The Myths and Legends of the Bright Constellations

produced by the

Wynyard Woodland Park Planetarium and Observatory

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The Wynyard Woodland Park Planetarium and Observatory

The Wynyard Woodland Park Planetarium and Observatory are located on the popular Wynyard Woodland Park (formerly the Castle Eden Walkway Country Park) near Thorpe Thewles, Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside in the North-East of England. The park is just outside Stockton on the A177 (Durham Road). These facilities complement and supplement the nature-based educational activities provided by the Woodland Park through the extension of the ideas of conservation on our own planet and setting it and our place in the natural universe, (for more information on Parks & Countryside division). The planetarium boasts a Goto Eros E5 star projector made in Japan (the main teaching instrument) and a lovingly-restored Spitz A1 projector made in Philadelphia (backup instrument), shining onto a 7-metre dome in a 72-seater auditorium, (with provision for 6 wheelchairs). It links electronically to the nearby observatory so that the planetarium audience can view the splendours of the night sky (as long as the weather is good) from the comfort of former cinema seats! The planetarium regularly hosts remote observing sessions with telescopes on), Las Campanas, (Chile), the Liverpool Telescope (National Schools Observatory - La Palma) and the new Faulkes Telescopes in Hawaii & Australia. The facility is open to schools, colleges and the local community and is available during week-days. Evening and weekend bookings can be made by arrangement. Contact Dr Ed Restall on 01740 630544 at the planetarium, or 01740 630011 at the Visitor Centre. Public shows are every second Friday evening during the month at 7:30p.m. and last for just over an hour. During the winter period (September – April) public viewing sessions take place every Friday evening after 9.00. The viewing sessions will only take place if the night sky is clear. Bookings for group shows at other times can be made on the number above as long as they don't interfere with the weekday educational programme of the building. Please see the Planetarium Website www.wynyard-planetarium.net for details of current shows. Dr Ed Restall, Director, Wynyard Woodland Park Planetarium and Observatory, 2007

Front page image : The Northern Celestial Hemisphere by Andreas Cellarius (c1705), image from Ridpath.

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The Myths and Legends of the Bright Constellations

by Bob Mullen, Cleveland and Darlington Astronomical Society

List of Contents

3 - Introduction 4 - Annual chart of the Sky 6 - Constellations and Stars 8 - Ursa Major - The Great Bear - The Plough 10 - Ursa Minor – The Small Bear – The North Star 12 - Cassiopeia – The Queen of Ethiopia 14 - Pegasus – The Flying Horse 16 - Taurus – The Bull - Pleiades, The Seven Sisters 18 - Auriga – The Charioteer 20 - Orion – The Hunter 22 - Gemini – The Twins 24 - Canis Major – The Great Dog 26 - Leo – The Lion 28 - Boötes – The Herdsman 30 - Corona Borealis – The Northern Crown 32 - Hercules – The Hero 34 - Cygnus – The Swan 36 - Lyra – The Harp 38 - Aquila - The Eagle 40 - Further study

Printing issue : 1: December 2007

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Introduction If you are lucky enough to live in a very dark location without too many house lights, street lights, factory lights or other bright sources you may see many more stars than we show in this booklet. Unfortunately, many of us live in areas of bright lighting that saturates the night sky, we call this ‘light pollution’. Light pollution has the effect of swamping out the light from the fainter stars and only leaves the very bright stars. All is not bad news, if you wish to see a great deal more stars than are visible in your neighbourhood it is an easy matter to just travel to somewhere in the nearby countryside. In our North East region this could mean travelling south to the Yorkshire Moors, travelling north to the Northumbrian hills or travelling west to the Pennines or the Lake District. On clear cloud-free nights all these wonderful parts of the countryside offer a view of the stars that we in turn present to you in our Planetarium. If, on any clear night, you only have the opportunity to look at the stars from your back garden or a nearby playing field don’t despair. With the aid of this booklet you will be able to see and eventually recognise all the bright constellations shown in our drawings. In fact, we have found the lack of so many stars in our back-gardens is sometimes an advantage in starting constellation recognition. In the clear skies of the countryside there are often too many stars to make any sense to the beginner, it seems almost impossible to detect the imaginary lines of the constellations and then produce a recognisable shape. The Constellation shapes of the northern hemisphere were originally devised by ancient peoples to portray characters in their myths and legends. This booklet hopes to explain the stories behind the perceived shapes in the sky. To obtain a more detailed astronomical description of constellations and their stars I recommend the Planetarium booklet “The Bright Constellations” So, for beginners, the back garden is an ideal place to start your journey round the sky. At first it is simple enough to just use your unaided eyes as the bright stars in this booklet’s constellations are easily visible, no visual aids such as binoculars or telescopes are really necessary at this stage. It is possible to obtain specific star maps for the night you are observing. These are available in any of the monthly astronomical magazines on sale at Newsagents. Alternatively call into the WWP Planetarium and pick up a current sky map.

Bob Mullen , 2007

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The Bright Constellations

The chart above shows the bright constellations we will discuss in this book that can be seen above the North East region around the year. Because of the Earth’s annual orbit round the Sun not all constellations can be seen at the same time, some constellations move into our daytime sky whilst others appear in our night sky. To use the chart - choose the month and day in which you are observing Those constellations nearest this position on the edge of the chart will be due North and above the horizon at late evening. Because of its position directly above the North Pole, the end star of the Ursa Minor constellation, Polaris, stays in exactly the same place every night, all other stars rotate in an anti-clockwise direction.

