Sagitta, which means “the arrow” in Latin, is a constellation that can be found from all places on Earth, excluding the Antarctic Circle, at approximately +90° and -70°. It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere, inside the Milky Way, and can best be seen in the months of August and September at approximately 9:00 PM. Sagitta was first discovered by the renowned Greek astronomer, Ptolemy, in the second century. It is considered “ancient,” for it is one of the oldest recognized constellations. Being the third smallest of the 88 known constellations, Sagitta has no stars brighter than fourth magnitude, however this constellation is composed of the Gamma Sagittae, Delta Sagittae, Alpha Sagittae, Beta Sagittae, 15 Sagittae, Sham-Alpha Sagittae, Zeta Sagittae, Eta Sagittae, Epsilon Sagittae, HD 231701 (the only known star with a planetary system in Sagitta and is 354 light years away), Theta Sagittae, S Sagittae, U Sagittae, and QZ Sagittae. Sagitta is extremely small, occupying an area of only 80 square degrees, however is bordered by Vulpecula, Delphinus, Hercules...
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.
While looking in the sky at night, you try to point out the different constellation you see. Most people know the major constellations, but many do not know about the constellation Delphinus. There are many scientific and literary explanations for the constellation Delphinus.
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
Hadar, also known as Beta Centauri, is the 10th brightest stars (11th as viewed from Earth). Hadar is a blue-white super giant in the constellation Centaurus (Cen). In about 4,000 years, the motion of Alpha Centauri, who’s proper name is Rigel Kentaurus, will carry it close enough to Hadar that they will appear to be a magnificent double star. Because of the distance away from Earth that Alpha and Beta Centauri are (approximately 90 parsecs), they will be an optical double. As they sit today, the two stars look like a pair of eyes, the right one being Hadar and the left being Rigel Kentaurus. These two stars are considered pointer stars. A “pointer star” is a star that points towards the Southern Cross. Some of the Australian aboriginals call this pair “The two men that once were lions”. Other aboriginals consider them to be the twins that created the world.” Hadar is a proper name of unknown meaning, and has been paired with the name "Wezen," the two applied to the two bright stars in Centaurus as well as to stars in Columba, "Wezen” now commonly used for Delta Canis Majoris. Hadar, less often known as Agena (from the "knee" of the Centaur), is quite the magnificent star.
“New World Romans” is what Aveni called these ancient astronomers. Settled in what now is Peru in 1400 to 1532 C.E, the Inca Empire was a large and sophisticated society that was later conquered by the Spanish. Many mysteries were left untold in their 132-year reign. Along with their mysteries, their beautiful land housed a complex system called the Ceque System. Understanding the Ceque system gives us a painting of the civilization and how they operated. The Ceque being a centralized system brought everything together, from religion, calendar to even their hydrology (Aveni, 138). As the “New World Romans” emerged early 15th century, it is with no doubt this civilization paid attention to the heavens above and has us pondering how they did
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.
At Beltane the Pleiades star cluster rises just before sunrise on the morning horizon. The Pleiades is a cluster of seven closely placed stars, the seven sisters, in the constellation of Taurus, near his shoulder. When looking for the Pleiades with the naked eye, remember it looks like a tiny dipper-shaped pattern of six moderately bright star in the constellation of Taurus. It stands very low in the east-northeast sky for just a few minutes before sunrise.
Perseus, or “the hero,” has twenty-eight stars. The brightest, most recognizable ones are Mirfak and Algol. Mirfak is the brightest star of Perseus. It is a little bit brighter than Polaris, the North Star. Algol is the most famous star. In the constellation, Algol is the eye of Medusa, translating to “demon star.” People used to think that Algol was cursed due to its constant change in brightness, but we know today that sometimes another star overlaps Algol, causing its magnitude to appear to change. Perseus has six stars with confirmed planets. (Coder pp. 85 & 87, Fanshawe, Perseus Constellation, Perseus Hero)
The basic astrological assumptions are not hard to grasp. For if astronomy is the study of the movements of the heavenly bodies, then astrology is the study of the effects of those movements. The astronomers of the ancient world assumed a division of the universe whereby the superior, immutable bodies of the celestial worlds ruled over the terrestrial or sublunary sphere, where all was mortality and change. It was assumed that the stars had special qualities and influences which were transmitted downwards upon the passive earth, and which varied in their effect, according to the changing relationship of the heavenly bodies to each other. They were led to postulate a single system in which the seven moving stars or planet shifted their position in relation to the earth and each other, against a fixed backcloth of the twelve signs of the zodiac.
2, Alter Dinsmore, Cleminshaw H. Clarence, Philips G John. Pictorial Astronomy. United States: Sidney Feinberg, 1963.
"Leda and the Constellation Cygnus." Department of Engineering, University of Michigan. 17 February 1999 http://windows.ivv.nasa.gov/mythology/cygnus.html.
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.
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.
Aristarchus lived from about the year 310 B.C. to about 230 B.C. Aristarchus was the first Greek philosopher and mathematician to make sense of the solar system. Others before him thought that the Earth is a sphere and that it moves, but he was the first to understand the heliocentric theory, which states that the sun is in the middle. In 288 or 287 B.C. he followed Theophrastus as the head of the Peripatetic School established by Aristotle.
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.