the direction you are facingis at the bottom of the chart. When youhave determined which constellation youwish to see, turn to the index, which willidentify the diagrams concerning that con-stellation. There is a date at the top ofeach diagram. Even though you may belooking at the sky on a different date, thepositions of the constellations will notchange in relationship to each other. Thoserelationships are constant, but, due to theEarth’s rotation, you may have to turn thediagram in order for the constellations toappear as they do at your time and date. Ifyou are not familiar with the constella-tions then start your walk with Crux onpage 15. If you are familiar with some ofthe star groups, then, depending upon theseason, look for a specific constellation byusing the index to find the diagramdealing with that constellation’s relation-ship to other constellations. If you areslightly familiar with some constellationsthese four charts can help you find others.


8

9

South

Wes

t

North

East

Orion

Eridanus

Lepus

Columba

Canis M

ajor Puppis

Carina

Vela

Musca

Octans

HydrusTucana

Pavo

Gru

sP

isci

sA

ustr

inus

Phoenix

Crux

Centaurus

Triangulum

Australe

Ara

Scor

pius

Lupus

Serp

ens

Sagi

ttar

ius

Cap

rico

rnus

Aqu

ariu

s

Aqu

ila

Andromeda

Aries

Perseus

Taurus

Cetus

Pisces Delphi

nus

Pegasus Zaydeh'sTria

ngle

Win

ter

Tria

ngle

North

ern Cross

Canopus

Sirius

Rigel Fo

mal

haut

Achernar

Acrux

Mimosa

Rigil

Kentaurus

Hadar

Alt

air

Aldebaran

SouthCelestial Pole

FalseCross

Hyades

Pleiades

September–October 10–12 pmNovember–December 7–9 pm

WIL

TIR

ION

Spring Stars

10

South

Wes

t

North

East

December–January 10–12 pmFebruary–March 7–9 pm

WIL

TIR

ION

Orion

Eri

dan

usLepu

s

Col

umba

Canis

Major

Canis

Minor

Puppis

CarinaC

orvus

Hydra

Vela

Musca

Octans

Hydrus

Tucana

Pavo

Grus

Pis

ces

Piscis

Austr

inus

Phoe

nix

CruxCentaurus

AraLupus

Aries

Perseus

Auriga

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Cet

us

Canopus

Sirius

Procyon

Regulus

Pollux

Castor

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Fom

alha

ut

Achern

ar

AcruxMimosa

RigilKentaurus

HadarCapella

Aldebaran

False

Cross

Hyades

Pleiades

SouthCelestial Pole

TriangulumAustrale

Summ

er

Triangle

Summer Stars

11

South

Wes

t

North

East

March–April 10–12 pm

WIL

T

IRIO

N

Ori

on

Eridanus

Lepu

s

Colu

mba

Can

isM

ajor

Pup

pis

Carina

Vela

Musca

Octans

Hydrus

Tucana

Pavo

Crux

Centaurus

TriangulumAustrale

Ara

Scorpius

Lupus

SerpensSagittarius

Canop

us

Siri

us

Achernar

Acrux

MimosaRigil

Kentaurus

Hadar

SouthCelestial Pole

False

Cross

Can

is M

inor

Gem

iniCan

cerLeo

Big Dipper

CanesVenatici

Bootes

CoronaBorealis

Ophiuchus

Libra

Hydra

Virgo

Corvus

Proc

yon

Regulus

Spica

Arcturus

An

tares

Pollu

xS

umm

er

Tri

angl

e

Autumn StarsMay–June 7–9 pm

12

South

Wes

t

North

East

Winter StarsJune–July 10–12 pm

August–September 7–9 pm

WIL

TIR

ION

Eridanus

CarinaVela

Musca

Octans

Hydrus

Tucana

Pavo

GrusP

iscis

Austrinus

Phoenix

Crux

Hyd

raCen

taur

us

Cor

vus

Ara

Scor

pius

Lup

us

Serp

ens

Lib

ra

Vir

go

Ophiuchus

Hercules

Coron

aBor

ealis

BootesLyra

Draco

Sagittarius

Capricornus

Aquarius

Aquila

Cetus

Pisces

Delphinus

Pegasus

Zaydeh'sTriangle

Winter

Triangle

NorthernCross

Fomalhaut

Achernar

Acrux

Mimosa

Rigil

Kentaurus

Hadar

Altair

Antare

s

Vega

Deneb

Spic

a

False

Cross

SouthCelestial Pole

TriangulumAustrale

Part 2A walk through the heavens

13

A walk through the heavens

14

CENTAURUS

CRUX

1

1

2

2

3

Fig. 7 — The first stars to be seen at dusk

Fig. 8

1

1

2

2

3

4

5

A walk through the southern sky

The constellations Crux (The SouthernCross) and Centaurus are very conspicu-ous and may be seen throughout the year,but during the months of October throughDecember they lie very low in the south-ern horizon. During that time Orion isvery visible just north of overhead andremains visible from November to April.Therefore, we should concentrate uponboth groups as starting points to walkfrom one constellation to another.

Since the written descriptions are fromdirect observation of the celestial spherethey are more accurate than the dia-grams, which are flattened out versions ofthe celestial globe.

Let us start our walk by locating the con-stellations The Southern Cross (Crux),and Centaurus (the Centaur).

As the Sun goes down and the firststars appear you may note one or twobright stars that seem to be quite isolatedin the sky. Ignore them at present. Facesouth and notice a five star group, ofwhich Stars 1 and 2 which appear sepa-rate from the other three stars are espe-cially bright. See Fig. 7.

As the night deepens and more starsappear this group becomes more defined.Stars 1 and 2 are the pointer stars ofCentaurus and the other three stars arepart of Crux (The Southern Cross). SeeFig. 8.


15


16

CENTAURUS

CRUX

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

1

1

2

2

3

4

5

CRUX

1

2

3

4

5

Rigil Kentaurus

Hadar

Menkent

Acrux

Mimosa

Gacrux

Coalsack

Jewel Box

5

6 7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

3

4

The Southern Cross (Crux) (Fig. 9)

✶ Stars 1, 2 and 3 are brighter than Stars 4 and5.

✶ Notice a hazy patch just below Star 2 of Crux.This is a globular cluster called the Jewel Box.It is best seen through binoculars.

✶ Just below the Jewel Box is an area of relativedarkness due to the presence of a dark nebulain this region that hides the stars behind it.This area is called the Coalsack.

It is good to learn the names of some ofthe stars as we walk among them. Theybecome much friendlier, so from now on Iwill refer to Star 1 of Crux by its propername ‘Acrux’.

When you are familiar with theSouthern Cross you will note that a linefrom Star 4 through Star 2 leads to thepointer stars of Centaurus (Stars 1 and2). See Fig. 10. Star 1, Rigil Kentaurus, orAlpha Kentaurus, is the closest star toEarth. It is 4.3 light years away.

At this time study the relationshipbetween Centaurus and Crux until thevisual image is clear. Notice thatCentaurus, which vaguely resembles acamel with a diamond-shaped head, sur-rounds Crux on three sides.

Test you measuring ability. Star 8 ofCentaurus is 20.5 degrees from Star 1 ofCentaurus. Star 14 of Centaurus is 19degrees from Star 12.

Read the legend of Centaurus.


17


18

MUSCA

CRUX

CENTAURUS

Hadar

Acrux

Mimosa

Gacrux

Rigil Kentaurus

5

1

11

2

2

2

3

CRUX

CARINA

CanopusMiaplacidus

Avior

Achernar

AcruxMimosa

Gacrux

5

5

8

6

7

8

1 1

2

2

3

3

3

4

4

Fig. 11

Fig. 12 – Facing South - March 10 pm

4

4To Rigel

To Corvus

SouthCelestial Pole

Hind leg ofCentaurus

Pathways from Crux

To locate Musca (Fig. 11)

✶ Just below Crux is the dim constellation ofMusca, the Fly.

To locate Corvus

✶ A line from Acrux (Star 1) through Star 3 ofCrux leads straight to Corvus.

To locate Carina (Fig. 12)

✶ A line from Star 3 through Star 4 of Crux leadsstraight through the constellation of Carinaand in a slight curve to Canopus, the secondbrightest star in the sky.

✶ A line from Star 2 of Crux through Acrux (Star1) leads to Star 2 (Miaplacidus) of Carina andmoves in a slight curve to Canopus.

✶ Carina looks like an ice cream cone with thetop of the ice cream (Star 4) slightly offcenter.

✶ A line from Star 5 of Crux through Star 8 ofCentaurus goes to Star 4 of Carina (tip of theice cream), past Star 8 (top of the conecracker) to Canopus.

✶ A line from Star 2 of Crux through Canopusleads straight to Rigel of Orion.

To locate Achernar of Eridanus

✶ A line from Star 3 of Crux through Acrux (Star1) passes in a slight curve next to the SouthCelestial Pole to the bright star Achernar, theend of the heavenly river Eridanus.

At this time study the relationshipsbetween Canopus, Achernar and Cruxand confirm your visualization of Carina.


19


20

FalseCross

Fig. 13 – Facing South-West - June 10 pm

MUSCA

CRUX

CENTAURUS

Acrux

Mimosa Gacrux

5

5

5

6

6

1

1

12

2

2

3

3

10

11

14

13

12

3

4

4

4

Hadar

Rigil Kentaurus

CARINA

VELA

ANTLIA

Canopus

Miaplacidus

Avior

Suhail

5

5

6

7

7

8

8

9

1

1

2

2

3

3

44

The Centaurus–Crux–Carina–VelarelationshipThe True and False SouthernCrosses

To locate Vela and the False Southern Cross(Fig. 13)

✶ Vela lies north of Carina between Centaurusand Canis Major. It is tied to Carina by adesign that resembles Crux, the SouthernCross. It is therefore called the False SouthernCross. Some observers mistakenly think it isCrux.

✶ The False Cross is larger, but not as bright asCrux. It consists of Stars 3 and 2 of Vela andStars 6 and 7 of Carina.

✶ Study the shape of Vela, which resembles akite. Note that Stars 2 and 5 of Vela are widerapart than Stars 2 and 6 of Carina.


21


22

CRUX

CARINA

Canopus

Achernar

Fig. 14 – Facing South - March 10 pm

SouthCelestial Pole

LargeMagellanic

Cloud

SmallMagellanic

Cloud

FalseCross

CHAMAELEON

APUS

OCTANS

HYDRUS

HOROLOGIUM

RETICULUM

DORADO

PICTORVOLANS

MENSA

MUSCA

The Acrux–Canopus–Achernartriangle (Fig. 14). Best seen 9 pmDecember–April.

This triangle is remarkable in that itencloses two constellations and partiallyencloses eight others. The triangle con-tains the constellations of Mensa andVolans and partially encloses Musca,Chamaeleon, Carina, Pictor, Dorado,Horologium, Reticulum, and Hydrus. Italso encloses the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Study this triangle to help visualizethese constellations. They are very faintand unimportant except for Hydrus andStar 1 of Musca. Achernar is a bright starthat is approximately four fully extendedhand spans from Crux.

Notice the relationship between Octansand the South Celestial Pole.

The brightnesses of the relevant con-stellations are:

Dorado – magnitude of 3.3 or dimmerChamaeleon – magnitude of 4.0 or dimmerMensa – magnitude of 5.1 or dimmerMusca – magnitude of 2.7 or dimmerPictor – magnitude of 3.3 or dimmerReticulum – magnitude of 3.4 or dimmerVolans – magnitude of 3.8 or dimmerApus – magnitude of 3.8 or dimmerOctans – magnitude of 3.8 or dimmerHydrus – magnitude of 3.2 or dimmerHorologium – magnitude of 5.0 or dimmer


23


24

LIBRA

SCORPIUS

LUPUS

NORMA

ARA

TRIANGULUMAUSTRALE

CIRCINUS

MUSCA

CRUX

CENTAURUS

Antares

Zubenelgenubi

Shaula

RigilKentaurus

Hadar

Atria

5

5

5

5

5

6

6

7

8

6

7

8

9

1

1

11

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

3

3

10

11

12

13

14

33

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

4

Fig. 15 – Facing south and looking high up - June 10 pm

5

1

1

2

2

33

4

The Centaurus–Lupus–Ara–Libra–Scorpius relationship (Fig. 15)

The name of Star 1 of Centaurus is RigilKentaurus. Star 2 is Hadar.

Pathways from Centaurus

To Lupus

✶ Lupus looks like a large rhinoceros horn. Star12 of the head of Centaurus almost touchesStar 8 of Lupus.

✶ Star 3 of Crux through Star 3 of Centaurusleads to Star 1 of Lupus.

✶ Star 1 of Crux through Star 2 of Centaurus isequidistant to and leads directly to Star 2 ofLupus.

✶ Star 2 of Crux through Star 1 (Rigil Kentaurus)of Centaurus leads to the tail of Scorpius.Follow the curve of the tail northward toAntares and to the four-star head of Scorpius.

✶ Follow the curve of the head of Scorpius tothe tip of Lupus and continue past Norma in acurve to near the base of Ara, which resem-bles a small rhinoceros horn.

To locate Libra

✶ A line from Antares of Scorpius through Star 2in the head of Scorpius leads directly to Libra,the Scale of Justice.

✶ The crossbar of Libra (the Scale) leads to thehead of Centaurus.