Leo

Canis Major Gemini

Orion

Taurus

Auriga

Ursa Major

Ursa Minor

Polaris

Cassiopeia Lyra

Cygnus

Aquila

Pegasus

Boötes

Hercules

Corona Borealis

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Myths and Legends of the Constellations and Stars When viewing in a darkened area such as night time on the Yorkshire Moors or the forests of Northumbria the sky appears to be full of stars. So many it is sometimes very difficult to make any sense out of them, certainly sensible patterns do not jump out at you. We are lucky in modern days that most of this work has already been done for us, in fact most constellation patterns date back three to four thousand years ago. Imagine all those thousands of years ago when there was no light pollution in the sky and at the same time very little entertainment during the evenings and nights. The early Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs turned to the skies for their entertainment. The starlit sky can be regarded as a huge dot-to-dot puzzle where imagination can form shapes of animals and objects that were part of their everyday life as well as the myths and legends centred round their many Gods. After thousands of years these stories have stayed with us and, as the stars have not moved very far from their originals positions, the constellations can still portray their original outline. Only the increased light pollution of modern days has spoiled the view of the fainter stars that completed the shapes as seen by the ancients. As a result of the history contained in these constellations most of them have difficult to remember names (e.g. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Boötes etc.) originating from the languages of those days. However, it doesn’t take too long after a number of nights learning the constellations to find that these names quickly roll off the tongue, impressing both your family and friends. In fact we are very lucky living north of the Equator because the ancient European civilisations lived entirely in this hemisphere and produced stories which we can still relate to today and enjoy . Unfortunately, because Europeans did not visit below the Equator until more recently the constellations south of the Equator carry few exciting stories with them. In fact most of the southern constellations were named by a very unimaginative Frenchman, Monsieur Lacaille, just after the French Revolution, who insisted, as was his right as their discoverer, on providing scientific names such as Pyxis the compass, Horologium the clock, Telescopium the telescope and Reticulum the graduated eyepiece - not very exciting subjects to catch your imagination! Because there arose confusion in the recent world over various versions of constellation patterns, the modern astronomers decided to limit the number of accepted constellations to 88 and laid down accepted outline boundaries of the areas covered and the stars contained within those boundaries. This seems to be a bit of shame for those other ancient cultures that used the same stars in the skies, making up their own dot-to-dot patterns to suit their own myths and legends. The North American Indians, the Chinese, the Indians, the Australian Aborigines and lots of other peoples have their own constellation patterns and still pass on the stories to their children. If you become very interested in the constellations you may want to read these fascinating stories, they are obviously very different from our own but provide a glimpse of their own histories and beliefs. One thing to remember is that the patterns we see in the sky aren’t really placed in this way just for our entertainment. The ancient skywatchers made up their patterns from

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the way the stars helpfully formed themselves on the flat two dimensional sky. If looked at in three dimensions you will find most of the stars in the patterns are considerable distances from each other. With time - actually lots of time - probably over millions of years, the stars will eventually drift apart from each other and spoil the pattern and thus the stories. Talking of stars moving you will notice, when observing the constellations, that the stars move across the sky as the evening progresses. This, of course, is caused by planet Earth rotating on its axis over a 24 hour period. The stars actually stand still in the sky both night and day while we on the surface of planet Earth whizz round our North-South axis at about 1000 kilometres per hour rotating from West to East. This gives the impression to us on Earth that the stars are whizzing past us from East to West. If we stayed out observing all night this would give us a view of many constellations rising in the East and setting in the West, a wonderful experience. Of course not all constellations you are seeing actually rise and set. If you watch the Ursa Minor (Little Bear) constellation and concentrate on the star at the end of the Bear’s tail named Polaris (also called the North Star or Pole Star), you will notice this particular star does not move at all whereas other stars around it appear to rotate in a circle, these are the circum-polar stars. Stars further away from Polaris actually disappear below the west horizon and reappear the following night from the eastern horizon. If you travelled south towards the equator and away from the Pole all the stars seen in the sky would be seen to rise and set so this appearance is dependent on how far north (or south) of the Equator you live. When out constellation watching you will also discover that over the year different constellations are seen in the sky dependent on the time of year, thus we have our winter constellations and different summer constellations. We have already mentioned that stars rise and set due to the Earth’s daily rotation. The Earth also has another motion, it revolves around the sun. The Earth’s orbit takes it from one side of the sun to the other. In doing so it means that the constellations we see in winter will be hidden behind the sun during summer and will pop out again when winter eventually arrives. The constellation of Orion is an example of a winter constellation and Aquila is an example of a summer constellation. Finally there is one feature in the sky you may see if you do travel away from your light polluted back garden. Arching across a dark sky from one horizon to the other is a faint and wispy narrow cloud of light. This is the Milky Way, or the galaxy we live in. If you point a pair of binoculars or a telescope at any part of this cloud you will see hundreds and thousands of stars suddenly pop into view. In fact our galaxy is made up from over two hundred billion stars of which our Sun is only a very small and relatively faint member of this galactic family of stars. It is almost impossible to imagine the shape of our galaxy from inside where we live, after all it is difficult to imagine what your own house looks like from the inside. By observing other distant galaxies we can guess that the Milky Way looks very much like a burning, spinning Catherine Wheel firework, a spiral shape which is almost flat top to bottom. Our Sun lives about a third of the way in from the edge of the spiral and like all the other stars in the galaxy it whizzes round at very high speed around the galactic centre.

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Ursa Major – the Great Bear The Great Bear is based on the story of a beautiful princess called Callisto, the daughter of King Lycaon of Arcadia in the southern part of Greece. Callisto became a favourite hunting partner of Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting. Callisto was so beautiful it wasn’t too long before she was noticed by the supreme ruler of the gods, Zeus, who lived on Mount Olympus. One day, as Callisto rested in a shady forest grove, Zeus visited her in the disguise of a friendly woodsman. She greeted him as he lay beside her to rest but Zeus threw off his disguise and had his way with her. A very sad Callisto returned to the hunting party with her dreadful secret. Unfortunately the fact she was soon to have a baby became impossible to hide and Artemis banished her into the forest to live by herself. She eventually gave birth to a son. Hera, the wife of Zeus, had discovered about her husband’s cheating behaviour and instead of taking it out on Zeus she decided to punish Callisto by turning her into a big ugly bear, destined to live out her life in the forest to be constantly pursued by hunters. Callisto decided she must allow her son to grow up with a family and not with a bear in the forest. She left him at the kitchen door of her father’s palace. The twist in the tale was that Callisto’s son, named Arcas by her father, became a famous hunter and often visited this very forest. One day Arcas came face to face with his mother and recognising only the fact she was a bear and not his mother, he decided to slay the bear. As Arcas raised his spear for the killing blow Zeus saw what was happening from his throne on the peak of Mount Olympus. He summoned up a whirlwind which blew the spear off-course and saved Callisto’s life. Zeus rushed down to the mother and son and explained their past history to Arcas. Zeus promised that although they could not live as mother and son on this Earth he would place them both in the Heavens as Callisto and Arcas came to the end of their Earthly lives. After Callisto passed away through old age and the rigours of living as a bear in the forest Zeus kept his promise and cast Callisto into the Northern skies as the constellation of Ursa Major – the Great Bear. Also, as Arcas passed away many years later, after leading the privileged life of a great hunter, Zeus cast him up into the Northern skies as the constellation of Ursa Minor – the Small Bear, alongside his mother for ever. If you check the pictures of the two constellations it can be seen both celestial bears have long tails, something bears on Earth do not have. It is thought Zeus gave them tails to help him throw the bears into their eventual resting place in the Heavens. The wife of Zeus was outraged to find that her rival Callisto and her son were now glorified as constellations in the Heavens. Hera had words with her parents, Tethys and Oceanus, gods of the seas, and persuaded them to never ever let the two bears bathe in the Northern seas. This is why the two circumpolar constellations are prevented from reaching the oceans by never setting below the horizon as seen from mid-northern latitudes.

