Constellations

Page
3

Circumpolar Constellations

Slide 22

Circumpolar Constellations

Slide 23

Circumpolar Constellations

Slide 24

Orion

Orion is the master of the winter skies. He lords over the heavens from late fall to early spring, with his hunting dog Sirius trailing at his feet.

The story behind it: (Orion holding a bow)

Orion was a handsome and famous hunter. The Battle-Goddess Anat fell in love with him, but when he refused to lend her his bow, she sent another man to steal it. This chap bungled the job, and wound up killing Orion and dropping the bow into the sea. This is said to explain the astronomical fact that Orion and the Bow (an older version of the constellation) drops below the horizon for two months every spring.

Another story behind it: (Orion holding an animal)

Orion was known as the "dweller of the mountain", and was famous for his prowess both as a hunter and as a lover. But when he boasted that he would eventually rid the earth of all the wild animals, his doom may have been sealed. The Earth Goddess sent the deadly scorpion to Orion to kill him. Orion engaged the scorpion in battle but quickly realized its amour was impervious to any mortal's attack. Orion then jumped into the sea and died. In his eternal hunting, Orion is careful to keep well ahead of the scorpion. Orion has disappears over the horizon by the time Scorpio rises in the east, as it becomes his turn to rule the evening sky.

Slide 25

Orion Not a circumpolar constellation, but a seasonal constellation Betelgeuse, the right arm of Orion (or "armpit" as the name suggests), glows with a dull red. Rigel, in the opposite corner of the constellation, is much brighter.

Slide 26

Orion

On the left: The Hunter - Orion

In the middle: Name: The Bull - Taurus

On the right: Name: The Greater Dog - Canis Major

Slide 27

On the left: The Lion - Leo

There is a record of the Lion in an astronomical poem from Greece in the 3rd or 4th century B.C.

In the middle: The Herdsman - Böötes

On the right: The Virgin - Virgo

At first, this constellation was recognized as the figure of a stalk of wheat, and then was introduced to the Greeks and become the figure of a virgin who holds a stalk of wheat, linking it with Greek mythology and legend.

Slide 28

On the left: The Crab - Cancer