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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Babylonians. Constellations are more than just pretty pictures drawn in the sky.
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
is. Most people know the some of the basic constellations in the sky, besides the zodiacs. These include Ursa Minor and Ursa Major (Little Dipper and Big Dipper), Orion, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda, Hercules, and Cygnus. Each constellation has a story or myth. Perhaps the Pleiades is one of the most talked about, as it has over 43 different stories associated to their name. A lot of these stories were based upon the Greek Gods and Goddesses, written in the works of Homer. Some constellations cannot be seen all year. Many can only been seen in one particular area or one specific time of the year. The year is split into seasons: spring, fall, winter, summer, and circumpolar (seen all year). Let’s take the northern hemisphere, for example. The circumpolar constellations are Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. In Spring, you can see Bootes, Cancer, Crater, Hydra, Leo, and Virgo. In Summer, Aquila, Cygnus, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, and Scorpius are out in the sky. There are also different constellations in the winter and fall. Some of these include Orion, Andromeda, Aquarius, Capricornus, Pegasus, and more. The constellations are a very interesting topic in astronomy. There are many myths connecting each of them together. They even served a very helpful purpose to those back in ancient times, before there was technology to help everyone out. You can go into even further depth and research each specific constellation as well, since they are all unique. Constellations have been around for a long time and will continue to be taught for even more years to come.
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
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.
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
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.
There are many scientific and literary explanations for the constellation Capricorn. It is not a very well-known constellation, but it has many interesting features. The constellation Capricorn is located in the Southern Hemisphere. To identify it, look in the sky for an arrowhead-shaped constellation. “To find it look for the summer triangle and make a line from Vega through Altair to the lower southern sky” (Zimmerman 3).
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.
I know that astronomy is getting more popular by the day since the comet came and all those people got killed. But that really did not have anything to do with astronomy, so I am not going to get into that. To me astronomy is really cool. If you have a telescope and it is a clear night you can see different constellations such as: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Hercules, Pegasus, Perseus there are many more that is so cool. But it is even cooler to look up and see them in the sky. To do all of that you first have to be in the correct place. What you can do first is look for the north star, when you find that then you are all set. If you cannot find it just simply face north and look for the brightest star in that direction. If you still cannot find it buy a compass then hopefully you will find it. If you still cannot find it ask somebody, I made no grantee that you would find it these ways. That is really all I know about astronomy, but after this paper I bet you I will know a whole lot more.
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.
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.
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
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 dates back to ancient times when peoples such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese kept written records of astronomical events and occurrences. Today’s seven day week originates from the Babylonians’ seven important bodies in the night sky: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The ancient Egyptians used the stars to align their pyramids and many of their corridors in almost perfect north-south or east-west directions. The Chinese were experts at predicting solar eclipses. They believed that a solar eclipse was a dangerous warning. Chinese astronomers were executed if they failed to predict an eclipse.
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?
...roups that have been important to astronomy are the Akkadians, Egyptians, Chinese, Polynesians, and the Greeks. They used astronomy for navigation at sea, creating accurate calendars, making new inventions, and many more things! Some modern jobs in astronomy include Educational, Private industries, National Observatories and Laboratories. Also, some technical advances because of astronomy include many telescopes, tracking programs used by FedEx, and IRAF which is used to analyze computer systems. Even though astronomy is an incredibly interesting field, there are minimum job opportunities. Some of the jobs are included in the following fields: education, national observatories and laboratories, or in private industries. Astronomy has been the key to unlocking many new inventions and by connecting things from the past, to the present, and going into the future.