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Ursa Major – the Great Bear & the Plough

Alkaid

Alcor

MizarAlioth

Megrez

Phecda

Merak

Dubhe

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The previous story of Callisto introduced us to her son Arcas. After Zeus had seduced Callisto she gave birth to a baby boy and was determined to raise him in the forest. Unfortunately when Hera turned her into a bear Callisto realised she could no longer look after her son, he must be looked after by a real family and Callisto could only think of her father King Lycaon. She carried her son to Lycaon’s palace and sadly left him at the kitchen door . By chance she was spotted leaving the baby by the palace cook. King Lycaon already had fifty sons and saw no problem taking in this young baby boy. The baby was named Arcas which meant “child of the bear” and King Lycaon become very fond of the boy although he was totally unaware Arcas was his grandson. The rest of the story is rather gruesome. One day Zeus decided to visit King Lycaon’s palace in Arcadia to see how Arcas was growing up. He transformed himself into a peasant labourer and presented himself at the door of the palace asking for food and lodging. Now King Lycaon and his elder son Maenalus were aware of the tricks of the gods who often pretended to be a humble mortal and tested the hospitality of ordinary people. King Lycaon asked his son how they could know this visitor was a god. Maenalus told his father that gods always knew what was in any dish they were served. Why not offer him a pie filled with human meat. If the visitor was truly a god he would know the source of the meat was human and refuse to eat it. Maenalus had disliked Arcas since he first came to the palace and suggested his father kill Arcas and serve him in the pie (I did say this was a gruesome story). Of course Zeus knew at once what and who was in the pie – his son! He stripped off his disguise and transformed back into an angry God. He hurled thunderbolts at Lycaon and his sons, killing all except the youngest fiftieth son who was entirely innocent in this affair. Being a god, Zeus recovered every part of Arcas and kissed life back into the reassembled body and took him away to live in the home of Maia the mother of Hermes, the god’s messenger. He also restored King Lycaon back to life but changed him into a wolf to scavenge in the forests of Acadia for the rest of his life. As mentioned in the previous story of Callisto, her son Arcas became a great hunter, eventually meeting his mother in the forest in the guise of a bear and where Zeus saved Arcas from killing his own mother. After a long happy life Arcas passed away and Zeus kept his promise to place him beside his mother in the Northern skies as the constellation of the Ursa Minor - Small Bear.

Ursa Minor – the Small Bear

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Cassiopeia – Queen of Ethiopia

Again the relative placement of the constellations and their component stars can help in easily locating the next constellation Cassiopeia, Queen of Ethiopia. If a line is drawn northwards from the tail end star of the Great Bear, Alkaid, and through the North Star it will meet the star Segin in the W- shaped constellation of Cassiopeia. As this constellation contains circumpolar stars the whole constellation rotates around the sky every 24 hours, as a result the W-shape could become an M-shape depending on your viewing time during the night. The W-shape of Cassiopeia is meant to represent the chair in which the Queen was cast into the sky by the Gods. A further punishment for her bragging was to hang upside down in the sky for most of the night. When you travel to darker skies in the country you will find that Cassiopeia lies very close to the Milky Way. It is worthwhile knowing that if you are garden-bound at home you can still see the Milky Way by using a pair of binoculars by pointing them towards Cassiopeia and discovering the hundreds and thousands of stars in the nearby star-stream of the Milky Way. Constellation stories This a good place to mention the stories behind the constellation shapes. Cassiopeia was the Queen of Joppa who upset the Gods on Mount Olympus by proclaiming both the beauty of herself and her daughter Andromeda, even more beautiful than the nymphs of the Gods. This boasting led to all sorts of problems for Andromeda and her family, with an eventual rescue from a sea monster by a hero, Perseus, on a winged horse, Pegasus. All the stories of the various constellations handed down from the Greeks and Romans contain this perpetual conflict between the Gods and those living on Earth and provide entertainment even today.

Ursa Minor – the Small Bear

Kochab

Pherkad

Polaris Pole Star North

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Cassiopeia – Queen of Joppa

Cassiopeia was the hoighty-toighty wife of King Cepheus who ruled the Kingdom of Joppa (now Jaffa in Israel). Cassiopeia irritated everyone by proclaiming the beauty of both herself and their daughter Andromeda. Unfortunately the continuous proclamations of her beauty finally irritated the Nereids - the fifty sea nymph attendants of Thetis, the sea goddess, and Poseidon, the sea god. The Nereids were regarded by all as the most beautiful ladies throughout the world. As both Thetis and Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, were Nereids they complained to Poseidon and requested he punish Cassiopeia for her arrogance. Poseidon caused considerable damage to Joppa with floods and fully intended to totally destroy the kingdom with the help of his sea monster – Cetus (or the Kraken). A distraught King Cepheus turned to an Oracle in the city of Joppa for help in persuading Poseidon to cease his floods and storms. The Oracle told Cepheus the only way to appease Poseidon was to offer Andromeda as a sacrifice to the sea monster. Poor Andromeda was chained to the rocky cliffs beside the sea to await the monster who would emerge from the sea and eat her. As luck would have it there is a hero in this story. He was called Perseus, son of Zeus. Perseus was returning from one his tasks which was to kill the Medusa, a Gorgon witch with an ugly head covered in snakes, blood that would poison on contact and, most importantly for the story - eyes that could turn others into stone with one look! Perseus was flying home on Pegasus, his flying horse, carrying back the head of Medusa as a wedding present for his foster-father, King Polydectes, when he spotted the beautiful Andromeda chained up waiting for the sea monster. He immediately fell in love with her and flew down to her parents and suggested that if he could rescue her perhaps he could marry her. Cassiopeia and Cepheus agreed immediately and Perseus went to meet the sea monster. He killed Cetus by holding up the head of Medusa. Cetus foolishly looked straight into her eyes and turned into stone and Andromeda was saved from her fate. Unfortunately the story has a twist to it. Andromeda was already promised to Agenor, the uncle of Cepheus. Andromeda’s parents failed to keep their promise to Perseus and arranged for an immediate marriage ceremony soon after the rescue. An angry Perseus turned up at the wedding party with the head of Medusa and immediately turned everybody to stone except Andromeda whom he sat on Pegasus, his winged horse, and they both flew off to live happily ever after. Poseidon was so angry at the treachery of Cassiopeia and Cepheus against his son Perseus, that he stuffed them uncomfortably close together as constellations in the Northern skies ensuring that Cassiopeia, sitting on her throne, spent most of the time in an undignified upside-down position. In a gentler mood he placed the constellations of Andromeda, Perseus and Pegasus in the more friendly skies of the rising and setting stars. Perseus is depicted as holding the head of Medusa with the variable star Algol as its twinkling eye. The constellation of Cassiopeia is easily identifiable as a large W or M shape, the bright stars outline the shape of her throne. This circumpolar constellation is continually visible in the northern sky, rotating around the Pole star as the night progresses

