Constellations are patterns of groups of stars in the sky. They have been around for a long time, and most people know of the most common ones, especially the zodiac constellations. I find constellations interesting because I always liked trying to find them in the night sky, and I have always wondered how they came about. Constellations have an important history that many do not know about.
Constellations have been around for over 3000 years. No one knows who invented them, however astronomers believe they originated with the Sumerians and Babylonians. A famous Greek scientist named Ptolemy published The Almagest, which included all Greek astronomical knowledge. There was a catalog of 1022 stars, which were arranged into the basic 48 constellations that formed the basis for our solar system.
There are officially 88 constellations in the sky. However, some you can only see from specific areas of the world. Some of the most well-known constellations are the zodiacs, which line up with your birthday and have specific meanings. There are 12 of these, which are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. These were also created by the
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When they were first created so many years ago, they were used to help the ancient people for many purposes. The most common was navigation. People used the North Star (Polaris) as their starting point, and from there you can find out the latitude and longitude by looking at how high Polaris was in the sky. Ancient humans also used them for agriculture. There were no proper calendars, so to determine when to plant and harvest crops, they used the stars to remember. They could tell by what constellations were in the sky when a new season was coming. Now, constellations are used to name new stars that are found. Most stars are named by the constellation they are found in, and by how bright the star
If there is one great constellation, it is the constellation of Gemini. As a Zodiac Constellation, it is only visible during parts of the year. It's two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, give it the name of the Twins. Anyone born in the end of May until late June is said to have two faces: one of Pollux's and one of Castor's.
They show all of this to show how they were brought up and who founded them. They help to tell more about the periodic table and why they are set in the way they are on the periodic
For example, the Cumulo de Pegaso is located off the tip of Pegasus’s nose and is known for its intensely bright center (Pommier, Rod). Cumulo de Pegaso was discovered by Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1764 (“Pegasus Constellation”). Unlike Cumulo de Pegaso which can be seen with a small-telescope, Stephan’s Quintet requires a large telescope (Bakich, Michael E). Stephan’s Quintet is the first compact group of five galaxies. Edouard Jean-Marie Stephan discovered Stephan’s Quintet in 1877 (Berman, Bob.). In 1784, William Herschel discovered the Propeller Galaxy. The Propeller Galaxy is undergoing star forming activity, resulting in the S-shape it was named after “Pegasus Constellation”). Also in 1784, William Herschel discovered the spiral galaxy of NGC 7331. NGC 7331 resembles the Milky Way in size and structure (“Pegasus Constellation”). Lastly, Einstein’s Cross includes four quasars that show the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. Einstein predicted gravitational lensing in his general theory of relativity, claiming that gravity would be able to bend light. This prediction led to Einstein’s Cross’s name (“Pegasus
Capricorn is well known for its several notable stars and its globular cluster Messier 30 (A Guide to the Night Sky 1, Kaler 1,Kornmessser 3, Zimmermann 1). “Also, there are five meteor showers associated with Capricornus: the Alpha Capricornids, the Chi Capricornids, the Sigma Capricornids, the Tau Capricornids, and the Capricorniden Sagittarids” (A Guide to the Night Sky 1). Capricorn is the 40th biggest constellation in our galaxy. It is one of the twelve zodiac constellations. “It is in the elliptic zone, which means it can only be seen during specific months of the year”.
The star (an ancient symbol of India, Persia and Egypt) symbolized dominion and sovereignty, as well as lofty aspirations. The constellation of the stars within the union, one star for each state, is emblematic of our Federal Constitution, which reserves to the States their individual sovereignty except as to rights delegated by them to the Federal Government.
My favorite constellation is Pegasus. Pegasus is a winged horse, and I love horses. Back in the Muggle world, I rode horses in competition, and I was watching at Hogwarts during the Goblet of Fire celebration in which the girls' academy was brought in a carriage pulled by several Pegasi. Pegasi are very influential in popular Muggle culture, in television shows such as "My Little Pony" which features Pegasi, unicorns, and normal horses. Winged horses are beautiful and pristine creatures, the ultimate show of perfection.
