Chapter 1: Constellations © BRIEF 20141

2 Finding Constellations In The Sky Overview Historical Backgrounds Classical Constellations Role of Constellations What is an Asterism? Star Names

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview Question: What do you need to see constellations? Mark 1 Eyeball connected to a Human Brain Today there are 88 constellations Historical uses of the constellations Cultural Navigation Story telling Artistic From these the brightest stars were given names Question: If go outside tonight will you see exactly what our ancestors have seen through human history? NO. The reason: Modern technology has brightened our night sky Sadly, about 1 in 5 people alive today have ever seen the night sky as our ancestors have seen it.

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview ~200 Years Ago About 6,000 stars visible to the naked eye. About 200 Billion stars in the Milky Way

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview ~100 Years Ago

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview Today in most major cities

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview There is NO physical reason for a particular constellation These are stars that happen to be in the same place in the sky Over the millennia, cultures have given 100’s of names to the patterns. Some have been constant between civilizations that had no contact with each other: Ex. Orion These became landmarks in the sky

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview Here is the same part of the sky with the artistic version of the constellations:

© BRIEF Constellations: Overview As stated, there is NO physical reason for a particular constellation Many stars actually lie at varying distances but we see what appears to be stars of the same distance placed on the night sky

Chinese sky was divided into five great regions or palaces called gong 宫. These equated with N, S, E, W with a middle region. The middle region was the most important as it housed among its stars the celestial image of the emperor surrounded by his family and civil and military officials. Constellations such as ‘the prince’, ‘the concubine’, and ‘the throne’ and is a reflection of life on earth. © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures

British Star Map © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures

Ursa Major is a significant constellation in many cultures One of the oldest in the sky Referenced in Homer and the Bible Historical names range from the camel, shark and skunk to the sickle, bushel and canoe. Romans: Septentrio “Seven Plough Oxen” Native American: The bowl of the Big Dipper represents a large bear and the stars that mark the handle are the warriors chasing it. Since the constellation is pretty low in the sky in autumn, the legend says that it is the blood of the wounded bear that causes the leaves to turn red. The Big Dipper played a role in the Underground Railroad, as its position in the sky helped slaves find their way north. There were numerous songs that spread among slaves in the south that said to follow the ‘Drinking Gourd’ to get to a better life. Source: constellation-guide.com © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures

Ancient Egyptian northern constellations on the astronomical ceiling of Hall K of the tomb of Seti I. No written record survives for identifying the constellations depicted. Source: Gary David Thompson © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures

Egyptian mythology: gods descended from the belt of Orion and Sirius– the brightest star in the sky. Believed that from Sirius and Orion beings came in the form of humans– Osiris and Isis and they instigated the human race. The concept that the three pyramids at Giza are in a special alignment of Orion’s Belt is amazing. Why does the Great Pyramid have air shafts that point to Orion? The pyramids in Teotihuacán reflect numerous similarities to the pyramids of Giza, in Egypt using the same mathematics as in the Giza plateau. Source: History Channel © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures

© BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures12/24/ /24/-3014

Taurus The Bull One of the oldest going back at least to the days of Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C. In Babylon, it was the first constellation of the zodiac and known as the Heavenly Bull. Then, Taurus marked the spot the sun occupied on the first day of spring or vernal equinox. HOWEVER, today because of a slight wobbling in Earth’s axis called precession, the sun now sits in Taurus on the first day of summer. Any clear winter night, you can share this distant historical connection © BRIEF Constellations: Different Cultures12/24/ /24/2014

© BRIEF Constellations: 88 Ptolemy (1 st & 2 nd Century AD, made a catalog Mostly Greek and Roman names All Northern Hemisphere since the Southern was not well known With the Renaissance map makers went crazy and renamed to match their politicians, biblical figures, and such 1888, IAU standardized using many of Ptolemy’s constellations

© BRIEF Stellar Names Star Names: Brightest stars visible to the naked eye have all been given proper names. Mostly Arabic & Greek revealing the chain of transmission of the western astronomical tradition: Mesopotamia – Classical Greece – Roman Empire – Islam – Renaissance Europe – Today Most of the star names in the sky are Arabic Arabic: Rigel, Alberio, Deneb Greek: Sirius (dog star), Arcturus Latin: Polaris, Spica

© BRIEF Stellar Names Bayer (Greek Letter) Names 1601 Johannes Bayer developed a system of naming stars using lower case Greek letters in approximate order of brightness. Bayer names consist of two parts Greek letter to indicate brightness, in order of brightest to faintest Example: Betelgeuse = Alpha Orionis Rigel = Beta Orionis Bellatrix = Gamma Orionis Flamsteed Numbers After the 24 Greek letters are used naming moves to a catalog of naked-eye stars crated by John Flamsteed in the 18 th century 61 Cygni

Extras © BRIEF Constellations

© BRIEF

Aires: “The Ram” Represents the Ram’s horn Has several meteor showers associated with it Gamma Arietis (ƴ) is a triple star system Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Pisces: “The Fish” The Vernal Equinox is located here (when the Sun moves to the northern hemisphere across the equator) Contains two galaxies colliding Has ten stars with known exoplanets The Piscids meteor shower is here Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Aquarius: “The Water-Bearer” Beta Aquarii is a Supergiant Star Contains the Saturn Nebula and the Helix Nebula Has 7 stars with known exoplanets There are 4 meteor showers in Aquarius Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Capricornus: “The Goat” Has 3 stars with known exoplanets There are 5 meteor showers here Deneb Algedi (Delta Capricorni δ) is a 4 star system 39 LY away Algiedi (Alpha Capricorni α) is an optical binary star Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Sagittarius: “The Archer” Summer Constellation Looks like a Tea Pot (Asterism: Teapot) Contains the center of the Milky Way Has a radio source known as Sagittarius A* (thought to be the black hole at the center of the galaxy) Has 22 stars with confirmed exoplanets Look at the map….what else is there? QUESTION: WHY do you think there are so many Messier objects near here? © BRIEF

Scorpius: “The Scorpion” Pre-dates the Greeks. One of the oldest constellations known. Dates back to the Sumerians Has 13 stars with known exoplanets Has Antares, one of the sky’s brightest stars. A Red Supergiant it makes up the “heart” of the scorpion 2 meteor showers associated here Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Libra: “The Weighing Scales” Contains Methuselah, currently the OLDEST known star in the universe (See red circle to the right). Estimated at 14B years old 3 stars with known exoplanets There is one meteor shower here Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Virgo: “The Virgin” Home to the Autumn Equinox 20 stars with known exoplanets Two meteor showers Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Leo: “The Lion” 11 Stars with known exoplanets 2 meteor showers located here Alpha Leonis is a 4 star system Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Cancer: “The Crab” 2 stars with known exoplanets 1 meteor shower Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Gemini: “The Twins” Twins are: Castor & Pollux Several stars with known exoplanets 2 meteor showers Castor is a quad-binary star with a rotation period of 467 years Pollux has an exoplanet 2.3 times as large as Jupiter and is 33 LY away Look at the map….what else is there? © BRIEF

Taurus: “The Bull” Contains two star clusters: Pleiades & Hyades The Crab Nebula is here 5 stars with known exoplanets 2 meteor showers Aldebaran: Orange Supergiant. Seen in the Hyades star cluster but actually 90LY closer to earth. Hyades star cluster is 150LY away © BRIEF