To Ara

✶ Star 2 through Star 1 of Centaurus leads toAra. It lies south of Scorpius and betweenScorpius and Triangulum Australe.

To Circinus and Triangulum Australe

✶ A line from Star 3 of Centaurus through RigilKentaurus passes through the center ofCircinus and continues to cross TriangulumAustrale.


25


26

SCORPIUS

SAGITTARIUS

PAVO

ARA TRIANGULUMAUSTRALE

CIRCINUS

LUPUS CENTAURUS

CRUX

HYDRUS

NunkiKaus Australis

Peacock

Antares

Achernar

Hadar

56

78

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

23

3

3

4

Fig. 16 – Facing South - May 10 pm

The Sagittarius–Centaurus–Hydrus– Pavo relationship(Fig. 16). Best seen 9 pm July(May–September)

The positions of the constellations aredistorted in order to understand the path-ways better.

To locate Peacock in PavoIt is important to recognize the starPeacock in the constellation of Pavo. Itserves as a good reference point, as acorner of a triangle that will later make iteasy to locate the constellations of Grus,Tucana and Indus.

✶ A line from Hadar (Star 2) of Centaurusthrough Star 1 of Triangulum Australe goesdirectly to Peacock.

✶ A line from Star 3 of Triangulum Australethrough Star 1 of the triangle leads to thePeacock area.

✶ A line from the top of the Sagittarius teapot(Star 1) moving through the base of theteapot (between Stars 4 and 5) leads directlyto Peacock.

✶ A line from Star 3 of Hydrus through Star 2 ofHydrus leads to Peacock.


27


28

CAPRICORNUS

PISCIS AUSTRINUS

GRUS

INDUS

PAVOTUCANA

Fomalhaut

Achernar

Peacock

5

5

1

1

1

1

22

2

3

33

4

4

4

GRUS

TUCANAPAVO

Peacock

Alnair

5

1

1

12

3

4

Fig. 17 – Facing South and looking high up - September 10 pm

Fig. 18

The Achernar–Fomalhaut–Peacock triangle

To locate Grus (Fig. 17) Best seen 9 pmJuly–JanuaryNow that you have identified Peacock ofPavo and Achernar of Eridanus, visualizea line between them, and look straightnorth to locate Fomalhaut of PiscisAustrinus. It is a bright star in a rela-tively dark area of the sky (see Fig. 35).Form a triangle joining them together.This triangle encloses Grus, and its linescross Indus and Tucana.

One may draw a curve going fromFomalhaut through Grus through Pavothrough Centaurus to the SouthernCross.

Pathways from Grus

To locate Tucana (Figs. 17 and 18)

✶ A line from Star 2 of Grus perpendicular to thebar 4–1–2 of Grus moving southward touchesStar 1 of Tucana. If you then move at rightangles from Tucana you reach the fairly brightstar Peacock of Pavo. This almost forms aright-angle triangle.

✶ A line from Star 1 through Star 3 of Grus leadsto Tucana.

To locate Indus (Fig. 17)

✶ A line from Star 4 of Grus through Stars 1 and2 of Grus leads just above Star 1 of Indus.

✶ Star 2 of Indus is a faint star that is on a linebetween Star 1 of Tucana and Peacock.

✶ A line from Fomalhaut of Piscis Austrinusthrough Star 2 of Grus leads in a slight curveto Peacock.

To Locate Capricornus

✶ Follow a curve from Star 1 through Star 5 ofGrus to Capricornus.

Before moving to the next section studythe relationships formed by the trianglein Fig. 17.


29


30

CAPRICORNUS

PISCISAUSTRINUS

GRUS

INDUSPAVO

TUCANA

PHOENIX

SCULPTOR

Fomalhaut

Achernar Ankaa

Diphda

Peacock

5

51

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

Fig. 19 – Facing South-West - November 10 pm

TheDiphda–Fomalhaut–Achernar–Peacock triangles

To locate Ankaa in the constellation of Phoenix(Fig. 19)Review the triangle formed by the starsFomalhaut, Peacock and Achernar.

✶ Visualize a triangle joining Diphda of Cetuswith Fomalhaut and Achernar. See Fig. 35 tosee relationships of Diphda and Fomalhaut toPegasus.

✶ This triangle encloses much of Phoenix,including its brightest star Ankaa, which liesin the approximate center of the triangle.

✶ Notice that the line from Achernar to Diphdacrosses Star 2 of Phoenix.

✶ Star 2 through Star 4 of Grus leads to Ankaa,not quite equidistant.


31


32

CAPRICORNUS

MICROSCOPIUMGRUS

INDUS

TUCANA

PAVO

SAGITTARIUS

CORONAAUSTRALIS

TELESCOPIUM

ARA

TRIANGULUMAUSTRALE

CIRCINUS

CENTAURUS

LUPUS

NORMA

SCORPIUS

Peacock

5

5

67

8

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

3

3

4

4

Fig. 20 – Facing South-West and looking high up - September 10 pm

The Grus, Sagittarius, Scorpiusand Lupus relationship (Fig. 20)

Study the above relationship as well asthe four constellations Microscopium,Corona Australis, Norma andTelescopium. These constellation are veryfaint and unimportant.

To locate Microscopium

✶ Microscopium may be visualized as a widebucket. Follow the curve of Grus from Star 1through 5, and a sharp curve aims into thebucket.

✶ Star 1 through Star 8 of Sagittarius points tothe bottom of the bucket.

To locate Telescopium

✶ The curve of Corona Australis points toTelescopium.

To locate Norma

✶ Norma is on a line with Star 1 and Star 2 ofCircinus approximately 1.5� the distancebetween Star 1 and Star 2.

Microscopium – magnitude of 4.7 or dimmerCorona Australis – magnitude of 4.1 or dimmerNorma – magnitude of 4.0 or dimmerTelescopium – magnitude of 3.5 or dimmer


33


34

Fig. 21 – Facing South-West - April 10 pm

FalseCross

CARINA

VELA

PYXIS

PUPPIS

CANIS MAJORCanopus

Sirius

Adhara

5

5

5

6

56

7

8

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

The Canis Major–Puppis–Carina(Canopus) relationship

To locate Puppis (Fig. 21)

✶ Puppis may be visualized as a long-faceteddiamond that lies between Canis Major, Velaand Carina.

✶ A line from Sirius through Star 3 of CanisMajor points to the center of Puppis.

✶ Star 1 of Canis Major, Sirius, through Star 5leads to Star 2 of Puppis.

✶ A line from Sirius through Star 4 of CanisMajor leads to Star 5 of Puppis.

✶ A line from Star 2 of Canis Major through Star4 crosses Puppis to Star 1 of Vela.

✶ Notice that Star 1 of Puppis is close toCanopus, the second brightest star in the skyand that moving from Canopus through Star 1of Puppis goes to Star 2 of Puppis.


35


36

COLUMBALEPUS

ORION

ERIDANUS

FORNAX

PHOENIX

CETUS

HOROLOGIUM

RETICULUM

DORADO

PICTOR

CAELUM

Rigel Cursa

Zaurak

Acamar

Achernar

Canopus

Mira

Diphda

Ankaa

Menkar

1

2

3

4

Fig. 22 — Facing West - January 10 pm

The River Eridanus (Fig. 22). Bestseen 9 pm November to March

The complete extent of Eridanus liesdirectly overhead at approximately 9 pmJanuary 1.

✶ Eridanus starts from the star Cursa, which liesnext to Rigel of Orion. It then rambles south-ward to end at Achernar.

✶ The only bright stars in the constellation areCursa (Star 1), Zaurak (Star 2), Acamar (Star 3)and Achernar (Star 4).

✶ It may be simpler to visualize the river byjoining stars 1–2–3–4 to form a sinuous linefrom Cursa to Achernar.

Notice that Eridanus partially surroundsthe faint constellation of Fornax.


37


38

CENTAURUS

CRUX

37°

36°

HYDRUS

Rigil Kentaurus

Hadar

Acrux

Canopus

Sirius

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

Fig. 23 – Facing South and looking high up - January / February

SouthCelestial Pole

LargeMagellanic

Cloud

SmallMagellanic

Cloud

Achernar

41/2

6

1

2

3

Guides to the South Celestial Pole(SCP) (Fig. 23, not to scale)

✶ The closest constellation to the SouthCelestial Pole is the dim constellation Octans.It is too dim to be of much value in locatingthe SCP.

✶ The South Celestial Pole lies midway betweenAcrux (Star 1 of Crux) and Achernar ofEridanus, but 4.5 degrees to the side of thatline.

✶ Moving along the line from Star 3 of Cruxthrough Acrux, approximately 41⁄2 times thelength of Crux leads to the South CelestialPole.

✶ The South Celestial Pole is on a line perpen-dicular to the midpoint of a line between RigilKentaurus (Star 1) and Hadar (Star 2) ofCentaurus. The distance to the SCP is approxi-mately six times the distance between RigilKentaurus and Hadar.

✶ If you flip the triangle of Hydrus over, Star 1 ofHydrus, which is closest to Achernar, will laynear the South Celestial Pole.

✶ Star 2 of Hydrus is 13 degrees from the SouthCelestial Pole.

✶ A line from Sirius to Canopus leads to theSouth Celestial Pole. The distance betweenSirius and Canopus is 36 degrees, betweenCanopus and the SCP is 37 degrees – almostequidistant.

✶ Canopus and Achernar form an almost equi-lateral triangle with the SCP.

✶ The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and theLarge Magellanic Cloud (LMC) form a niceequilateral triangle with the South CelestialPole.

The Magellanic Clouds (best seenSeptember–March)

The Magellanic Clouds, or Clouds ofMagellan, originally called the CapeClouds, were discovered before the time ofthe explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Theyare companion galaxies to our own galaxyand appear as fuzzy patches.

✶ Star 2 through Star 3 of Hydrus leads to theLMC. The line joining Stars 1 and 2 of Hydruscrosses the SMC.


39


40

7 °

20°

Betelgeuse

RigelSaiph

AlnitakAlnilamMintaka

Bellatrix

Sirius

Procyon

5

67

8

12

34

Fig. 24 – Facing North and looking high up - January 10 pm

Starting from Orion (Fig. 24)

Orion, the Hunter, is a large striking con-stellation that may be seen in the north-ern sky during the summer monthsDecember to April. Look for seven brightstars in the shape of an hourglass withthree bright stars (Stars 3, 4, 5) in a rowforming the waist of the hourglass or thebelt of the Hunter. Star 1 is Betelgeuseand Star 7 is Rigel.

Once you have identified Orion, testyour ability to measure distances. Stars 6and 7 are approximately 7 degrees apart.The distance between Stars 1 and 7 is 20degrees.

Study Orion closely since it serves asan excellent guide to the surroundingconstellations and to the Pleiades.


41


42

CANISMINOR

GEMINIAURIGAPERSEUS

TAURUS

ORION

ERIDANUS

LEPUSCANISMAJOR

COLUMBA

SUMMERTRIANGLE

Aldebaran

Capella

Pollux

Castor

Mirfak

Almakin ANDROMEDA

Menkarin CETUS

Zaurak

Acamar

Cursa

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Procyon

Sirius

Canopus

Pleiades

Hyades

To Achernar

5

67

1

2

34

Fig. 25 – Facing North - December 10 pm

El Nath

8

Pathways from Orion

To locate Sirius in Canis Major (Fig. 25)Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.

✶ A line through the belt of Orion (Stars 3, 4, 5),curves slightly southward to Sirius on one sideand slightly northward to Aldebaran of Tauruson the other side. Sirius is about 15 degreesfrom Star 6 (Saiph) of Orion. Aldebaran is 15degrees from Star 2 (Bellatrix) of Orion.

To locate Procyon in Canis MinorThis is a bright star 25 degrees in anortherly direction from Sirius. You maynotice that the Milky Way lies betweenProcyon and Sirius.

The Summer Triangle (Winter Trianglein the Northern Hemisphere) is an equi-lateral triangle joining Betelgeuse ofOrion, Sirius of Canis Major and Procyonof Canis Minor.

To locate Taurus and its star clusters theHyades and the Pleiades

✶ A line from Rigel (Star 7) through Bellatrix(Star 2) of Orion leads directly to El Nath ofTaurus and then almost in a straight line toCapella in Auriga.

✶ From Orion walk past Aldebaran approxi-mately 10 degrees to a faint hazy cluster ofstars, the Pleiades.

✶ Move from Mirfak of Perseus and then south-ward along the curve of Perseus to thePleiades.

To locate Achernar and Canopus

✶ A line from Star 5 of Orion moving throughRigel (Star 7) of Orion leads in a straight lineto Achernar.

✶ A line from Star 3 through Star 6 of Orionpasses between Lepus and Canis Major toCanopus.

Read about the Pleiades in the legends ofTaurus and Ursa Major.


43


44

CANISMINOR

GEMINIAURIGA

PERSEUS

TAURUS

ORION

MONOCEROS

ERIDANUS

LEPUS CANISMAJOR

COLUMBA

Aldebaran

Capella

Pollux

Castor

Mirfak

Almak inANDROMEDA

Menkarin CETUS

Zaurak

Cursa

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Procyon

Sirius

Pleiades

Hyades

5

67

12

3

4


El Nath

8

To locate Gemini (Fig. 26)Gemini forms a nice rectangle thatincludes the stars Pollux and Castor,which are frequently referred to as theTwins. They symbolize true friendship.