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Cassiopeia – Queen of Joppa

Ruchbah

Segin

Cih

Schedar

Caph

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Pegasus – the Flying Horse

As with most Greek and Roman myths and legends of the constellations, a number of characters often re-appear in other stories. Pegasus has already had a place in the story of Cassiopeia as the steed of Perseus, as he journeyed back from killing Medusa, the Gorgon. In a further twist of mythological fate Medusa also appears in the story of Pegasus and his birth. It would appear that Medusa was the mother of Pegasus. In her young days Medusa was a beautiful maiden. She was sought by many suitors but, as in most of the Greek stories, the gods are often seen to win the beauties, mostly without the lady’s agreement. In this case it was Poseidon, the god of the sea and also the god of horses who wanted Medusa. Poseidon made the mistake of seducing Medusa in the Temple of Athena. Outraged, the goddess changed the beautiful Medusa into a snake-haired monster whose gaze could turn men into stone. She also had lots of other unattractive features such as poisonous blood and hideous clawed hands. When Perseus arrived in the cave of Medusa - now a Gorgon, he killed her by avoiding direct eye contact, using his highly polished shield as a mirror. When he cut off her head some drops of her blood fell into the sea (presumably still carrying the seed of Poseidon) and mixed with sea foam. Pegasus the Flying Horse was then born out of the sea. This is why we only see the top half of his body in the constellation, emerging from the sea as brilliant white horse. Although associated with the gallant Perseus in the Queen Cassiopeia story, the main rider of Pegasus was the warrior Bellephoron. One day Bellephoron decided to fly with Pegasus to visit Zeus on Mount Olympus. Zeus was so outraged at this presumptuous intention he sent a horsefly to bite Pegasus, this caused. Bellephoron to fall to earth, becoming lame and blind or, as in some stories – plain dead. Pegasus flew on to Mount Olympus where he was received by Zeus and became his helper by carrying his thunderbolts. For his service to the gods Pegasus was placed as a constellation in the heavens. It is interesting to note that all four stars of the Great Square of Pegasus have Arabic names, a fashion in contradiction to the mainly Greek and Roman constellation names. Sirrah means “navel of the horse”. (Alpheratz means “the Princesses Head when used in Andromeda). Scheat means “the horses shoulder”. Markab means “the saddle”. and Algenib means “the wing” or “the side”. Most Northern Hemisphere names are Arabic, Greek or Roman (Latin).

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Pegasus the Flying Horse

Sirrah

Algenib

Scheat

MarkabHamam

Enif

Matar

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Taurus – the Bull

The story of Taurus the bull revolves yet again about the fascination the Greek gods had for beautiful ladies. A bull was the disguise adopted by Zeus in order to steal away Europa, the daughter of King Agenor of Phoenicia – present day Lebanon. Princess Europa enjoyed playing on the beaches of Tyre with her friends It was the plan of Zeus to adopt the shape of a handsome pure white bull with a magnificent pair of horns shining like polished metal. Zeus arranged for his son Hermes to drive the King’s cattle from their mountain pastures towards the beach where the girls were playing. Europa was fascinated by this handsome creature which allowed her to approach and stroke his hide. Zeus became very excited that his plan appeared to be working, he now had the full attention of the Princess. He lay on the sands and enticed Europa to climb onto his back. He gently rose and turned towards the sea as though he was taking her for a short ride into the surf. At first she wasn’t frightened but became very alarmed when the bull strode straight through the surf and started swimming strongly into the deeper waters of the sea. To make sure she stayed with him he dipped his body deeper into the sea making her hold on tightly to his horns to avoid falling into the sea. Europa finally realised that this was no ordinary bull and suspected he was indeed a god in disguise with the intention of abducting her away from her family and home. Eventually the bull waded ashore on the island of Crete, turned from Taurus the Bull into Zeus the god and seduced the young princess. The offspring of Zeus and Europa included Minos, king of Crete, who established the famous palace at Knossos where bull games were held in memory of Taurus the Bull.. The constellation of Taurus contains a beautiful red star, Aldebaran . This star resembles the glinting red eye of the bull. The stars at the tip the horns makes the overall star pattern look like the bull it is meant to represent. In the sky, only the front half of the bull is shown. This probably can be explained by suggesting that the hind quarters are submerged in the sea, as in his journey to Crete. As it turns out there is no space in the sky to show the complete bull, the constellations Cetus and Aries take up the space where the bull’s hind-quarters should be. Taurus shares with Pegasus the uncomfortable fate of having been sliced in half in the sky. Within the constellation of Taurus is a famous cluster of bright stars, the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, they represent a group of mythological nymphs, daughters of Atlas. There are about 100 stars in the cluster, all born at the same time about 50 million years ago and travel the sky as a close-knit group. Only seven of the stars are usually visible with the naked eye but binoculars bring up the beauty of the remaining star cluster.

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Taurus the Bull

El Nath

Aldebaran

Hyadum I

Hyadum II

Pleiades

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Auriga – the Charioteer There are a number of different myths and legends about Auriga. We will follow the most popular story which concentrates on his skills as a charioteer. Auriga was apparently a legendary king of Athens (his alternative name was Erichthonius). He was the son of Hephaestus, the god of fire, better known by his Roman name of Vulcan, but was raised by the goddess Athene after whom Athens is named. In her honour Auriga instituted a sporting festival called the Panathenaea. Athene was very fond of horses and taught her foster-son many equestrian skills. He was the first mortal to harness four horses to a chariot in imitation of the four-horse chariot which drew the Sun through the heavens. His skill in driving this chariot, despite being lame, gained the admiration of Zeus who promised Auriga an eventual place in the night sky with his own constellation. Auriga is shown in the constellation holding a set of reins in his right hand possibly those used in the Panathenaic games in which he often drove his chariot to victory. The constellation also shows Auriga holding a she-goat over his left shoulder. None of the myths and legends are too sure of the goat’s significance within the Charioteer story. One version suggests it is the goat Almatheia (also called Capella) who suckled the infant Zeus on the island of Crete and was placed in the heavens along with her two kids as a sign of gratitude from Zeus

