Capricornus (The Goat) I picked Capricornus constellation for this assignment. I picked Capricornus because it looks interesting and Capricornus is my zodiac (I was born in January) The representation of Capricornus, The Sea-Goat or Goat-Fish, as a creature with the head and body of a goat and the tail of a fish, may well have originated from Assyro-Babylonian depictions of their god of wisdon Oannes, who was half-man, half-fish. In Greek mythology, this constellation is associated with the…
Aries: The Constellation and Zodiac Sign History/Astronomy: Aries (meaning “the ram” in Latin) is an ancient, mid-size constellation, actually ranked 39 out of the 88 constellations in terms of size (it takes up 441 square degrees). The constellation was catalogued by Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, in the 2nd centery. It was recognized as a constellation in 1922 by the International Astronomical Union, and, in 1930 an astronomer named Eugene Delporte defined its boundaries. When attempting to find…
For several reasons, I was compelled to choose the Lyra constellation. It was listed by Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, around the 2nd century. In the diagram I have provided, I named three stars (Lyra has 5 main stars altogether) which happen to be the three brightest stars in the constellation, with Vega being the brightest at 0.03m. Vega is the second brightest star in the entirety of the northern hemisphere, and the fifth brightest overall. As a sidenote, much like the Big Dipper, Vega is part…
My favorite constellation is Andromeda for many reasons. One reason is, the meaning of Andromeda, being "the chained woman". When some see this, they think a woman that has been chained, but it is much more than that. A some kind of hidden meaning. A woman, chained from something that they believe in, chained from a thing that they would like to do. Even chained from the world. Trapped in someone else's beliefs. A second reason is, the name and how it is properly said just appeals to me. The way…
Later Dante says: “The sun, who had chased Capricorn from the height of heaven with his bright arrows, was shooting out the light on every side…” Dante uses the location of Capricorn to indicate the location of the sun. Dante always seems to use the Zodiac as part of the scientific sphere rather than the prophetic. This type of usage would likely be much more consistent with modern day Astronomy, specifically using the measurements of the stars and planets as a function of time and earthly…
For my constellation I have chosen Pegasus. I have chosen this constellation because flying creatures have always interested me and I think it is one of the more beautiful constellations in the sky. The near perfect rectangle in the center of the constellation is also very interesting and makes the constellation even more beautiful. I also prefer constellations with several stars and Pegasus is made up of 18 different stars! The myth of this constellation I have chosen from Greek mythology.…
Initially I thought that picking my favorite constellation would be an easy and foregone conclusion, that being my birth constellation, however, I find myself drawn to all the water related constellations. After pondering the subject a bit I finally decided to go with my birth constellation of pieces. Pieces ended up being my favorite constellation because, first and foremost, it is the constellation I was born under and it is a water constellation. I have a very strong attraction to water in…
I have chosen the constellation Lyra. I have chosen this constellation because I have an interest in greek history where it came from. Lyra is a constellation in the Hercules family that resembles a harp. It has 5 main stars but 25 in total. It's brightest star is Vega and it is bordered by the constellations Draco, Hercules, Vulpecula and Cygnus. The constellation Lyra represent Orpheus' lyre. It was supposedly made by Hermes with a tortoise shell and it was, according to legend, the first…
The Big Dipper is the first constellation I learned to identify as a child. Though I made up stories and constellations as I stared into the velvety darkness, the Big Dipper was the only "real" one I knew. This constellation is one of the easiest to find, as well as being one of the few that can be spotted year-round in North America. It is also part of another constellation, Ursa Major. Another advantage to being able to point out is that it also becomes easy to find Polaris, the North Star. If…
The constellation I've picked is Virgo. I have chosen this constellation because it is the second largest. It takes four hours to clear the eastern horizon because it is so big. Virgo was associated with harvest as a harvest goddess or daughter of a goddess. It was associated with harvest because the Sun passed along the constellation during late summer or early autumn. This was when the farmers were gathering the crops they had planted. The brightest star in Virgo, Spica, is said to…