✶ A curve from Sirius to Procyon leads to Polluxand Castor.

✶ A line from Star 7 (Rigel) of Orion throughStar 3 leads to Pollux.

To locate AurigaAuriga, the Charioteer, is shaped like akite. It lies north of the horns of Taurus.Capella is the sixth brightest star in thesky. Just below Capella are three faintstars, called the Kids (baby goats).

✶ An arc from Almak of Andromeda throughMirfak of Perseus leads to the bright starCapella.

✶ A walk from Star 4 of Orion going betweenStar 2 and Star 1, passes through El Nath ofTaurus to Capella.

Capella is 23 degrees from Aldebaran andfrom Castor. It is 10 degrees from Mirfakand 35 degrees from Betelgeuse. Testyour ability to measure these distances.


45


46

AURIGA

PERSEUS

TAURUS

ORION

ERIDANUS

LEPUS

COLUMBA

Aldebaran

El Nath

CapellaMirfak

AlmakANDROMEDA

TRIANGULUM

ARIES

Menkar

Mira

Diphda

CETUSZaurak

Acamar

Cursa

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Arnab

Phact

Pleiades

Hyades

5

67

8

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

3

3

4


To locate Lepus, Columba and Cetus (Fig. 27)

✶ A line from Star 4 of Orion through Star 8leads to Arnab of Lepus. This line continues toPhact of Columba.

✶ Stars 6 and 7 of Orion form a triangle withArnab in Lepus.

To locate CetusThis constellation has three fairly brightstars, Menkar, Star 1, Mira, Star 2 (whichis a variable star; its brightness fluctu-ates) and Diphda, Star 3.

✶ A large right triangle is formed by joining thePleiades, Aldebaran of Taurus and Menkar ofCetus.

✶ The tip of the southern horn of Taurus (Star 3)through Aldebaran (Star 1) of Taurus curvesslightly to Menkar in Cetus – 25 degrees fromAldebaran.


47


48

LEPUS

ERIDANUS

CETUS

PERSEUS

AURIGA

GEMINI

ORION

Aldebaran

Capella

Pollux

Castor

Procyon

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Sirius

Adhara

Canopus

Achernar

Ankaa

Diphda

Menkar

Mira

Pleiades

Hyades

5

67

8

12

34

Fig. 28 – Facing North - January 10 pm

Mirfak

Orion’s encirclement (Fig. 28)

✶ The northern area of Orion is surrounded byfive very bright stars. Starting from Betelgeuse(Star 1) of Orion move to

Procyon of Canis Minor and then in a curvethroughPollux of Gemini,Castor of Gemini,Capella of Auriga, and then toAldebaran of Taurus.

✶ The southern area of Orion is surrounded bysix prominent stars. Starting from the belt ofOrion move in a curve to

Sirius of Canis Major,Canopus of Carina,Achernar of Eridanus,Ankaa of Phoenix,Diphda of Cetus, andMenkar of Cetus.

Solidify a mental image of the stars encir-cling Orion.


49


50

CANESVENATICI

BOOTES

CORONABOREALIS

BIG DIPPER

Cor Caroli

Arcturus

Dubhe

Alioth

Alkaid

Alphecca

Denebolain LEO

Spicain VIRGO

Fig. 30 – Facing North - April 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

5

6

7

1

234

5

5 6

7

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

To locate Arcturus in Bootes (Fig.29). Best seen 9 pm May 1 toAugust 1

Bootes looks like a giant kite. In 1933 thelight from Arcturus, the fourth brighteststar in the sky, which is approximately 36light years away, was focused onto aphoto-electric cell which produced electri-cal current. This current was amplifiedand then used to open the gate of the1933 World’s Fair in Chicago Illinois,USA. That light had left Arcturus in1897!

✶ Follow the curve of the handle of Ursa Majorto Arcturus, the first bright star along thatcurve.

✶ A line from Antares of Scorpius through Star 1of Scorpius leads in a very slight curve toArcturus. See Fig. 30.

✶ Using Fig. 30, follow a line from Acrux (Star 1)of Crux through Star 2 of Crux leads acrossthe sky to the very bright star Arcturus nearthe northern horizon.

✶ Form an equilateral triangle joining Denebolain Leo, Spica in Virgo and Arcturus.

To locate Cor Caroli in CanesVenatici

✶ A line from Star 7 of Ursa Major goingbetween Stars 4 and 5 leads to Cor Caroli.

✶ Stars 1 and 5 of Bootes form a triangle withCor Caroli.

To locate Corona Borealis

Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, isa charming constellation. It lies betweenBootes and Hercules, but is closer toBootes (see Fig. 38). Alphecca, Star 3, iscalled The Jewel in the Crown. The sixother stars are very faint.

✶ Move from Arcturus to Star 3 of Bootes.Alphecca is just to the side of this star.


51


52

Fig. 30 – Facing North - May 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

COMABERENICES

LIBRA

VIRGO

SCORPIUS

CRUX

CORVUS

CRATER

HYDRA

SEXTANS

LEO

BIG DIPPER

Kraz

GienahAlphard

Regulus Denebola

Spica

Zubenelgenubi

Arcturus

Antares

5

67 8

9

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

1

2

34

5

To locate Spica in Virgo (Fig. 30)

✶ Follow the arc of the handle of Ursa Majorpast Arcturus and continue the arc to a brightstar which is Spica. Find the irregular diamondshape of Virgo.

✶ A line from Antares of Scorpius through Star 2of Scorpius goes directly through Libra in acurve to Spica.

✶ Spica is part of an equilateral triangle withArcturus, and Denebola of Leo.

To locate Corvus

✶ Follow the curve of the handle of Ursa Majorto Arcturus continuing past Spica to locateKraz, which is Star 1 in Corvus.

✶ A line from Star 1 of Crux through Star 3 leadsto Corvus and continues to Denebola of Leo.

To locate Hydra, the Water Snake

This serpent, which was slain byHercules, is the longest constellation inthe sky, 100 degrees long. During autumnit extends across the sky south of Virgo,Corvus, Leo and Cancer. It actually cutsacross Crater and Corvus. There is onlyone bright star – Alphard.

✶ A line from Star 4 of Leo through Star 6(Regulus) leads directly to Alphard.


53


54

Fig. 31 – Facing North - April 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

Fig. 32 – Facing North - March/April 10 pm

LEO

LEO MINOR

LYNX

CANISMINOR

GEMINI

CANCER

Head of HYDRA

LEO

BIG DIPPER

DenebolaRegulus

Spica

Arcturus

Cor Caroli

Procyon

Pollux

Castor

Regulus

DenebolaPraesepe

5

67 8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1234

5

1

2

3

4

To locate Leo (Fig. 31). Best seen9pm March 1 to 9 pm mid-June

Leo looks like a toy horse. The head, chestand front legs look like a backwards ques-tion mark. There are two stars in Leowhose names you should learn. Star 6 isRegulus, which means Little King. Thetip of Leo’s tail, Star 8, is Denebola.

✶ A line from Acrux, Star 1 of Crux through Star3 of Crux leads through Corvus and then toDenebola, the tail of Leo. See Fig. 30.

✶ Form a triangle joining Arcturus of Bootes,Spica of Virgo and Denebola of Leo.

✶ A line from Betelgeuse of Orion to Procyon ofCanis Minor leads in a slight curve to Regulus.

✶ Leo lies under the bowl of Ursa Major and liesinside the curve formed by the handle of theUrsa Major, Arcturus, Spica and Kraz inCorvus.

✶ A line from Star 4 of Ursa Major through Star5 crosses the neck of Leo to Regulus. See Fig.31.

✶ Form a triangle joining Pollux of Gemini,Procyon of Canis Minor and Regulus. See Fig.32.

To locate Cancer (Fig. 32)

The very faint constellation of Cancer liesin the center of the triangle formed byProcyon of Canis Minor, Pollux of Geminiand Regulus of Leo. In the center of thesquare of Cancer is a faint cluster of starscalled the Beehive or Praesepe.


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56

SCORPIUS

OPHIUCHUS

AQUILA

EQUULEUS

DELPHINUSSAGITTA

VULPECULA

LYRA

CYGNUS(Northern Cross)

Antares

Rasalhague

Enif

Deneb

Altair

Vega Zaydeh's Triangle

Winter Triangle

5

1

2

34

Fig. 33 – Facing North - August 10 pm

To locate Vega in Lyra (Fig. 33)

Vega is one of the brightest stars in thenorthern sky (magnitude 0.3).

✶ Go from Deneb (Star 1 of Cygnus) in a slightcurve past Star 4 to the very bright star Vega.

✶ A line from Antares of Scorpius throughRasalhague of Ophiuchus leads across the skyin a mild curve to Vega.

✶ Follow the curve of the head of Scorpiusthrough Ophiuchus to Vega near the northernhorizon.


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58

Fomalhaut

Achernar

Diphdain CETUS

5

1

2

3

4

12

3

4

Fig. 34 – Facing North - September 10 pm


PEGASUS

Enif

Deneb

Albireo

Altair

Vega

To locate the Northern Cross(Cygnus) (Fig. 34). Best seen 9 pmmid-August to October

Cygnus, the Swan, lies along the MilkyWay near the northern horizon. Star 1(Deneb), a supergiant, is 60000 timesbrighter than the Sun, but is 1500 lightyears away.

✶ A line from Star 4 of Pegasus through Star 2leads to the area of Star 1 and Star 3 ofCygnus.

✶ A mild curve from Achernar throughFomalhaut through Enif of Pegasus leadsacross the sky to Cygnus at the northernhorizon.

Study the Northern Cross and Vega rela-tionship.


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60

Fig. 35 – Facing North - September 10 pm

AQUILA

EQUULEUS

DELPHINUS

SAGITTA

VULPECULA

LYRA LACERTA

ANDROMEDA

PEGASUS


Enif

Scheat

Diphda

Fomalhaut

Achernar

Deneb

Almak

Altair

Vega

Zaydeh'sTriangle

WinterTriangle

5

1

3

2

2

2

1

1

43

3

4

To locate Pegasus (Figs. 35 and 36)

There are several ways to find the giantsquare of Pegasus, the winged horse.

✶ A line from Achernar going between Diphda ofCetus and Fomalhaut of Piscis Austrinus leadsto Pegasus near the northern horizon.

✶ We should be aware of the Winter TriangleThis important star relationship is formed byDeneb of Cygnus (the Northern Cross), Vega ofLyra, and a third bright star, Altair of Aquila.

✶ Join Deneb, Altair and Enif to form Zaydeh’striangle opposite the Winter Triangle. This tri-angle is an easy way to identify Enif and thento move from Altair through Enif in an mildcurve to the square of Pegasus.

✶ The crossbar of Cygnus points in a slight curveto Enif in Pegasus.

✶ A line from Star 3 of Cygnus between Deneband Star 2 goes directly to Star 1 of Pegasus.

✶ Follow a line in a soft curve from Mirfak inPerseus (see Fig. 27) to Almak of Andromedapast Star 2 to Star 3 of Andromeda, which isthe same as Star 1 of Pegasus. This is onecorner of the square of Pegasus.

To locate Altair in Aquila

✶ A line from Deneb going between Stars 2 and3 of Cygnus leads to Altair in Aquila. Aquila isa diamond-shaped constellation with a tail atthe corner of the diamond opposite Altair.Altair is its only bright star. Look closely atAltair; notice the faint stars on either side ofit.

Study the Winter Triangle (see Fig. 35),which contains the constellations ofSagitta and Vulpecula. Zaydeh’s trianglecontains Delphinus and meets Equuleus.

Study these relationships to get a goodimage of the giant square of Pegasus,which is over 15 degrees wide.


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62

GRUS

CAPRICORNUS

AQUARIUS

PISCES

PERSEUS

ARIES

ANDROMEDA

PEGASUSDELPHINUS

Altairin AQUILA

Peacockin PAVO

Achernar

Almak

Hamal

Scheat

Algol

Mirfak

Canopus

Rigel

Aldebaran

DiphdaFomalhaut

in PISCIS AUSTRINUS

1

12

3

2

3

4

Fig. 36 – Facing North-West - November 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

Pleiades

To locate Hamal in Aries, Diphdain Cetus and Fomalhaut in PiscisAustrinus (Fig. 36)

To locate AriesFrom Perseus:

✶ Algol of Perseus and Almak of Andromedaform a triangle with the star Hamal of Aries.

From the square of Pegasus:

✶ Star 1 and Star 4 of Pegasus, when joined toHamal of Aries, form a large isosceles triangle.

From Orion:

✶ Find Aldebaran in Taurus (see Fig. 27) thenmove through the Pleiades and continue in asoft curve southward approximately 25degrees to the moderately bright star Hamalof Aries.

To locate Fomalhaut in Piscis AustrinusFomalhaut is one of the brightest isolatedstars in the southern sky.

✶ A line from Star 2 (Scheat) of Pegasus throughStar 3 (Markab) leads to Fomalhaut, which isapproximately 50 degrees from Star 3.

To locate Diphda in Cetus

✶ A line from Star 1 of Pegasus through Star 4leads to Diphda, which is to the side ofFomalhaut.

An important orienting triangle is formedby joining Diphda, Fomalhaut andAchernar.

Study the relationship betweenPegasus, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricornus,Delphinus and Aquila.