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Auriga - the Charioteer

Capella

Menkalinan

El Nath

Hessaleh

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Orion – the Hunter

Orion is perhaps the most recognised constellation in the night sky and probably one of the most logical patterns left to us by the ancients. Orion is visualised as a hunter in the sky facing a charge by Taurus the Bull. He is holding up his magic lion skin against the bull and is ready to bring down the club, his favourite weapon, onto the head of the bull. It is thought the constellation of Orion was originally invented by the Sumerians who gave their hunter-hero the name of Gilgamesh and is seen fighting the Bull of Heaven. The Greeks retained the hunter-hero image and it was possible they saw the constellation figure as Heracles (or Hercules) and one of his twelve labours was to catch the Cretan Bull. Unfortunately the Greeks named another much fainter and less impressive constellation depicting Hercules in an obscure part of the sky. Instead the Greeks left us with the story of Orion being the son of the sea god Poseidon and Euryale, daughter of King Minos of Crete. Orion was blessed with the ability to walk on water, obviously a great help in his hunting career when he travelled around the Greek islands in search of his quarry. His favourite weapon was the club made out of solid bronze and apparently unbreakable. His two hunting dogs are commemorated in the sky as Canis Major and Canis Minor. They are shown faithfully following the hunter as he stalks across the heavens chasing the bull. Orion’s usual prey is depicted below his feet as the constellation Lepus - the Hare. On his travels around the islands Orion fell in love with Merope, the daughter of King Oenopion of Chios, but she rejected him. One night, drunk with wine Orion ravished Mereope against her will. Her father caught Orion and had him blinded and banished from Chios. Orion escaped to the island of Lemnos and was befriended by Hephaestus the forge-keeper. An oracle on the island told Orion that if he looked directly into the sunrise from the east of the island he would regain his sight. As foretold Orion’s vision was miraculously restored. There are a number of stories surrounding the death of Orion, most involve the scorpion. In one story Orion boasted he was the greatest of hunters. He told Artemis, the goddess of hunting, that he could kill any beast on Earth. The Earth shuddered from indignation and from a crack in the ground crawled a scorpion. The scorpion crept up to Orion’s heel and stung him to death. The gods placed the victorious scorpion in the night sky as the constellation of Scorpius, but it was placed on the opposite side of the sky to the constellation of Orion. This gives the impression that Orion is fleeing from the scorpion by disappearing below the western horizon as Scorpius rises on the eastern horizon Of interest, constellation Orion contains a beautiful red supergiant star, Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice). This star is so unstable it may just be ready to explode. It is about 400 times the Sun’s diameter and is over 400 light years away. So, although the explosion will be visible to us on Earth hopefully it will be too far away to affect us.

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Orion – the Hunter

Betelgeuse Bellatrix

Alnitak

Alnilam

Mintaka

Rigel

Saiph

Orion’s Sword Nebula

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Gemini –the Twins

The constellation of Gemini depicts the twins named Pollux (or in Greek Polydeuces) and Castor. In ancient stories they are described as twins but not from the same father. Their mother was Leda, Queen of Sparta who was visited one day by Zeus (what a devil for the ladies he was!). Leda was bathing in the lake so Zeus was disguised himself as a swan to visit her. This version of the story is commemorated by the constellation of Cygnus. The very same night Leda also slept with her husband King Tyndareus. Leda eventually gave birth to four children, Pollux and Helen (later Helen of Troy) fathered by Zeus and Castor and Clytemnestra fathered by Tyndareus. Pollux and Helen were immortal, Castor and Clytemnestra were mortal. Castor and Pollux grew up as the best of friends and both became renowned sportsmen, hunters, musicians and sailors. They joined the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts in the search for the Golden Fleece. On one of their stops the boxing skills of Pollux allowed him to defeat the son of Poseidon - Amycus, the world’s greatest bully. The two brothers were skilled navigators. On their way home with the Golden Fleece the Argonauts owed their lives to the twins’ navigating skills when caught in a massive storm. On later sailing voyages they showed the same navigating ability and eventually became the patron saints of sailors. Their powers to save shipwrecked sailors was apparently endowed by Poseidon the sea god and became the origin of the old sailing saying of “by Jiminy”, meaning sailors would always make their home port safely with the help of the Gemini twins. Mariners believed that during storms at sea the twins appeared in a ship’s rigging in the form of the electrical phenomenon known as St Elmo’s fire. When they saw two glowing lights on the yards it was Pollux and Castor coming to help them out. If there was only one glowing light it was the unlucky Helen coming to wreck them, sadly she was considered a sign of disaster. In their very active life the Twins often enjoyed a good fight. During a fight over ladies with another set of twins, Idas and Lynceus, from the Argo’s crew, Castor (the mortal twin) was killed. A grieving Pollux asked Zeus to reunite them in the night sky as a constellation. Zeus placed them in a close embrace in constellation Gemini to show they were forever inseparable.

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Gemini – the Twins

Castor

Pollux

Wasat

Mebsut

Alhena

Tejat

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Canis Major – the Great Dog

Canis Major is represented as the hunting dog of Orion. It stands on its hind legs carrying the bright star Sirius in its mouth. As the constellation moves across the sky the dog appears to be chasing the constellation of Lepus the Hare, hiding under the feet of Orion. The dog, named Laelaps, was so swift that no prey could ever escape. Laelaps appears to have had many owners before belonging to Orion. One story has him being given by Zeus as a gift to Europa whose son Minos, King of Crete, eventually passing Laelaps on to Procris, the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens and the wife of Cephalus. The dog came to Procris as part of a gift from Minos which included a magic javelin which could never miss its target. Unfortunately the gift backfired when Cephalus accidentally killed Procris while out hunting. Laelaps now belonged to Cephalus who took it with him one day when he went hunting down a dangerous fox near Athens. The fox was reported to be very fast and was considered uncatchable but Laelaps was reputed to be so swift that his prey never escaped. The hunt developed into race with the uncatchable fox pursued by the inescapable dog! Every time the dog was close enough to the fox to catch it in his jaws the fox stretched out a bit more and avoided the jaws. The chase seemed to go on forever until Zeus eventually became tired of overseeing a race with no obvious conclusion. In frustration he turned them both into stone. Because of Laelaps’ earlier involvement with the family of Zeus he was placed in the night sky as the constellation of Canis Major Sirius, the star in the dog’s mouth, is the brightest of all stars in the sky. Sirius comes from the Greek word seirus meaning searing or scorching. In ancient Greece its rising at dawn just before the Sun marked the start of the hottest part of summer, a time that was known as the “Dog Days” of summer. The star is also known as the “Dog Star”. Orion has a second hunting dog in the constellation of Canis Minor, the Lesser Dog. The dog’s name was Maera. Maera became a famous legend in Attica. He belonged to Icarius, the first man chosen by the gods to make wine. When Icarius offered his wine to some shepherds they became drunk and thinking they had been poisoned killed Icarius. Maera ran howling to Erigone, the daughter of Icarius and dragged her by the dress to her father’s body. In their grief both Erigone and Maeres took their own lives. Zeus placed them all in their own constellations. Maeres as constellation Canis Minor, Erigone as constellation Virgo and Icarius as constellation Bootes.