The constellation I have chosen for this essay is Scorpius because I am a Scorpius so I have a connection with this particular constellation. The constellation Scorpius itself lies between the constellations Libra and Sagittarius in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. This constellation symbolizes a scorpion and has 18 main stars,the brightest of which is the star Antares. I have chosen this constellation because Scorpius is my zodiac and I have looked upon the Scorpius constellation and I have found it to be quite stunning.
Thousands of years ago, ancient people looked up at the night sky and spotted unfamiliar objects in the sky, known as stars. Some people saw the stars as a tool to navigate at night and to keep up with the seasons. Others were completely clueless about what the stars were and why there were up in the sky. This eventually led to curiosity and the beginning of astronomy. The very first astronomers grouped stars into constellations, which basically is connecting the stars to make an imaginary outline of people, object, or animals. This allowed the astronomers to keep track of the movement of the planets and the sun, which allowed them to create the very first accurate calendar to know when it was the right time to harvest and plant.
You see the star sparkling in the night and then you spot multiple stars that look like they are meant to form a shape, you connect the stars together and then you slowly get the picture. The pattern or shape in the night sky is called a constellation. There are many constellations, all different shapes and sizes. For example, there are horoscope constellations, or zodiac constellations, Big Dipper, Small Dipper, Pegasus, and etc. These constellations are all different shapes and sizes. But in this paper, there’s a certain type of constellation that will be discussed in this paper and those “certain type” are zodiac constellations. Not all 12 but only six: Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. After you’re done with this paper, your knowledge of horoscope constellations will be expanded.
Ancient Greek gods created some of the things we use today, like how Zeus used to be able to change people and animals into stone and put them in the sky of the things we use today like our constellations. Hundreds of years ago the ancient Greeks believed in Ancient Greek mythology. People still study constellations, what they mean, and how they connect to each other. Many beliefs of gods and goddesses exist along with mythical creatures and constellations.
One Greek myth story based on the stars is The Pleiades. This story is about Atlas’ 7 daughters; Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, and Sterope. Orion was always chasing after them and they were always running away. Zeus put them in the stars, in an attempt to save them from Orion, “But it was said that even there orion continued his pursuit , always unsuccessful, yet persistent,” (Mythology 439). This story refers to the origin of a particular constellation. It also explains why the stars move across the sky in a specific direction. Another story that helps explain something in the stars is Callisto. In this tail, Zeus sees a wolf lady and he falls in love with her. Hera gets upset and turns her into a bear so her son will kill her, “But Zeus snatched the bear away and placed her among the stars, where she is called Great Bear,” (Mythology 429). This was also used to explain where the, “Great Bear,” constellation came from. These and many other beautiful constellations with really interesting stories can still be seen
It was not up until 200 years ago that people started identifying their zodiac sign with the position of the Sun. So when a person is asked what is his or sign, the Sun was passing through on the day that person was born. This can be demonstrated on a birth chart. Our birth charts are special "sky maps" which reflect the quality of the exact moment we drew our first breath. With that first breath, we each began our own incredible hero's journey through life on planet Earth. The birth positions of the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all play their own unique symbolic roles as messengers and ambassadors of the universe.
Of course, there are many different aspects or branches of astrology. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3) Some are medical, business, stock market, weather, mundane, electrical, horary, and natal. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3) They are practiced for health, financial, politics, marriage, business, and other things that concern people in their lives. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3)
Astronomy is a natural science focusing on the study of celestial objects such as moons, stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies. Astronomy is considered to be one of the oldest natural sciences; early civilizations throughout history such as the Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks performed methodical observations of the sky. The Babylonians had different astronomical records regarding the position of the moon, sun and stars, on the other hand the Egyptians used astronomy to know the time and afterwards they developed a calendar based on the solar year. The following paper will focus on the ancient Greek astronomy, interestingly the origin of the word astronomy is Greek it comes from two words; astron meaning "star" and nemien refers to "to name". This paper will explain and highlight the methods used, famous figures and the achievements attained during the ancient Greek astronomy era.
However, this is where the questions start to enter. How were the ancient Egyptians able to know the exact area or position of these stars in order to align each of the three pyramids to them?