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64

ANDROMEDA

PEGASUS

PISCES

ARIES

TRIANGULUM

AURIGA

PERSEUSCASSIOPEIA

Aldebaran

Achernar

Diphda

Menkarin CETUS

Almak

Hamal

Algol

Mirfak

Capella

Pleiades

5

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

4

3

3

4

Fig. 37 – Facing North - November 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

To locate Perseus and Andromeda(Fig. 37)

Perseus crosses the Milky Way. It may beseen on the extreme northern horizon.

✶ Using Fig. 28, follow the northern circle ofstars over Orion from Procyon to Pollux toCastor to Capella and then instead of curvingsouthward to Aldebaran, continue in a softcurve to Mirfak in Perseus and to Almak ofAndromeda. See Fig. 37.

✶ Algol (Star 5 of Perseus) almost forms a right-angle triangle with Mirfak and Almak ofAndromeda. Mirfak and Algol are the twobrightest stars in Perseus.

✶ Using Fig. 26, from the belt of Orion move toAldebaran and to the Pleiades. Just northerlyof the Pleiades is the curve of stars of Perseusleading to Mirfak.

Now visualize the curve of five or six starsof Perseus which leads to the Pleiadesgoing south, or to Cassiopeia going north.Cassiopeia may be below the northernhorizon.

Andromeda lies between Perseus andPegasus. It contains the only majorgalaxy outside of our own galaxy that wecan see with our naked eye.


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66

BOOTES

CORONABOREALIS

HERCULES

Head ofDRACO

LYRA

Eltanin

Vega

Deneb

Arcturus

Alphecca

Rasalhaguein OPHIUCHUS

55

5

5

6

6

7

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

22

3

3

3

3

4

4

Vega

Arcturus

Rasalhague

5

6

1

2

3

4

4

4

Fig. 38 – Facing North - July 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

Fig. 39


HERCULES

To locate Hercules (Fig. 38)

Hercules is a faint constellation near thenorthern horizon that lies between Lyraand Corona Borealis. Most of Herculeslies within a giant triangle formed byVega of Lyra, Arcturus of Bootes andRasalhague of Ophiuchus. See Fig. 39.

✶ A line from Star 4 of Cygnus through Vegagoes to Star 2 of Hercules. This distance isabout 11⁄2 times the distance between the tipof the crossbar of Cygnus and Vega.

✶ A line from Star 3 of Cygnus through Vegagoes to Star 3 of Hercules.

✶ From Arcturus through Alphecca, the brightstar of Corona Borealis (Star 3), to Star 6 ofHercules is a straight line.

Now construct the bent hourglass shapeof the six stars of Hercules.


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68

HERCULES

CORONABOREALIS

LIBRA

BOOTES

5

6

1

2

3

1

2

3

4

Fig. 40 – Facing North - July 10 pm - Horizon for 25° S

SCORPIUS

OPHIUCHUS

AQUILA

SCUTUM

SAGITTARIUS

SERPENSSERPENS

LYRA


Antares

Arcturus

Spica

Sabik

Rasalhague

Deneb

Altair

Vega

WinterTriangle

5

1

234

To locate Ophiuchus (Fig. 40)

Ophiuchus is known as the SerpentBearer.

✶ On the south side of the Winter Triangle forman equilateral triangle by joining Altair ofAquila, Vega of Lyra and Rasalhague (Star 1)of Ophiuchus.

✶ The arc of Scorpius 3–2–1 leads to Star 4 ofOphiuchus.

Rasalhague (Star 1) is about 30 degreesfrom Sabik (Star 5).

To locate Serpens

Serpens is a divided constellation whichappears to pass through the lower part ofOphiuchus. Its head and tail point north-ward.

To locate Antares in Scorpius

Scorpius is a bright constellation thatactually resembles a large scorpion. Itsbrightest star, Antares, is flanked by astar on either side.

✶ From the north a line from Vega of Lyracrosses the sky to Rasalhague of Ophiuchusand then goes in a mild curve to Antares.

✶ A large triangle is formed by joining Arcturusof Bootes, Spica of Virgo and Antares.

✶ A line from Acrux (Star 1 of Crux) throughHadar (Star 2 of Centaurus) leads to Antares.See Fig. 15.

✶ The nose of Centaurus points to Scorpius. SeeFig. 15.

✶ Review Fig. 15.

To locate Sagittarius

Sagittarius, the Teapot, lies between oursolar system and the center of our galaxy.The Milky Way is widest and most densebehind Sagittarius.

✶ A line from the mid star of the head ofScorpius (Star 2) through Antares leads to thebottom star of Sagittarius. See also Fig. 16.

Study relationships between Altair ofAquila, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Cygnus,Vega of Lyra, Arcturus of Bootes andSpica of Virgo.


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70

CRUX

CENTAURUS

GRUS

Fomalhaut

Peacock

Alnair

Hadar

Rigil Kentaurus Acrux

Mimosa

Gacrux

Fig. 41 – Summary of pathways starting from Crux

Fig. 42 – Summary of pathways starting from Grus

To Corvus

To Capricornus

To Aquarius

To Pegasus

To Ankaain Phoenix

To Tucana

To Tucana

To Pavo

To Indus

To Carina+ Canopus

To Miaplacidesof Carina

To Chamaeleon

To Achernar

To Ara

To Scorpius

General summary of pathways


71

GEMINI

ORION

SCORPIUS

Antares

Shaula

Fig. 43 – Summary of pathways starting from Scorpius

Fig. 44 – Summary of pathways starting from OrionTo Lepus

To Libra

To SpicaTo Ophiuchus

To Arcturus

To Lupus

To Sagittarius

Aldebaran

Pollux

Castor

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Procyon

Sirius

Pleiades

Capella

El Nath


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Alphard

Spica

Regulus Denebola

To Pollux

To Capella

To Procyon

To Arcturus

To CORONABOREALIS

To Sextans

To Pegasus

To Aquarius

5

67

8

9

1

2

3

4

Fig. 45 – Summary of pathways starting from Cygnus

Fig. 46 – Summary of pathways starting from Leo

AQUILA

EQUULEUS

DELPHINUS

SAGITTA

VULPECULA

LYRA

PEGASUS


Enif

Scheat

Deneb

Altair

Vega

Zaydeh'sTriangle

WinterTriangle

5

1

3

2

2

1

43

4


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Leo

Cancer

GeminiAuriga

Perseus

Cassiopeia

Cepheus

Cygnus(Northern Cross)

Delphinus

Pegasus

Andromeda

Aries

Cetus

Eridanus

Pisces Aquarius

Capricornus

Aquila

Hercules

CoronaBorealis

Serpens

Ophiuchus

Serpens

Sagittarius

Capricornus

Aquila

Grus

Pavo

Tucana Hydrus

ColumbaOctans

TriangulumAustrale

Ara

Serpens

OphiuchusCentaurus

Lupus

Virgo

VelaPuppis

Carina

Musca

Crux

Hydra

Corvus

Libra

Scorpius

Sagittarius

Lyra

Draco

CanisMinor

Lepus

Big Dipper

LittleDipper

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Aldebaran

Capella

Algol

CastorPollux

Procyon

Leo

Cancer

Gemini

Eridanus

CanisMinor

CanisMinor

Lepus

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Sirius

SpicaRegulus

Antares

Canopus

AcruxRigil

Kentaurus

Aldebaran

CastorPollux

Procyon

PolarisVega

Deneb

Altair

PleiadesHyades

LMC

SMC

Fig. 47 a – The Milky Way and Related Constellations - Northern sky

Fig. 47 b – The Milky Way and Related Constellations - Southern sky

North Celestial Pole

SouthCelestial Pole


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ORION

CETUS

CRUX

Sirius

Canopus

AcruxPeacock

Achernar

Fomalhaut

Ankaa

Diphda

Mira

Menkar

Rigel

Fig. 48 – Four Major Localizing Triangles

Part 3Legends of the constellations

The names of many of the constellationsare strongly tied to Greek and Romanlegends, but the indigenous people livingin the Southern Hemisphere did not visu-alize star groups in the same manner asthe ancient Greeks.

The astronomical mythology, except forcosmological myths, of the variousSouthern Hemisphere people seemed tobe primarily concerned with the appear-ance or disappearance of certain promi-nent stars, as it may signify the time for areligious ritual or agricultural act.Relatively few elaborate legends havebeen recorded that relate to a star group,except for myths about the Pleiades,which seemed to have piqued the imagi-nation of many diverse ethnic groups.

Legend of Andromeda

See the legends of Cassiopeia andPerseus.

Legend of Aquarius

Ganymede was a very kind and gentleshepherd boy. One day, while tending hissheep and playing with his dog Argos, thegod Zeus sent Aquila, his giant eagle, toswoop down to the plains of Troy to takeGanymede to the temple of the Gods tobecome Jupiter’s favorite water carrier.He was then given ambrosia, the food ofthe gods, to make him immortal.Wherever Jupiter went Ganymede wouldaccompany him by riding on the back ofAquila the eagle.

Ganymede’s kindness was madeevident to the gods when he askedJupiter if he could help the Earth peoplewho were in need of water. Jupiter, whowas usually not very kind, was softenedby Ganymede’s compassion and gave himpermission to do as he wished. Ganymederealized that to send a great deal of waterto Earth at one time would be dangerousso he decided to send it in smalleramounts and in an intermittent mannerin the form of rain. That is howGanymede, the shepherd boy, becameknown as the god of rain.

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Legend of Aquila

Aquila was Zeus’s pet Eagle. Aquila wasnot only involved with Ganymede in thelegend of Aquarius and how Earth wasgiven rain, but was also part of the storyof how people got fire.

The Titans were giant gods who werefighting the Greek god of Olympia, Zeus,the new ruler of the world. Prometheus,one of the Titan gods, did not oppose Zeusduring the war. After the Titans werebeaten he became an advisor to Zeus.While serving Zeus he became awarethat the Earth people did not have fireand were not only suffering from the coldbut could not have warm food. Zeus wasaware of their plight, but was not con-cerned. Prometheus felt sorry for themand therefore stole a ray of sunshine, hidit in a bamboo container, and sent itdown to Earth. With this ray of sun theEarth people made fire to warm theirbodies.

Zeus became very angry when he sawthat the Earth people were given firewithout his permission. He capturedPrometheus and chained him to the sideof a mountain in the Caucasus where hewas to remain forever. He then sentAquila, his pet eagle, to repeatedly attackPrometheus. After every attack thewound would heal and then would beripped open again by Aquila. One daywhen Aquila was about to bite into theabdomen of this kind Titan god, Hercules,who agreed with Prometheus’s act ofkindness, and who was angered at whatJupiter had done, shot one of his magic

arrows into Aquila. Aquila fell seriouslywounded. Zeus healed the wounds of hispet eagle and then placed it in theheavens so that it may still soar. It fliesnear the tail of Cygnus the swan.

Legends of Ara

The constellation of Ara is related to thestory of Noah. In the Old Testament it iswritten that Noah had been told by Godthat great rains would soon fall until theEarth was covered and all evil would bedestroyed. God commanded him to build agiant ark, fill it with all the differentseeds, at least two of each form of life andprepare to be cast upon the waters. Noah,his wife and their three sons, Shem, Hamand Japheth and their wives toiled tobuild the ark as commanded. After all theanimals and seeds had been gatheredtogether in the ark the rains came andlasted forty days and nights after whichtime the Earth was flooded. Even the topof the highest mountain was under water.All life was gone except for those in thefloating ark. The floods continued for 150days at which time a giant wind began toblow and the waters began to subside.Soon their gigantic ark came to rest uponthe top of a mountain, possibly Mt Araratin northern Turkey. The waters continuedto fall and after forty days Noah releaseda raven that flew away only to return andfly in circles over the ark. He then sentout a dove with the realization that if thedove did not return land must be near.

Legends of the constellations

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The exhausted dove returned suggestingthat most of the land was still covered bythe waters. Seven days later Noahreleased the dove again. After waiting forhours the dove finally returned in theevening with the leaf of an olive tree.Noah waited seven more days, releasedthe dove and when the dove did notreturn Noah realized that the Earth wasonce more livable. With great joy theyopened the ark and released all theanimals. Noah immediately built an altarto pay homage to God. The constellationAra symbolizes that altar. The dove issymbolized in the constellation Columba.Its brightest star is called Phact, anArabic word for ‘ring dove’.

The flood story is also among thelegends of the Sumerian people who livedalong the Euphrates in Babylon.

When sailors see the constellation sur-rounded by clouds they believe it signifiesan oncoming gale and stormy seas.

Argo Navis

The ancient constellation ‘Argo Navis’ is agigantic star group lying in the area ofthe Milky Way with Canopus as itsbrightest star. Argo Navis is symbolic of agreat ship. The origin of the image of agiant ship in the sky is not preciselyknown. The origin of the word Argo isvery vague. It is possibly related to theHebrew word ‘arookh’ meaning long, andsince ‘Navis’ in Latin refers to a ship, thename ‘Argo Navis’ may possibly be

descriptive of a long ship, a large ark.The mythology of gigantic floods cover-

ing the Earth dates from at least theSumerian culture 5500 years ago. ASumerian cylinder seal dating from 3000BCE depicts a crescent-shaped ship onwhat may be a flood scene. TheSumerians may have envisioned a ship inthe sky that carried Uto-Napishtim andhis wife during the Black Sea flood. Itpossibly was the origin of the Accadianlegend of a deluge and the legend of Noahamong the Hebrews. It is doubtful thatthe Sumerian and Hebrew legends of theflood are related to the ship of theArgonauts. The concept of gigantic floodshas also been part of the mythology ofEgyptian and Hindu culture. TheEgyptians visualized an ark that carriedIsis and Osiris during the flood, while theHindus conceived of a ship that carriedIsi and Iswara in their flood legend.