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Canis Major – the Great Dog

Sirius

Muliphein

Mirzam

Ahadra

Wezen

Aludra Furud

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Leo – the Lion

Happily, the constellation of Leo the Lion does actually look like the animal it is meant to represent, a pouncing lion. The lion is the King of Beasts and deserves its own constellation in the night sky. However, in the realm of myths and legends of the constellations this particular lion is meant to be the Lion of Nemea, slain by Hercules (or more accurately by the Greeks as Heracles) as the first of his labours. Nemea is in southern Greece near Corinth. The lion developed a taste for people in the area - a local delicacy? The Lion of Nemea was apparently indestructible, hunters from far and wide had failed to kill it, their spears and arrows merely bouncing of its impenetrable hide. It may even had magical parents, one parent was reputed to be Selene, the Moon goddess, with Leo descending from the Moon to Earth as a shooting star and landing in Corinth. Other parents may have been the dog Orthus or the monster Typhon. Having been given the task of killing the lion Hercules (or Heracles) made for the lion’s cave. The cave had two entrances, Hercules blocked up one entrance and entered the other armed with his huge club. When he cornered the lion it put up a tremendous fight against his great strength and magical powers. He finally managed to lock one of his huge arms round the lion’s neck and choked it to death. Hercules carried the lion’s corpse away in triumph on his shoulders. Later he used the creature’s own razor-sharp claws to cut off its pelt, which he wore as a magic cloak. The lion’s gaping mouth bobbing above his own head made Hercules look more fearsome than ever. Another story about the Lion constellation comes from ancient Egypt. Because constellation Leo is associated with the summer sky in astrology (the Sun being in Leo in July/August), the ancient Egyptians were aware that the heat and lack of water in the surrounding desert at this time of year caused the lions to move towards the river Nile to search for both water and an easy human meal. Their fear of the lions suggested that a Lion constellation be placed in the sk, hopefully persuading the lions that people deserved to be more than just an item on the lion menu. Zodiacal constellations Leo is one of the constellations known as the Zodiac. The Zodiacal constellations all lie very close to the celestial equator along a line called the Ecliptic. The Sun, Moon and planets roughly follow this same line as they wander through the sky. It is this relationship between planets and the 12 zodiacal constellations that led to the study Astrology and the casting of horoscopes. In fact the study of Astrology came a long time before the true study of astronomy with the non-science based study of astrology in ancient times leading to the entirely science-based study of astronomy of today. The Zodiacal constellations are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces.

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Leo – the Lion

Regulus

CoxaAlgieba

Zosma

Adhafera

Denebola

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Boötes – the Herdsman

Boötes is an ancient constellation, possibly representing a Herdsman driving the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and the Small Bear (Ursa Minor) around the sky. Another meaning of the name is the Ploughman. The plough of course is the seven stars in Ursa Major which are shaped like an old-fashioned plough, a long handle represented by the string of stars Alkaid, Alcor/Mizar, Alioth and Megrez, the blade being represented by the stars Phecda, Merak and Dubhe. Other nations spoil the story by calling this star pattern by other names, the Americans call it the Big Dipper after the long spoon used to take water out of a drinking barrel and the French call it the Saucepan. It is said Bootes invented the plough to help mankind make better use of the Earth and till the ground easier. The constellation figure also shows Boötes with two hunting dogs, the Canes Venatici. The two dogs belonged to Icarius the first man to be taught how to make wine by the god Bacchus. Icarius became a victim of drunken shepherds who thought he had poisoned them with his wine. They killed him and left him in a ditch. In this particular story the two hunting dogs were kept at his home on this day. When he did not return home that evening the two dogs, Asterion and Chara became very agitated and started whining. This brought Erigone, the daughter of Icarius to notice her father’s late return. She let the dogs off their leashes and eventually they found the scene of the crime. In her grief Erigone committed suicide and the two dogs leapt into the ditch remaining by their master until they also died. The tragic cast of this story were then placed in the night sky by the Gods with Erigone as constellation Virgo, the two hunting dogs as constellation Canes Venatici and of course Icarius as constellation Boötes. The main star is Arcturus, the fourth brightest star in the sky is an orange/red giant about 27 times larger than the Sun. In fact Arcturus is presently in the state our own Sun will be in around 5 billion years time, swollen up to almost bursting point but will not actually explode. Instead it will run out of hydrogen fuel and just quietly decline in size, brightening up a bit as it becomes smaller to eventually transform into a white dwarf and then, at a very long time in the future, completely lose its warmth and become a dark cinder. It is thought the universe already has a considerable number of these cinder ex-stars but are obviously undetectable at the moment with our telescopes.

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Boötes – the Herdsman

Nekkar

Haris

Izar

Arcturus

Mufrid

Alkalurops

Canes Venatici

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Corona Borealis – the Northern Crown

This partial ring of stars represents the golden crown belonging to Princess Ariadne of Crete, presented to her when she married the god Dionysus (or Bacchus). The crown was apparently made by Hephaestus (or Vulcan), the god of fire, and was studded with jewels from India. Ariadne is a famous figure in mythology. She lived on Crete and was the daughter of King Minos. She helped Theseus to kill the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull. The Minotaur was kept by King Minos, it lived in a complicated labrynth designed by Daedalus, a master craftsman, who designed it so that neither the Minotaur or anyone else who entered the maze could find their way out again. Minos also had a son who was sadly killed in battle by Athenians. As a punishment Minos made the Athenians send seven young maidens and seven young boys every year to the labrynthine maze on Crete as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. After three years of this sacrifice the Athenians sent Theseus, son of the Athenian King Aegus, as one of the seven young men to attempt to kill the Minotaur. Ariadne immediately fell in love with Theseus. She approached the friendly Daedulus for help. He gave her a ball of thread suggesting that Theseus tie one end at the door of the labrynth and unwind the thread as he entered the maze. When he finally came across the Minotaur in the depths of the labrynth he strangled it with his bare hands. He then followed the trail of thread back to the entrance of the maze. Theseus and Ariadne sailed off together to Athens. Unfortunately he ungallantly abandoned her on the island of Naxos. As she grieved at the fickleness and ingratitude of Theseus she was spotted by the god Dionysus who immediately fell in love with her and they were married on the spot. After the wedding Dionysus was so overjoyed with his good luck in love he took Ariadne’s crown and threw it into the heavens where it changed into stars. An almost identical crown appears in the Southern hemisphere and is named Corona Australis – The Southern Crown.