It would be intriguing to assume thatthe Hebrews viewed the Giant Ship in theSky as symbolizing the ark that Noahbuilt in anticipation of the Great Flood.To the Greeks Argo Navis representedArgo, the ship that Jason and theArgonauts used during their search forthe Golden Fleece.

In 1753 the French cartographerNicolas de Lacaille divided Argo Navisinto four constellations: Carina (the keel),Vela (the sail), Puppis (the stern or poopdeck) and Malis (the mast). Malis is nowseparate as the constellation Pyxis ( themariner’s compass). Canopus is now partof the constellation Carina.


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Legends of Aries

Aries was the pet ram of Zeus, the Greekruler of the heavens. Its coat was made ofgolden fleece instead of white wool. Oneday Zeus was looking down on the Earthpeople when he suddenly noticed that twochildren on Earth were in danger of beingkilled. He immediately sent Aries down toEarth to save them. Aries arrived just intime for the children to jump on his back.He then raced to safety. To honor theeffort his ram had made, Zeus placed himin the heavens where he can roam freelynear the flying horse Pegasus.

Aries also symbolizes the ram caught inthe thicket where Abraham was about tosacrifice Isaac. In gratitude to God whosent the angel to stop the hand ofAbraham, the ram was placed upon thealtar and sacrificed to honor God.

Legend of Auriga

Auriga is portrayed as carrying a goat inhis arms as he rides through the sky onhis chariot. He is considered the guardianof the shepherds. Shepherds believe that


78

when the constellation of Auriga appearsin the sky their sheep will flourish.

It is said that the god Jupiter acci-dently broke a horn of one of the goats. Heapologized for this accident by filling thebroken horn with good things. Such ahorn has been called the ‘Horn of Plenty’or a cornucopia.

Legend of Bootes

Bootes was the son of Demeter, the Greekgoddess of agriculture. He was a sensitiveyoung man with a great sense of purposeand social consciousness. When he sawthe Earth people struggling to find food hewanted to help them. He realized that ifhe were to send them food they wouldalways need his help. Instead, he decidedto help them to be able to help themselves.In order for them to be independent, hebuilt the first plough and sent it to Earth.Since then people have been able to plowthe land and grow their own food. Becauseof this great deed for mankind the godshonored him by placing him in theheavens near the handle of the Big Dipper(which is also known as The Plough).

Legends of Canis Major and Minor

Canis Major and Canis Minor were thehunting dogs of Orion. Canis Major wasso swift a runner that it could overtakeany animal. It was therefore greatlyvalued by Orion.

The early Egyptians saw the brightstar Sirius in Canis Major as the godAnubis, the god with a man’s body andthe head of a jackal. When Sirius wouldappear in the sky before dawn, it was thetime of the flooding of the Nile, whichwas of great importance to the farmerswho lived along the river since the floodalways brought new silt to the land andreplenished the soil. It became known asthe Dog Star, and the hot days ofsummer, between July and earlySeptember, became known as the DogDays.

Legends of Canopus in Carina

There are many legends concerning thesecond brightest star in the sky and thebrightest star in the southern hemi-sphere.

Among the Polynesians Canopus wasreferred to as Atutuahi, the God of theHeavens, and sung to as the ‘Mother ofthe Moon and the Stars’. It was a majornavigational star during their long seavoyages.

Canopus was worshipped by theEgyptians as the god of waters. Severaltemples were possibly oriented towardCanopus. The desert nomads consideredthis bright bluish tinted star as a thing ofgreat beauty and called it Al-Suhail,meaning beauty.

Among the Greeks, Canopus wasnamed after the pilot of the great ship ofthe argonauts that carried Jason, who


79

with the help of fifty argonauts andMedea the sorcerer, successfully capturedthe golden fleece. Canopus unfortunatelydied on their return voyage. A monumentwas erected in his honor around whichthe city of Canopus was established. Thecity of Abukir rose upon its ruins. It wasin this region that Ptolemy studied themotion of the planets and the stars in thesecond century CE in Alexandria.

Legend of Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia, the wife of King Cepheus, wasthe beautiful queen of Ethiopia. She wasso proud of her beauty that she becamearrogant. She even boasted that herbeauty was greater than that of the seanymphs the Nereids. This boast angeredthe sea nymphs, who were the daughtersof the sea god Nereus, not because theywere so vain, but because Cassiopeiafailed to appreciate that her externalbeauty was something she was born withand not something she had achieved.Gratitude for her good fortune wouldhave been acceptable, but not pride. To beproud of something which was not gainedthrough personal effort, but rather withwhich you were born, showed a poor senseof values.

The Nereids asked the ruling god of thesea, Poseidon (Neptune), to punishCassiopeia because of her distorted senseof values and her conceit. Poseidon there-fore ordered the giant sea monster, Cetus,to destroy their kingdom of Ethiopia.

When King Cepheus and QueenCassiopeia were informed of Neptune’sdecision they went to the old wise oracleof Ethiopia for advice. He told them thatthey must sacrifice their lovely daughterAndromeda to appease the sea gods.Although they were heartbroken, theychained Andromeda to a rock on a cliffoverlooking the sea knowing that Cetus,the sea monster, would destroy her.

When Cetus, the sea monster, began torace toward her she screamed for help.Meanwhile, Perseus, who was on thegreat winged horse Pegasus returninghome with the head of Medusa (see thelegend of Perseus), heard her cry andimmediately flew to her rescue. Hearrived just in time to hold up the head ofMedusa as Cetus approached. The seamonster was immediately stopped, sinceanyone who looked directly at the head ofMedusa was turned to stone. Perseuscarefully placed the head back in its sack,taking care that Andromeda would notlook at it. He then unchained Andromedawho fell into his arms. When they gazedinto each other’s eyes they immediatelyfell in love.

Although the sea god was angrybecause the punishment he decreed wasnot fulfilled, he was so touched by the loveof Perseus and Andromeda that he placedthem next to each other in the heavens sothat their love will always be seen andfelt by us on Earth. Poseidon felt thatCassiopeia deserved more punishment.He therefore placed her in the sky in aposition where she is condemned to circlearound the North Celestial Pole forever,


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half of the time in an upside-down posi-tion.

Legends of Centaurus

Among the people of the Andes moun-tains in South America those who breedllamas believe good fortune will be theirsif during the birthing season of thellamas (November), the eyes of the celes-tial llama appears over the southeasternhorizon. The eyes of the celestial llamaare Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus ofCentaurus.

Among the Greeks, centaurs weremythical creatures, half horse half man.Most centaurs were considered to besavage. There was one exception, the sonof Kronus and Philyra. When Kronus,who was married to Rhea, was discoveredmaking love to Philyra, the beautiful seanymph, he turned himself and Philryainto horses. When Philyra gave birth herchild was half horse, half man, a centaur,Philyra was so distressed that shechanged her form into a linden tree. Herson was named Chiron. Chiron grew upto be the wisest and gentlest of the cen-taurs. He lived at the foot of Mt Pelionand established the finest school in


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WIL TIRION

Greece. Chiron learned the art of medi-cine from Artemis the Huntress and thescience of astronomy and music fromDiana. Jason, Achilles, Hercules, Hylasthe Fair, Pollux, Castor and Orpheus allspent part of their childhood studyingunder Chiron. He was asked to teachApollo’s son Aesculapius the art ofhealing.

Chiron died as a result of a strangeaccident. He had taught Hercules how toovercome and capture the wild boar. Atthe celebration of this deed and during anarchery exhibition in which Chiron alsoparticipated, a poisoned arrow shot byHercules accidently struck Chiron in theknee. The pain would not end and was sointense that Hercules begged the godZeus to grant Chiron’s wish to die. Afterhis death Zeus honored him by placinghim in the sky where he remains as asymbol of wisdom, goodness and kind-ness.

Legend of Cetus

Read the legends of Perseus andCassiopeia.

Legend of Columba (Noah’sDove)

See the Legend of Ara.

Legend of Coma Berenices

Berenice was a beautiful woman whosehair was most glorious. She was marriedto the Egyptian King Evergetes. When theking left on a dangerous mission Berenicevowed to dedicate her hair to the goddessof beauty if the king were to returnunharmed. When he finally returnedsafely she cut her beautiful hair whichJupiter then placed among the stars. Itappears as a cluster of faint stars with alacy appearance that lies near Arcturus ofBootes and Cor Coroli of Canes Venatici.Coma Berenices has become a symbol ofthe sacrifices that everyone should bewilling to make for their loved ones.

Legend of Corona Australis

Among the desert nomads of ancientArabia the circle of stars sometimescalled the Southern Crown was called theOstrich Nest. They imagined ostriches inthe stars of Sagittarius and Aquilameeting together drinking from the MilkyWay, the river in the sky, and then return-ing to their nest in the circle of stars, theCorona Australis, which lies just south ofSagittarius.

Legend of Corona Borealis

Among the North American Indians thisconstellation is considered to be a council


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of chiefs sitting in a semicircle to discussthe future of their people.

In ancient Greece the story is told ofAriadne, the beautiful daughter of KingMinos of Crete. When her lover, who wasmortal, found out that she had beenpromised to be wed to a god, he left her onthe island of Naxos. Bacchus, the god ofvegetation and wine, saw her, fell in loveand asked her to marry him. Ariadne didnot believe Bacchus was a god. To prove toher that he was a god, Bacchus askedVenus, the Goddess of love, to design acrown of magnificent jewels as a weddingpresent for Ariadne. When Venus did thisfor Bacchus, Ariadne was convinced thathe was a god and consented to marry him.Bacchus was so ecstatic with joy that hethrew the crown of jewels into the heavenswhere it has been shining ever since.

Legend of Corvus

Corvus was the pet crow of Apollo, the godof sun and music. He was a magnificentbird with a beautiful song. One day Apollosent Corvus on an errand with instructionsto return without delay. Corvus immedi-ately left on his mission. On his returnhome he saw a fig tree with unripe fruit.This tantalized him, so he waited underthe tree for several days until the figs wereripe enough to eat. After eating them hehurried back to Apollo. When asked why ittook so long to return, Corvus made up anexcuse, but Apollo knew the excuse wasfalse. He was very disappointed that

Corvus, whom he had trusted, was nothonorable enough to tell him the truth. Aspunishment Apollo changed the beautifulsong of the crow to a hoarse caw sound.

Legend of the Crater

The Crater (the cup) is next to the constel-lation of Corvus the crow. The Egyptianswere very aware of the Crater. They knewthat when the Crater rose above thehorizon the river Nile, which had beenflooding the Egyptian plain, would not risefurther and would soon begin to recede.

Legend of Crux

Among the indigenous desert nomads ofAustralia is the belief that a giant eaglelives in the sky and that one can see itsfootprint among the stars of Crux. Itnests in the dark patch of sky adjoiningCrux now called the Coalsack, and keepsits weapon, the throwing stick, near athand in the pointer stars of Centaurus,Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar.

There is also the concept that theCoalsack symbolizes evil. This is possiblybased upon a legend whereby the Cruxformation of stars is seen as a tree. Underthis tree an emu would hide in the dark-ness of the Coalsack area waiting to catchan opossum hiding among its branches.

The Zulu people of South Africa consid-ered the Southern Cross as the ‘Tree of


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Life’ for it helped those walking in thedangerous bush country at night to findtheir way.

Legend of Cygnus

Cygnus the swan symbolizes the wonder,the goodness and the dedication whichexists in true friendship. Both the constel-lations of Cygnus and Gemini symbolizethe significance of friendship.

Cygnus and Phaethon were very closefriends. Phaethon, the son of the mortalwoman Clymene, pleaded with his fatherHelius, the sun god, to help him convincethe Earth people that he was the son of agod. Helius agreed to help and thereforetold Phaethon that he would grant himany wish. Phaethon immediately askedfor permission to drive the four wingedhorses pulling the chariot carrying thesun. His father pleaded with him not toask for the almost impossible task of con-trolling the winged horses, but Phaethoninsisted that his father keep his promise.As dawn neared he mounted the chariotwith great excitement and began to raceacross the sky. The great winged horsessensed the inexperienced control of thereins and raced so fast that Phaethon lostcomplete control of the horses. The chariotswayed so much that the sun was about tofall out of the chariot and burn the Earth.The god Zeus saw what was happeningand in order to save the Earth from beingdestroyed by the heat of the sun, threw athunderbolt at the chariot. Phaethon lost

his balance and fell off the chariot into theroaring river Eridanus. Cygnus saw hisfriend disappear into the river, and imme-diately, in spite of the danger, dove intothe waters to save him. Helius was sooverwhelmed by this act of true friendshiptoward his son that he changed Cygnusinto a diving swan flying along the line ofthe Milky Way as a symbol of the great-ness and importance of friendship.