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Corona Borealis – the Northern Crown

Gemma

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Hercules – the Hero Hercules is truly a heroic figure of mythology. The ancient Greeks told their stories of his adventures based around the twelve tasks he was given by the gods. Hercules was born of Zeus and Alcmene, the most beautiful of all mortal women. While he was very young Zeus was suckled by goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, while she slept. Hercules therefore became part mortal and part immortal. Unfortunately Hera was so enraged at this trick and promised to make the life of Hercules as difficult as possible. Hercules grew up as a skilled hunter and warrior with tremendous strength. Under a spell Hera forced him to kill his children in a fit of madness. When he returned to sanity he consulted an Oracle. The Oracle suggested he serve for twelve years with Eurystheus, King of Mycenae, who would help him towards forgiveness for his murder. Eurystheus set Hercules ten tasks known as the Labours of Hercules. The first task was to kill the unkillable lion of Nemea, with its magic hide it was impossible to kill with any known weapon but Hercules caught the lion and strangled it to death. He stripped the lion of its magic hide and wore it as a cloak which then passed its protective powers onto Hercules. The second task was to kill the multi headed Hydra which was fond of eating passers- by. Unfortunately as each head was cut off another head grew two more in its place. He finally succeeded killing the Hydra with the help of Iolaus his charioteer who burned the stumps as each head was cut off. Hercules continued very successfully with his remaining tasks which included catching a deer with golden horns, also a terribly ferocious wild boar and cleaning out the very, very smelly Augean stables in a single day – he did this by diverting two rivers through the stables. He also chased away some fearsome birds from the town of Stymphalus which later flew on to annoy Jason and the Argonauts. He sailed to Crete to capture a fire-breathing bull that was terrorising the island and rode it home to Mycenae. He also brought back the flesh-eating horses of King Diomedes of Thrace and the unique belt of Hippolyte, Queen of the Amazons. Finally he had to steal the cattle of a three-bodied monster called Geryon on the island of Erytheia. On the way there he built the two columns in the Straits of Gibraltar, known as the Pillars of Hecules. He killed Geryon with a single arrow fired through the three bodies and took the cattle back to Mycenae. Having completed all ten tasks Hercules expected to be released but Eurystheus refused, saying that Hercules had cheated at some point along the way. Hercules was made to complete two more tasks. The first labour was to fetch Cerberus, the three-headed dog, from the Underworld. He succeeded by wearing his protective lion skin. . The last task was to steal the golden apples of Hesperides, a wedding gift to Hera, wife of Zeus. This involved killing the dragon Ladon who protected the apples Hercules finally died when his wife, in act of jealous love, smeared his shirt with the blood of a Centaur which Hercules had killed with arrows tipped with poisonous Hydra blood. He suffered so much pain from the poison he eventually killed the mortal part of himself on a funeral pyre, the immortal part was turned into the constellation of Hercules by his father Zeus.

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Hercules – the Hero

Kornerphorus Sarin

Maasym

Rasalgethi

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Cygnus – the Swan

The constellation Cygnus represents a graceful swan flying along the Milky Way. A favourite theme for the swan is that it is one of the many disguises used by Zeus when on his way to his many seductions and love affairs. The constellation is also called the Northern Cross, much larger and more cruciform than the Southern Cross. The most popular story of the swan involves a love scene between Zeus and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. One evening the beautiful Leda was taking a bath in the lake when she was seen by Zeus from his throne on Mount Olympus. Zeus fell desperately in love with Leda and could not wait a moment before he had to woo her. He immediately changed into the guise of a swan and sailed gracefully down from Olympus to the lake and swam up to Leda. He truly was a magnificent swan with pure white iridescent plumage and beautiful long neck. Leda was overwhelmed with the beauty and grace of the swan and had no hesitation stroking the friendly creature. After a while Zeus cast off his disguise and lay with Leda, from which Pollux (of the Gemini twins) and his unlucky sister Helen were born. That same night Leda also lay with her husband from which Castor and Klytamnestra were born. So Castor and Pollux were brothers but because Pollux came from a union with the god Zeus and Leda he became immortal and Castor remained a mortal. Another story of the swan involved Cycnus (not Cygnus) who was a friend of Phaeton, the mortal son of Helios, who one day tried to drive the Sun Chariot across the sky. Phaeton was a truly horrible chariot driver and he became a menace to all on the celestial highway. Finally Phaeton came to grief turning over the chariot and plunging to Earth, burning up like a shooting star and finally fell into the River Eridanus. Cycnus, his friend, came to Earth to rescue the badly charred bones of Phaeton from the river bed and to provide him with a proper burial. It was believed that unless body remains were given a proper resting place the soul would never have any peace in the Underworld. Recovering all the remains of Phaeton was a very long and tedious operation but eventually Phaeton was placed to rest. Zeus was so impressed with Cycnus’s devotion to his friend he rewarded him with a constellation of his own in the night sky. In memory of his repeated diving into the waters of River Eridanus Zeus made Cycnus into a beautiful swan to forever swim in the waters of the Milky Way. He also changed his name to Cygnus, the constellation of the Swan – Cygnus - was created.

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Cygnus – the Swan

Sadr

Deneb

Albireo

Giena

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Lyra – the Harp

Lyra is named after the lyre, an early form of harp. This particular harp was apparently owned by Orpheus and was the first ever made. It was invented by Hermes the son of Zeus (yes, another son!) and Maia, a lady from the group of bright stars in Taurus called the Pleiades – or the Seven Sisters. Hermes made the harp from the shell of a tortoise and used cow gut for the seven strings (the same number of stars as the Seven Sisters in the Pleiades). While Hermes owned the harp he found it had magical properties as the music it produced was able to calm the angriest person. Unfortunately he lost the harp to Apollo when Hermes stole the god’s herd of cattle. When Apollo finally caught up to Hermes with the intention of killing him he heard the beautiful music from the harp and instantly calmed down but insisted that in return for keeping the cattle Hermes would have to surrender the harp to Apollo. Apollo who loved poetry and music had become aware of a mortal called Orpheus whose music it was said could charm gods, mortals, animals, streams and even rocks (an early form of rock music perhaps). He gave the harp to Orpheus as a gift. Orpheus joined the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. When the Argonauts were tempted by the voices of the Sirens, Orpheus sang and played a counter melody that drowned the voices of the Sirens. Orpheus went on to marry the nymph Eurydice. She unfortunately stood on a poisonous snake and died. Orpheus was heartbroken and descended into the Underworld to ask for her return to life. The music of Orpheus and his magic harp charmed Hades, god of the Underworld, into releasing Eurydice back to Orpheues. However, Hades insisted Orpheus should never look behind him as he left the Underworld with Eurydice following him. Orpheus was so worried as he neared the surface that Eurydice may have become lost in the dark passages he could not resist looking back to confirm she was there. She was, but he had now broken his word to Hades and she slipped back down to the Underworld, lost forever. Orpheus travelled round the countryside in a very melancholic state without his beloved companion. Wherever he went young maidens attempted to catch his interest but he was inconsolable. Eventually the rejected ladies of the land became so angry and infuriated with his lack of interest that they called for revenge. Every weapon they used to cut him down fell victim to the charm of his music, swords and daggers were turned away at the last moment, stones and arrows fell away under the charm.of his magic lyre. Only when the shrieks and screams of the infuriated ladies became so loud that they overpowered the sound of his music did Orpheus finally fall to their weapons. He was fatally stabbed to death. They also threw his lyre into a nearby river. Zeus recovered the harp from the river and placed it in the night sky as the constellation of Lyra.

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Lyra – the Harp

Sulafat Sheliak

Vega

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Aquila – the Eagle

The eagle has always been the royal bird of kings and gods. Aquila was the thunderbolt bearer of the god Zeus. Whenever any mortal offended the gods on Mount Olympus, Zeus would despatch Aquila with a thunderbolt in his talons to launch it and kill the offending mortal. One day Hebe, the hostess at the table of the gods badly twisted her ankle and could not continue to serve at table. Zeus send Aquila to Earth to select a suitable youth to be a servant at their table. Aquila flew down from Olympus and saw Ganymede, the son of the King of Troy. Ganymede was peacefully tending his father’s cattle when Aquila swooped down on him, seized him in his talons and returned to the heights of Olympus. Ganymede was such a pleasing helper at the table he became a permanent cup-bearer to the gods. Aquila was also ordered to carry out the terrible punishment on Prometheus, one of the Titans, who secretly stole a ray of sunlight from the gods and took it to mankind hidden in the hollow of a reed. This gift gave mortals the opportunity to cook their food, warm their houses and turn metals into weapons. Zeus as head of the gods on Mount Olympus was extremely displeased with Prometheus and had him chained to the Caucasus mountains. Even worse Zeus sent Aquila down to the mountains every day to eat Prometheus’s liver. The liver would always grow back every day and the eagle would revisit Prometheus every day to eat it. This painful process carried on until one day Hercules the Hero set Prometheus free after first killing the Eagle with a poisoned arrow. Zeus was extremely upset and saddened at the loss of his eagle that he placed him in the night sky as the constellation of Aquila.

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Aquila – the Eagle

Alshain

Altair

Tarazed Deneb el okab

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Further Study

Astronomy has become a very popular amateur pastime. As a result there are a large number of books and magazines, some aimed at the basic star and planet watcher and others, which increase in complexity, for the serious amateur who is able to spend sometimes considerable amounts of money on bigger and better equipment. Our recommendation for the beginner is to visit the local Planetarium and attend a “Sky at Night” show that introduces them to a sky not overfilled with too many confusing stars and be guided by the presenter through a few constellations at a time. It is very surprising that such a visit fills the observer with sufficient confidence and ability to go out and spot similar constellations in the real night sky. The Planetarium can supply a simple chart for the night sky in the local region. With the luck of clear skies and the occasional help of a friendly astronomer it is possible to quite quickly accumulate the knowledge of constellation locations and their component stars even as the whole pattern changes through the night and through the seasons. It won’t be long before the beginner wants more information and better sky charts. As mentioned there are a number of excellent monthly magazines available either from the local bookshop or through postal delivery. The most popular magazine aimed at UK astronomers is “Astronomy Now”, their star charts cover UK observing locations as well as offering equipment for sale from UK suppliers with costs in Pounds and Pence. Two other excellent magazines are aimed at mainly American customers but often contain excellent up to date astronomical articles relevant to all amateurs, these are “Sky and Telescope” and “Astronomy”. As far as books are concerned you can’t go wrong with any astronomy books written or co-written by our own Sir Patrick Moore or Ian Ridpath. Television has now recognised the interest of UK amateur astronomers and has been steadily increasing the number of programmes covering both astronomy and the associated interests of space and space travel. A firm favourite with UK astronomers is Sir Patrick Moore’s programme, “The Sky at Night” on the BBC. The Internet and computers offer another choice of accessing the latest information as well as offering a number of distance learning study courses in all areas of astronomy. Software can be purchased to run on your computer showing you the sky in your own area for that particular night or any other night or observing site you choose. Of especial interest to the beginner is the local Astronomy Society, such an organisation is usually full of amazingly experienced amateurs who have no objection to sharing their knowledge or their equipment. The Societies also run monthly meetings with guest speakers to further increase your interest. The most exciting thing about astronomy of course is to just go outside on a crisp clear night and use your eyes to experience the grandeur of the night skies. Soon everything will start to make sense as constellations fall into recognisable patterns, you will soon be naming the brighter stars and then the fainter ones. You will begin to recognise the planets as they rise and set, give names to the seas and craters of the moon and, with the eventual use of binoculars and a telescope, find and recognise some of the fainter deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae.

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Astronomy is a fascinating hobby and has so many different areas to study and perhaps specialise in. There are many other amateurs out there willing to help you develop your interest and perhaps share their equipment before you decide to buy your own. One thing to bear in mind is never to rush out and buy any piece of optical equipment before discussing it with someone who has a lot more experience. The Wynyard Woodland Park Planetarium and Observatory runs a Telescope Club to help beginners either use equipment already bought for them or to guide them into a sensible purchase suitable for their own use. Also bear in mind the Planetarium has a number of binoculars and telescopes that can be borrowed for use at its observing site under supervision, meaning you don’t have to rush out and buy something straight away. Firstly use your eyes to learn your way around the sky, it doesn’t take long, then possibly obtain a pair of binoculars to delve just that little deeper into the sky and learn a bit more. Finally, only make the large purchase of a suitable telescope when you feel ready and confident enough to find your way round the sky without actually losing yourself. Doing it all the wrong way round can lead to disappointment and the inevitable loss of interest caused by frustration. Astronomy is a fascinating and fulfilling hobby and we are here to help you as much as possible to enjoy it.

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Notes and Sketches

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Notes and Sketches

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Printed and distributed by the Wynyard Woodland Park

Planetarium and Observatory

2007