Legend of Delphinus

Approximately 2600 years ago, on theisland of Lesbos, lived a man by the nameof Arion. He was a famous poet who wasalso endowed with a magnificent voice.Arion performed in concerts throughoutGreece and Italy. On one of his trips hewas sailing to his home in Corinth Greecewith all of his valuable prizes. When thesailors realized the value of the prizes onboard their ship they became very greedyand decided to steal the wealth and throwArion overboard. When Arion realizedwhat they were going to do he pleadedwith them to allow him to sing one moresong while playing his lyre. They agreed.He sang a beautiful song of gratitude toApollo the god of music and poetry forblessing him with such wonderful talents.Apollo heard the song and knew whatwas going to happen. He immediatelyasked the sea god Poseidon to send hismessengers, the dolphins, to surround theboat. As Arion sang he noticed theunusual number of dolphins suddenly


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swarming around the boat. He thenjumped overboard with his lyre before thesailors had a chance to grab him. As hewas sinking into the deep sea the largestdolphin dived under him, raised him tothe surface and then surrounded by theother dolphins they raced away carryingArion to safety. When Apollo heard aboutthe magnificent action of the dolphin hewished to honor it and therefore placed itin the heavens and placed the lyre ofArion nearby in the constellation of Lyra.

Legend of Draco the Dragon

The ancient Chaldeans, who lived in theregion of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers,believed that the dragon Tiamat, themonster of chaos, darkness and evil, livedbefore the sea and the sky were sepa-rated. Tiamat was challenged by the lightof the sun and the gods who arose out ofthe sea of chaos. But he was so powerfuland frightening that even the gods gaveway. Evil appeared to be winning untilMarduk, one of the gods of light,appeared. He had been given all themagical powers that the gods of light andgoodness could bring together, and withthis power he overcame the dragon, lightgained over darkness and good over evil.Tiamat the dragon was placed in the skyas Draco to show all gods and all peoplethat goodness can win.

Legend of Eridanus

The river of Eridanus flows from itsorigin near Rigel of Orion to flow underTaurus toward Cetus the monster whale.See the legend of Cygnus the swan.

Legends of Gemini

Among the Maori of Australia is the taleof twin brothers who were the mortalchildren of Borabora. The brothers wereextremely devoted to each other and pre-ferred to play with each other rather thanwith other children. This relative isola-tion disturbed their parents who thendecided to separate the boys. The twinsoverheard their parent’s discussion anddecided to run away. They sailed away buttheir mother followed them. They wentfrom island to island but she was alwaysbehind them until they reached Tahitiwhere they hid in the mountains. She dis-covered their hiding place and was aboutto capture them when they climbed to thetop of a mountain and flew to the skywhere they will always remain closetogether.

In ancient Greece there is the legend ofCastor, a famous horse tamer and soldier,and Pollux, a champion boxer, who werethe sons of the Greek god Zeus. They werenot only brothers, but very close friendsand very adventuresome. At one timethey decided to go to sea in order toattack pirates which had been raidinghonest seamen. They were so successful


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in their war against pirates that theybecame warlike heroes to the sea people,who honored them by carving theirimages on the prow of their ships.Seamen are aware that during stormyweather sparkling lights may appear onthe rigging. When two sparks appear it isan omen that Castor and Pollux are pro-tecting the ship and that the ship willweather the storm. These lights havebeen called St. Elmo’s Fire.

During one of their fights with thievesCastor, who was mortal, was killed.Pollux, who was immortal, was griefstricken and begged Zeus to allow him tobe with Castor every other day in theunderworld. Zeus was so touched by thisrequest and by Pollux’s feeling of truefriendship that he not only approved ofthe request, but placed them in theheavens together so that the Earth peoplewould always be reminded of the pre-ciousness of true friendship.

Legend of Grus

In the Old Testament, Jeremiah (8:7) mayhave acknowledged Grus as the stork inthe heavens. In his condemnation of evilhe speaks of the harm one does who doesnot realize that he or she should go in thedirection God has commanded. Jeremiahstates that ‘. . . even the stork knows herappointed season as God has directed’.

Legend of Hercules

Hercules, the son of the god Zeus/Jupiterand of the beautiful mortal womanAlcymene, was the greatest of ancientGreek heroes. He began to show greatphysical strength as a young child, butmore importantly, Hercules revealed afine sense of character as a young manwhen he met two women called Pleasureand Virtue. Pleasure promised him enjoy-ment while Virtue promised him hardwork and glory as a doer of great deeds tohelp mankind. He chose Virtue and wassubsequently taught by the wise centaurChiron.

His deeds included ridding the world ofmonsters. He fought for 30 days with Leothe Nemean lion before he was able to killit. He then destroyed the enormous nine-headed water snake of Lernea, whichwould capture and eat those who ven-tured near its swamp. The snake wasthen thrown into the sky and is repre-sented by the constellation Hydra. Whilefighting the water snake he alsodestroyed the giant crab, which is now inthe sky as Cancer. He captured the wildboar which was destroying the vineyardsas well as the fire-breathing bull whichwas devastating the land.

Hercules continued his work until hehad performed twelve deeds. Severalyears later he was poisoned by mistakewith the blood of a centaur. When he diedthe gods raised him into heaven where hecan still be seen as a symbol of one who isdedicated to helping all people by doinggood deeds.


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Legend of Hydra the Water Snake

Hydra was a nine-headed snake-likemonster that killed and ate people asthey traveled near the swamps of Lernea.Its blood was poisonous. Hercules wasasked to destroy the monster. Duringtheir fight every time Hercules would cutoff a head another would immediatelygrow back in its place. He finally suc-ceeded in killing the monster by burningthe cut surface on the neck, which pre-vented regrowth of a head.

Legend of Leo

Leo was a lion who lived on the moon.Food was scarce so he tried to attack oneof the horses pulling the chariot of themoon goddess Selene. Leo was thrown offand landed on Earth near Nemea inGreece where he began to attack people.No person was able to attack this giantbeast so they finally called Hercules todestroy this destructive lion. Herculesmade a huge knotty club and approachedthe lion’s den. When the lion attacked heswung and struck the lion on the top of itsnose. The lion retreated into its cave, butHercules was so fearless that he followedit into the cave. The roof of the cave waslow so that Hercules could not use hisclub. He therefore jumped on the lion’sback and strangled it with his bare hands.

This heroic act was seen by Zeus whohonored Hercules by placing the conqueredlion in the sky. See the legend of Hercules.

Legend of Libra

Libra symbolizes Astraea, the goddess ofjustice. She would weigh the souls of menand women on a balancing scale and holdthem responsible for their acts. TheSumerians in 200 BCE called it the‘Balance of Heaven’.

Legends of Lyra

Among the Maori the brightest star inLyra was called Whanui and symbolizes alegend of a love triangle. One nightWhanui met the beautiful wife of Rango-Maui. Her name was Pani. Whanui was soovercome by her beauty that although heknew he would be doing wrong heseduced Pani and made love to her. Shesubsequently gave birth to the sweetpotatoes. Her husband Rango-Maui wasso disturbed by their presence that Paniallowed him to send the sweet potato chil-dren down to Earth. This so angeredWhanui that he, in retaliation, sent threekinds of caterpillars down to earth to feedupon the sweet potatoes. As a result,before Whanui, the brightest star in Lyra,appears in the sky at dawn the Earthpeople store sweet potatoes in the groundto avoid the caterpillars.

Lyra represents the lyre, a harp, whichthe Greek god Hermes invented andmade from a tortoise shell. Its sound wasglorious but Hermes was unable to makeit sing, so he gave it to Apollo, his brother.Although Apollo was able to make it sing


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he could not make it sound soulfulregardless how much he tried, so hecalled Orpheus, who was a great musi-cian, to test the harp. When Orpheuspicked up the instrument and moved hisfingers across the strings the Earthseemed to become silent. All things werelistening, the beasts, the birds, the treesand even the flowers turned their facestoward Orpheus. When Apollo saw howmusic affected all living things he gavethe lyre to Orpheus who would play sothat people would feel the uplift of musicwhen life seems difficult.

There are times, when the night is verydark and still, that one may look up atLyra and possibly hear the murmur ofOrpheus’s song among the sounds of thenight.

Legends of Ophiuchus

Among the Babylonians the stars ofOphiuchus and Serpens were thought toportray the sun god Marduk fighting withthe dragon Tiamat (Draco). But later inGreek mythology, Ophiuchus wasidentified with Aesculapius, the Greekgod of medicine.

Aesculapius was the son of Apollo andthe Thessalian princess Coronis, who diedgiving birth to Aesculapius. When he wasa youth he had such a radiant appearancethat everyone knew that he had to be oneof the gods. Chiron, the wisest of theCentaurs, taught him the art of medicine.One day Aesculapius observed a snake

carrying a herb in its mouth which wasused to revive another snake that hadbeen killed. Aesculapius took the herb andwith it expanded his knowledge of medi-cine. Aesculapius was becoming so knowl-edgeable that the god Zeus feared hewould learn how to defeat the death ofmortals. To prevent this Zeus felt thatAesculapius must die. He regrettablydestroyed him with a bolt of lightning, butthen placed him among the stars in theconstellation of Ophiuchus. Since thenAesculapius and the snake have beenspecial symbols of healing. Hippocrates,upon whose name all physicians swear anoath to respect the sick, was supposedly adescendant of Aesculapius.

Today’s emblem of medicine, thecaduceus, commemorates this legend. It isa winged staff with two snakes entwinedaround it, similar to the staff which wascarried by the Greek god Hermes.

Legends of Orion

In the northern tip of Australia inArnhem Land the aborigines speak of thetime when three famous fishermen, whobelonged to the kingfish totem, spentseveral days at sea trying to catch fish.They were successful, but only in catchingkingfish, which they could not eat since itwas the totem of their people. They werein a terrible dilemma for their childrenwould go hungry if they did not returnwith some fish. In desperation theydecided to break the taboo against eating


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kingfish. They resumed fishing and sooncaught three more kingfish. The Sun,amazed and angered that they would killand eat their totem, called upon theclouds, the sea and the wind to create agigantic waterspout. It was so powerfulthat it whirled the three fishermen andtheir canoe high into the sky. To this daythey may be seen seated in their canoe asthe three stars in a row in Orion. If onelooks very carefully, just below the threestars you may be able to see the tiny fishhanging below their canoe.

Among the Ju/Wasi people of Africa isthe legend of the god Old/Gao who washunting for zebras. He finally saw three ofthem lined up in a row; took aim and shothis arrow, but missed his target. Thethree zebras escaped and now may beseen as the three center stars of Orion.The arrow may still be seen where it fell.It lies just below the three zebras facingaway from them.

In Greek mythology, Hyrieus, a poorfarmer who lived in Thebes, was a kindman who frequently befriended strangersalthough he was poor. One day he helpedthree unusual strangers. He did not knowthat they were the gods Zeus, Neptuneand Hermes. In return for his kindness hewas granted one wish. Hyrieus, who waschildless, asked to have a son. The wishwas granted and Orion was born. Oriongrew up and became a superb hunter forhe had been blessed by the gods, but as hebecame more and more famous as a greathunter he also became insensitive to theanimals he hunted. He actually enjoyedthe killing of an animal. He did not hunt

and kill for necessity. He was so unfeelingabout the life of animals that Artemis, thegoddess of hunting, sent the giant scor-pion (Scorpius) to attack him. He wasstung and about to die when Ophiuchusthe healer gave Orion an antidote whichsaved his life. When Orion recovered herealized, after being so close to death, howprecious life is and how pitiless anduncaring he had been. He repented andtherefore was placed in the heavens withthe scorpion whose sting had taught himthat all life is precious. See the legend ofSagittarius.

Legend of Pegasus

Pegasus, the magical winged horse ofancient Greek mythology, was the off-spring of Poseidon and Medusa. Hehelped Perseus race through the sky tosave beautiful Andromeda (see the legendof Cassiopeia). He was also the steedwho rode on the wind carrying the heroBellerophon through his adventures.

Bellerophon was the son of Corinth andthe grandson of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was aselfish and arrogant man who tookadvantage of people who were less clever.He was therefore punished by the godsand forced to roll a massive stone to thetop of a hill, but whenever the top wasalmost reached the stone would alwaysslip and fall to the bottom. He was forcedto continue this struggle for the rest of hislife.

Bellerophon was wrongly accused of


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doing something evil. He was thereforesent on several dangerous missions whichhe was able to accomplish with the help ofPegasus. As a result he was given theright to keep Pegasus.

As Bellerophon grew older he becamearrogant like his grandfather and tooproud of his possession of a magical horsethat could even ride to the gods. AlthoughBellerophon was only mortal, he tried toforce Pegasus to take him to the top ofMount Olympus so he could mingle withthe gods. Pegasus was so astounded at thisarrogance that he reared up and threwBellerophon off his back. Bellerophon fellto Earth while Pegasus flew to the Gods.

Legend of Perseus

King Acrisius of Argos in Greece was toldby an oracle that he would someday bekilled by his grandson. To prevent this heimprisoned his daughter Danae so thatno one could reach her. But Jupiter sawher and fell in love with her. The prisonwas no barrier. When his daughter gavebirth to Perseus, the king put them bothin a chest and set them adrift on the sea.The chest did not sink, but eventuallylanded safely on the island of Seriphuscontrolled by King Polydectes. WhenPerseus became a young man he was fullof adventure and eager for glory. KingPolydectes fell in love with Danae, butrealized that her devotion to Perseuswould interfere with his courtship of her.He therefore decided to send Perseus

away on a long and dangerous mission.He asked Perseus to bring him the headof the Gorgon Medusa. Medusa had oncebeen a beautiful woman, who was soboastful of her beauty that she wasturned into a Gorgon, a winged monsterwith snakes for hair and dragon scales forskin. Whoever looked at Medusa’s facewould turn to stone.

Perseus needed help to accomplish thistask. He coerced three nymphs to help himfind the gorgons and to give him the threethings he would need to succeed: a pair ofwinged sandals which allowed him to flyanywhere; a magic helmet which wouldallow him to see without being seen; andmost important he was given a highly pol-ished shield by the Goddess Athena.

After traveling very far he finally foundthe three Gorgons. They were asleep. Heapproached them by walking backwardswhile using his shield as a mirror so hewould not look directly at Medusa. Hethen cut off her head with a sharp swordgiven to him by Mercury, and placed it inhis bag. Immediately after Perseus hadkilled Medusa, the winged horse Pegasusarose out of her body.

Perseus jumped on the back of Pegasusand they soared away toward home. As hewas passing near Ethiopia he heard thescream of Andromeda who was about tobe attacked by Cetus the sea monster. Heimmediately turned and noticed thebeautiful Andromeda chained to a hugerock. Read how he rescued her in theCassiopeia legend.

Perseus and Andromeda were happilymarried except for one sorrowful incident.


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While participating in a discus throwingevent, he accidently struck a bystanderand killed him. The bystander was hisgrandfather, King Acrisius, fulfilling theoracle’s prophecy that Perseus wouldcause his grandfather;s death. He was sosaddened by the tragedy that he gaveaway the kingdom he inherited.

Legend of the Phoenix

The phoenix is a bird that is the symbol ofimmortality and the fires within the raysof the sun.

When the time came for the magnificentphoenix to die at the age of 500 years, itarranged a nest for itself among the mostfragrant herbs and spices. When the sunrose to its highest point in the sky thephoenix closed its eyes and died. The raysof the sun focused upon the nest and setthe nest on fire. When the flames subsidedand the ashes cooled a young phoenixemerged and flew toward the setting sun,the source of recurring life.

Legends of the Pleiades

See the legend of Ursa Major.Among the Polynesians in Central

Australia is the legend that the SevenSisters hungered for some wild figs whichcould not be found in the sky world, butonly on Earth. They therefore came downto Earth. When they arrived they were

frightened by the new surroundings andhid in a cave. They were unaware thatNirunja, who lives in Orion, and wanted tomake love to the sisters, saw them leavetheir home in the sky. He secretly followedthem down to Earth. When he saw thementering the cave he decided to wait untilnightfall when they would be asleep. Hethen built a camouflage of fig leaves andslowly crept toward the sleeping beauties.As he snuggled among them they awokeand fought their way to the rear of thecave where they escaped through a smallcrevice in the rock and flew up to theirhome in the sky. Nirunja, enraged, ran outof the cave, climbed to the top of the moun-tain and raced after the sisters. Just as hewas about to catch them Taurus the Bull,who lives between the seven sisters andNirunja’s home in Orion, awakened fromhis sleep and faced Nirunja threateninghim with his gigantic horns. Nirunjastared at Taurus, realized he could not getpast him, and in frustration returned tohis home in the three stars of Orion.

The Maori of Australia refer to thePleiades as Matariki which means ‘littleeyes’, but which also refers to a woman.They visualize its seven visible stars asMatariki and her six daughters. Whenthe Pleiades appears before dawn it isconsidered the beginning of a new year, atwhich time the seven women are greetedwith songs of hope for the future andsongs of tears for the departed. It is atime for festivities and offerings of youngshoots of sweet potatoes to Matariki,since she and her daughters watch overand protect their crops.


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The Masai of East Africa referred to thePleiades as the ‘rain stars’, while theZulus of South Africa refer to them as the‘digging stars’, since they appear at thebeginning of the rainy season and denotethe time to plow the land.

Among the ancient Greeks the sevenstars of the Pleiades were the sevendaughters of Atlas and Pleione. It is saidthat Orion the hunter tried to kidnapPleione while she was walking with herdaughters. Fortunately, they escaped, butas the Pleiades moves across the skyOrion is still in pursuit, never far behindPleione.

Legend of Sagitta the Arrow

This small constellation, next to the con-stellation of Aquila, commemorates themagic arrow of Hercules which was usedto kill Aquila, Jupiter’s pet eagle, whichwas inflicting such agony uponPrometheus. See the legend of Aquila.

Legend of Sagittarius

Sagittarius is considered to be a centaur –half horse, half man, a creature with the


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power of a horse and the understandingof a person.

Among the ancient Greeks the king ofthe centaurs was Chiron, the kindest andwisest centaur. He was the teacher ofHercules the great hunter, Aesculapiusthe father of medicine, Achilles, andJason who sought the golden fleece. Itwas Chiron who arranged the stars in theorder we now see them.

During one of the travels of Hercules hehad the opportunity to befriend Pholos, theson of Chiron, when Pholos was in danger.Chiron was very grateful to Hercules forbefriending his son when in need of help.He therefore placed in the constellationSagittarius a centaur who was a greatarcher in order to guard and protectHercules from Scorpius the scorpion.

If you look at the heavens at night andwatch as Orion sets in the west, you willnotice Scorpius rising in the east as if itis following the hunter. But Sagittarius,the archer, follows Scorpius who onceattacked Hercules, always ready toattack Scorpius again if it threatensHercules.

Legend of Scorpius

In China Scorpius was called the ‘AzureDragon’.

The Polynesians of Tahiti tell the storyof the boy Pipiri and his sister Rehua.Their mother, who was quite harsh andshort tempered, went fishing for theevening meal. It was not until late at

night that she caught enough fish for thefamily dinner. By the time she returnedhome her husband and children wereasleep. They had gone to bed hungry. Sheawakened her husband and cooked awonderful meal. He suggested that sheawaken the children who had been quitehungry. She refused despite herhusband’s insistence and put the chil-dren’s portion away until the followingday. Pipiru and Rehua were awakened bythe discussion and were severely hurt bytheir mother’s lack of sensitivity to theirhunger. They therefore decided to runaway from home. Later that night aftertheir parents were asleep they crept outof the house and ran and ran until theyreached a tall hill. They climbed the hilland sank to the ground exhausted. Theywept because of leaving their home, butthey were determined not to return.Their tears flowed until it actuallyformed a small pool. Meanwhile justbefore sunrise their mother awakened,saw their bed stained by their tears andimmediately awakened her husband tofind the children. She saw their tracksbarely visible in the early light and fol-lowed their small footprints and trail oftears until they reached the top of thehill where the tracks ended. They werelooking around, confused for the childrenwere nowhere to be seen until theirfather looked up and saw Pipiru andRehua rising to the stars. They decidedto follow. When the children saw theirparents getting close to them Pipiruasked a giant stag-beetle to help themescape. He placed the children upon his


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back and with tremendous speed flew upto the stars where they may be seen inthe two bright stars in the tail ofScorpius. The giant stag-beetle went toits home in Antares, the bright star inthe body of Scorpius. In the South Pacificwhen parents are unfair or too harsh,children sing a song about Pipiru andRehua. See the legend of Orion.

Legend of Taurus

The bull was an ancient symbol ofworship. He was revered by the

Sumerians as the ‘Bull of Light’, by theEgyptians as Osiris-Apis and was theGolden Calf of biblical times. Taurus, thebull, is the symbol of springtime, which isthe time for ploughing and planting, butit is also the symbol of love, which seemsto blossom during springtime.

There is a Greek legend that the godZeus fell in love with the beautifulprincess Europa, daughter of KingAgenor. Europa had been playing at theseashore. Zeus had been watching herand noticed that when she stoppedplaying she stood at the edge of the seaand wished that she could go far beyondthe horizon. He was so enchanted with


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her loveliness that he transformedhimself into a magnificent white bull. Hemoved close to the princess and loweredhis head. The princess immediately knewthat he was offering her the opportunityto fulfill her dream. When she looked intohis pleading eyes and felt his wave oflove, she climbed onto his back. Zeus, inthe form of the bull, dashed into the seaand with great speed swam beyond thehorizon to the island of Crete. There hechanged himself back to his true form,told her of his love and that he was animmortal god. The princess was so over-whelmed by the intensity and sincerity ofhis love that she accepted him as herlover. The constellation of Taurus symbol-izes this love story.

In the constellation of Taurus is thestar cluster Hyades. Hyades was given aplace in heaven because she had nursedDionysus, the son of Zeus.

The Pleiades, also a star cluster andpart of Taurus, were the seven daughtersof Pleione and the giant Atlas. There aremany legends about the Pleiades. See thelegends of the Pleiades and read thelegend of Ursa Major, which is also aboutthe Pleiades.

Legend of Ursa Major

When the Earth was very young anAmerican Indian wise man sent his sevensons into the forest to learn how to readthe wind. They entered the woods andsilently walked while listening to every

sound of the wind. When nightapproached they found a place to rest andto sleep. The stars were bright.

During the night the oldest brother wassuddenly awakened by a strange sound.The wind was singing. He could not readthe wind song, but as he looked to thestars he saw a bright light flickering inthe Pleiades. He was startled for it wasflickering in rhythm with the wind song.It appeared to be beckoning to him.

He immediately awakened his brothersto listen to the song and to help read thewind. They joined hands and began todance. The song became stronger andtheir dance more intense. Suddenly theybegan to rise toward the flickering starwho was the youngest of the sevensisters of the Pleiades. She had fallen inlove with the youngest brother Mizar.Since then, Mizar and his love, given tohim by the wind song, can be seen bythose with sharp eyes in the handle ofthe Big Dipper – the home of the sevenbrothers.

This legend has been derived from aMongolian and an American Indianlegend.

Legend of Virgo

Virgo symbolizes the Earth goddess andthe goddess of fertility. It is also thesymbol of harvest time.

In ancient Babylonia they spoke of thetime when the Earth was dark. Theplants would not grow and the animals


95

did not give birth. This was the timewhen Ishtar, the Chaldean goddess ofearth and fertility, went through theseven gates of the underworld to find herhusband Tammuz, who had been slain bya wild boar and taken to the underworld.As soon as Ishtar entered the first gate tothe underworld, the Earth darkened.When she reached the underworld theQueen of Hell refused to give upTammuz. When the gods over Earth senta message to the Queen of the under-world to release Tammuz or be destroyed,Ishtar and Tammuz were sprinkled withmagic water, set free and ascendedthrough the seven gates of Hell to Earth.As they reentered Earth spring began,flowers bloomed and the sun warmed theland.

Legends of the Milky Way

The Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert inCentral Africa speak of the time when afamous hunter was lost in the dangerousbush. Despite days of searching for hisvillage he failed to find the right path. Onenight, depressed and fatigued, he rested bythe edge of a river and prayed to his gods tohelp him. Hours later, while looking at thesky, he was suddenly aware of a stream ofsparkling stars that seemed to point in onedirection. He immediately arose and fol-lowed that path in the sky and eventuallyreached his home. His wife, who realized hemust have been lost, was throwing embersof the campfire into the sky to form the

path that brought him safely back to her.The Dogons of Africa had a similar

legend in that their god Amma threwpellets of earth into the sky therebyforming the Milky Way.

Among some of the natives of the Andesthe Milky Way was considered a river onwhich the spirits of the dead periodicallytravelled to return to the land of theliving in order to perpetuate communica-tion between the living and the dead.

Among the aboriginals of the southernpart of Australia is a tale of woe that tookplace long ago during their ‘DreamingTime’. A married woman had fallen in lovewith another man. When she becameunfaithful to her husband she tried to hideher affair and therefore lied to him toprotect herself and her lover, but he wasaware of what she had done. He orderedher to build a large fire. When it was veryhigh he grabbed her and threw her into theflames only to see her immediately float upto the sky where she may be seen as a darkpatch in the river of stars, the Milky Way.

The Polynesians also speak of Tane, theson of Rangi who was the sky and light,as the god of the forest, beauty and lightas well as the god of the fairies. Rangi andEarth were together in an embrace untilTane separated them, placing the skyhigh above earth, so that there would belight between them. Tane then threw abasket of stars into the sky to form theMilky Way. Some believe that the MilkyWay is the body of Tane’s father Rangi.

Some Polynesians consider the MilkyWay to be the‘water of life’.They speak of amagnificent blue shark that liked to eat

96

people.It was a pet of the gods.When twoyoung men decided to kill it the gods inter-vened and placed the shark in the sky whereit swims along its river,the MilkyWay.

The Milky Way has been thought of asthe pathway to the home of Zeus/Jupiter.It was also considered the path ofPhaeton’s wild ride across the sky in thesun chariot. See the legend of Cygnus.

The Chinese and the Japanese visual-ized the Milky Way as the silver celestial

97

river. The Norsemen believed the MilkyWay to be the path traveled by thedeparted souls going to Valhalla. Inancient Wales it was the silver road to thecastle of the king of fairies, Caer Groyden.

The Algonquin Indians of NorthAmerica believed it to be the path of thedeparted spirits on their way to their vil-lages in the sun. The stars of the MilkyWay are the campfires that guided themalong the path.


98

SouthCelestial Pole

Fig. 1CRUX

CARINA

VELA

Canopus

Achernar

LargeMagellanic

Cloud

SmallMagellanic

Cloud

FalseCross

CHAMAELEON

APUS

TRIANGULUMAUSTRALE

OCTANS

HYDRUS

TUCANA

PAVO

ARA

NORMA

INDUSHOROLOGIUM

RETICULUM

DORADOMENSA

PICTOR

VOLANS

MUSCACIRCINUS

CENTAURUS

LUPUS

Rigil Kentaurus

HadarAcrux

Mimosa

Part 4There’s more to see!

Circumpolar constellations

If an observer is south of latitude 35degrees south, certain constellations mayalways be seen above the southernhorizon circling the South Celestial Pole(SCP). The circumpolar constellationsinclude Octans, Chamaeleon, most ofCarina, Crux, part of Centaurus, Apus,part of Indus, Musca, Circinus, most ofAra, Pavo, Volans, Tucana, Achernar ofEridanus, Horologium, Reticulum, partof Dorado and Pictor, Mensa, part ofVela, Triangulum Australe, Hydrus, aswell as the Large and Small Clouds ofMagellan.

The illusion of these constellationsrotating around the SCP is due to Earth’srotation around its own axis. If a linewere drawn from the south pole throughthe center of the earth through the northpole and extended to the celestial sphereit would end approximately 0.8 degreesfrom Polaris in the north and 13 degreesfrom Star 2 of the constellation Hydrus inthe south.

99

Test of vision

Although there are 200 billion stars likeour Sun in our galaxy, we can only seeabout 2500 of them at one time above thehorizon under ideal conditions.

Color testStars vary in color. These colors dependon a star’s temperature (just as the colorof a flame depends on its temperature).The coolest stars are red, the hottest blue.If you look closely, you can see some ofthese colors for the brightest stars. Trylooking at some of those listed below.

Reddish Blue WhiteAntares in Scorpius Vega in LyraAldebaran in Taurus Rigel in OrionBetelgeuse in Orion Regulus in Leo

Yellowish Spica in Virgo

Capella in Auriga Castor in Gemini

Rigil in Centaurus Hadar in Centaurus

Canopus in Carina Acrux in Southern Cross

White Orange

Sirius in Canis Major Arcturus in Bootes

Fomalhuat in Piscis Yellow WhiteAustrinus Procyon in Canis Minor

Altair in Aquila

Star brightness testMost people can see fifth magnitudestars, some can see sixth and evenseventh magnitude stars. Remember, thehigher the magnitude, the dimmer thestar. Orion is an excellent testingground. Look for the hazy nebula (amass of dust and gas) above Orion’s belt(marked with an arrow on Fig. 2). Thenumbers show the magnitude (bright-ness) of each star.

How many stars can you see in thePleiades? Five is good, six is very goodand seven is excellent. To study the faintstars of Centaurus will help to solidifyone’s mental image of the figure.

The twinkling of the stars is not thestar itself twinkling, but the effect ofatmospheric air currents that break upthe rays of light. If the air is very turbu-lent even the planets may twinkle.

There’s more to see!

100


101

ORION

Betelgeuse

Alcyone

Rigel

Fig. 2 – Orion Fig. 3 – Pleiades

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

66

CENTAURUS

CRUX

LUPUS

Rigil Kentaurus

HadarAcrux

Mimosa

0.0 5.2

0.64.9

4.3

4.7 5.02.35.2

4.75.5

2.6

5.1

5.1

4.34.3

4.7 3.9

2.23.9

2.64.5

4.0

3.9

3.1

4.1

3.6

0.9

2.8

1.6

1.2

Fig. 4 – Star brightness test

Binocular sights

Binoculars are rated by their magnifyingpower and by the diameter of the objectivelens (front lens). The ability of binocularsto increase the amount of light seen by theeye is dependent upon the diameter of theobjective lens. The maximum opening ofthe pupil of the human eye is approxi-mately 8 millimeters. This permits you tosee stars with a magnitude of six and pos-sibly seven. A binocular with a rating of7�32 means that its light-gatheringability, based upon a 32 millimeter objec-tive, would be approximately four times(32/8) as great as your naked eye. Thisgreater light-gathering power enables oneto see star clusters, nebulae, galaxies anddouble stars that you could not see withyour naked eye, and single stars with amagnitude of nine or ten.

A star cluster is a group of stars thatappear very close together. A double star isactually two stars so close together thatthey appear as one star. Nebulae areclouds of dust and gas that may appear asa dark area against a background of stars,or with a faint glow if a luminous star isnearby. Galaxies are star systems similarto our own Milky Way. They are sometimesreferred to as ‘Island Universes’.

Location of planets

Planets are spherical bodies that orbit astar and reflect its light. They are probablyformed as particles from clouds of gas anddust (a nebula) that slowly cluster together

due to gravitational pull. The word planetis derived from the Greek word ‘planetes’meaning wanderer. In ancient times theywere called wandering stars.

Planets orbiting distant stars may bedetected by noting a faint wobble in a star’smovement.This suggests a nearby planet isexerting a tiny gravitational effect uponthat star.The same principle may be usedto detect a moon orbiting a planet.Thereare nine known planets in our solar system,Mercury,Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, butonly Mars,Venus, Mercury, Jupiter andSaturn may be seen with the naked eye.

We may find planets more readily if weunderstand the following:

✶ All of our planets except Pluto revolve aroundthe Sun along a fairly narrow path. That orbitalpath is called the ecliptic. It may be visualizedas a flat plane with the Sun in the center.

✶ Although the orbital paths of the planets liealong the same general pathway around thesun, they arrive at different times along anygiven point in their orbit. That is why they arenot always seen together. When they do appearclose together they are said to be in conjunction.

✶ Since the Sun and Earth are on the sameplane against a background of stars, thirteendifferent constellations are sequentiallyhidden from our view as we revolve aroundthe sun. Astrologers do not include the con-stellation Ophiuchus in order to make it aneven twelve. These constellations comprisethe Zodiac that was first described in approxi-mately 500 BCE. Planets are therefore alwaysnear one of the Zodiac constellations.


102

103

CANIS MAJOR

ORION

CAPRICORNUS

TAURUS

AURIGA

CANCER

GEMINI

Star Cluster

Nebula

Galaxy

Double Star

Fig. 5 – Binocular Sights (1)

Aldebaran

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Sirius

Adhara

Capella

LEORegulus

Pollux

Castor

Pleiades

Hyades

HERCULES



104

Star Cluster

Nebula

Galaxy

Double Star

Fig. 6 – Binocular Sights (2)

Achernar

Antares

Canopus

Canopus

LargeMagellanicCloud

Small MagellanicCloud

MENSA PICTOR

TUCANA

RETICULUM

SAGITTARIUS

SCORPIUS

LIBRA

DORADO

FalseCross

CRUX

CENTAURUS

Acrux

Mimosa

Gacrux

Hadar

Rigil Kentaurus

CARINA

VELA

105

✶ In the Southern Hemisphere the Sun crossesthe northern part of the sky. Since our planetslie on the same plane as the Sun, they willmainly be seen in the northern part of the sky.They are never near the south polar area.

✶ If there is a bright object in the northern sky itis either Jupiter, Saturn, Venus or Mars.Mercury is seen low in the horizon, beforesunrise or after sunset since it is close to theSun.

✶ Venus is the ‘morning star’ seen in the east asthe Sun comes up or the ‘evening star’ in thewestern sky after sunset.

✶ Planets display minimal twinkling unless closeto the horizon where the increase in thenumber of atmospheric particles produces amore pronounced shimmering effect.

✶ Mars is the only planet whose color is quitedistinct, with a reddish tint. Jupiter, thelargest planet, may be very bright, but still notas bright as Venus. Some of Jupiter’s moonsmay be seen by those with excellent vision.

The Ecliptic and the Zodiac

The ecliptic is the circular path of Earth’sorbit around the Sun. During this move-ment classically 12 (actually 13) constel-lations that are in the background beyondthe Sun are sequentially hidden fromview by the Sun. These constellationscomprise the Zodiac. They are Aries,Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra,Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius,Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. Thisline-up of constellations was recognizedin ancient times. The early Greeks visual-ized animals moving among the constella-tions of the Zodiac. Each constellation isdepicted as an animal except for Libra.‘Zodiac’ means animal in Greek.

Since all of our planets except Plutoorbit the Sun close to the same orbitalplane as Earth they are always seen closeto the ecliptic and therefore along theZodiac highway of 13 constellations. SeeFig. 7.


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Navigational stars

Stars have guided navigators as they crossedthe oceans and explored foreign lands. Fifty-seven stars have been designated asnavigational stars

Star Constellation

Acamar EridanusAchernar EridanusAcrux CruxAdhara Canis MajorAldebaran TaurusAlioth Ursa MajorAlkaid Ursa MajorAl Na´ir GrusAlnilam OrionAlphard HydraAlphecca Corona BorealisAlpheratz Andromeda-PegasusAltair AquilaAnkaa PhoenixAntares ScorpiusArcturus BootesAtria Triangulum AustraleAvior CarinaBellatrix OrionBetelgeuse OrionCanopus CarinaCapella AurigaDeneb CygnusDenebola LeoDiphda CetusDubhe Ursa MajorEl Nath TaurusEltanin DracoEnif PegasusFomalhaut Piscis AustrinisGacrux CruxGianah CorvusHadar CentaurusHamal AriesKaus Australis SagittariusKochab Ursa MinorMarkab PegasusMenkar CetusMenkent CentaurusMiaplacidus CarinaMirfak Perseus

Star Constellation

Nunki SagittariusPeacock PavoPollux GeminiProcyon Canis MinorRasalhague OphiuchusRegulus LeoRigel OrionRigil Kentaurus CentaurusSabik OphiuchusSchedar CassiopeiaShaula ScorpiusSirius Canis MajorSpica VirgoSuhail VelaVega LyraZubenelgenubi Libra

Minor constellations

Constellations dimmer than 3.5 magnitude

Antlia �4.3Apus �3.8Caelum �4.5Camelopardalis �4.3Cancer �3.9Coma Berenices �4.3Corona Australis �4.1Crater �3.6Equuleus �3.9Fornax �4.1Horologium �3.9Lacerta �3.8Leo Minor �3.8Mensa �5.0Microscopium �4.7Monocerus �3.9Norma �4.0Octans �3.8Pisces �3.6Pyxis �3.7Sculptor �4.3Scutum �3.9Sextans �4.5Volans �3.8Vulpecula �4.4


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Constellations index

Constellations marked with an asteriskcontain one or more stars that are at least asbright as magnitude 3.

Scientific name Page Diagram

* Andromeda 65 27–35–36–37Antila 20 13Apus 23 14

* Aquarius 62 36* Aquila 56 33–35* Ara 25 15–20* Aries 63 27–36–37* Auriga 45 25–26–37* Bootes 51 29

Caelum 36 22CamelopardalisCancer 55 32

* Canes Venataci 51 29* Canis Major 43 21–25–26* Canis Minor 43 25–32* Capricornus 29 19–20* Carina 19 12–13–14–21* Cassiopeia 65 37* Centaurus 17 10–13–15–16–23* Cepheus* Cetus 47 22–27–28

Chamaeleon 23 14Circinus 25 15–20

* Columba 47 22–25–26–27Coma Berenices 52 30Corona Australis 33 20

* Corona Borealis 51 29–38–40* Corvus 19 30

Crater 53 30* Crux 17 9–10–12–14–15–

23–30–41* Cygnus 59 33–34–45

Delphinus 61 33–35Dorado 23 14–22

* DracoEquuleus 61 33–35

* Eridanus 37 22–27–28Fornax 37 22

* Gemini 45 25–26–32* Grus 29 17–19–20–36–42* Hercules 67 38–39

Horologium 23 14–22* Hydra 53 30* Hydrus 23 14–16–23

Scientific name Page Diagram

Indus 29 17–19–20Lacerta 60 35

* Leo 55 30–31–46* Leo Minor 54 31* Lepus 47 22–25–26–27* Libra 25 15–30* Lupus 25 15–16–20

Lynx 54 31* Lyra 57 33

Mensa 23 14Microscopium 33 20

* Monoceros 44 26* Musca 19 11–14–15

Norma 33 15–20Octans 23 14

* Ophiuchus 69 33–40* Orion 41 22–24–25–26–

27–28* Pavo 27 16–17–18–20* Pegasus 59 34–35–36–37* Perseus 65 25–26–36–37* Phoenix 31 19–22

Pictor 23 14–22Pisces 63 36–37

* Piscis Austrinus 63 17–19–36* Puppis 35 21

Pyxis 34 21Reticulum 23 14Sagitta 59 33–35

* Sagittarius 69 16–20–40* Scorpius 69 15–16–30–33

Sculptor 30 19Scutum 68 40

* Serpens 69 40Sextans 52 30

* Taurus 43 25–26–27Telescopium 33 20

* Triangulum 64 27–37* Triangulum Australe 25 15–20* Tucana 29 17–18* Ursa Major 50 29–30–31* Ursa Minor* Vela 21 13–21* Virgo 53 29–30–31

Volans 23 14Vulpecula 56 33–35

TrianglesOrienting Triangles 74 48Summer Triangle 43 25Winter Triangle 60 33–35Zaydeh’s Triangle 60 33–35


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Milton Heifetz - A Walk Through The Southern Sky - A Guide To The Stars And Constellations

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Transcript of Milton Heifetz - A Walk Through The Southern Sky - A Guide To The Stars And Constellations