Grus constellation simple english wikipedia, the free. The biblical book of job also makes reference to a number of constellations, including. You can learn more about this topic in the related articles below. There are only 88 constellations discovered so far by astronomers people used constellations to tell the.
International astronomical federation divided all the constellations in the celestial sphere into 88 groups as follows. Vulpecula is the 55th constellation in size, occupying an area of 268 square degrees. Little horse constellation in the northern sky at about 21 hours right ascension and 10 north in declination. Knowledge of the sun, moon, and stars, and their associated mythology, was passed from generation to generation but few conclusive records of prehistoric observations survive.
Equuleus, despite having no bright stars, was one of the constellations recognized by greek astronomer and mathematician hipparchus, and. A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of stars forms an imaginary. He used historical data provided at the time from 120150 a. A constellation is a group of stars, usually in a recognizable shape or pattern. Equuleus is the head of a horse with a flowing mane which the arabs called al faras al awwal, the first horse, in reference to its rising before pegasus. Constellations, govert schilling 9780316483889 boeken. Equuleus little horse is a faint northern sky constellation that was included by the greek astronomer ptolemy in his astronomy treatise called almagest around 150 ad. The greek writer geminus, who predated ptolemy by a century or two, tells us that hipparchus introduced a constellation called protome hippou in the second century bc. It seems that the bulk of the mesopotamian constellations were created within a relatively short interval from around 0 to bc. A constellation is a group of stars that are considered to form imaginary outlines or meaningful patterns on the celestial sphere, typically representing animals, mythological people or gods, mythological creatures, or manufactured devices. Gi which is associated with east as a cardinal direction in the mul. It is best seen in the late summerearly autumn months in the south at around midnight. It is also very faint, having no stars brighter than the fourth magnitude. This page was last edited on 1 december 2018, at 15.
About 500 years later, claudius ptolemy, a grecoroman scientist, added the 48 constellations in his book almagest, and this is the same information that we use today. The smallest constellations, by dennis mammana creators. Constellation facts for kids interesting facts about. Sort of like a game of cosmic connectthedots, stargazers draw lines between bright stars to form familiar shapes. Night sky constellations naming history skywatching. Equuleus is one of the 48 constellations cataloged by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the second century.
Constellations were part of the historical record in mesopotamian culture around 4000 b. This fascinating narrative recounts the history of astronomy and, with more than 100 fullcolor illustrations, it shows readers how to find the planets and constellations in the night sky. Translations equuleus second smallest constellation of the northern sky. In ancient times, people thought that the sun, moon, and stars were gods. The constellation is associated with several greek myths, most notably the one about hippe, the daughter of the centaur chiron and the nymph chariclo. Equuleus, despite having no bright stars, was one of the constellations recognized by greek astronomer and mathematician hipparchus, and went on to be one of the 48. Discover the secrets in the stars 1 by robin kerrod isbn. For each constellation, he provided two drawings, one from the outside of a celestial globe, and the other from the inside. Equuleus is tucked between pegasus, the flying horse, and delphinus about a quarter of the way from enif, the horses nose, to bright altair in aquila. Apin, an astronomical compilation dating to around bce. Equuleus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Different cultures have divided and organized the stars and.
Constellation equuleus the constellations on sea and sky. The 48 constellations listed by ptolemy after 150 ad. The greek constellation may be an adaptation of the babylonian constellation known as the old man mul. The constellation crux, meaning the cross is only made of 4 stars in the shape of, wella cross. Proper noun equuleus constellation the second smallest constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a little horse. Due to its position in the sky, crux is mostly visible on earths southern hemisphere. Initially published in 1942 and now celebrating its 50th anniversary, star maps for beginners has sold more than 450,000 copies. Explore the history associated with each constellation and notable stars, as well as ways to engage them, with help from seventy illustrations and a variety of star maps.
The threeletter form in parentheses shows the abbreviation and the form in single quotes provides a. It is a very old constellation that has its roots in many cultures. Interestingly, the old astronomy books and sky charts, which depicted the constellations as allegorical drawings, placed the lucida brightest star of lynx in the tuft of its tail. Organized around the wheel of the year, star magic lets you easily navigate chapters corresponding to both your current season and hemisphere. Origin and history equuleus is included in the ancient star catalog of ptolemy, but not in those of eudoxos of knidos and aratos of soli. The constellation of equuleus the foal is in the northern hemisphere and at only 72 square degrees it is the second smallest by area. On the back is the name of the constellation, an image of the mythological creature it represents with the constellation superimposed over it, its position and area, brightest star and number of visible constituent stars, zodiac sign if applicable, and notes on the constellations origin and history. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Equuleus is the secondsmallest of the modern constellations, and perhaps the most insignificant it contains no stars brighter than mag 3. Constellations are useful in tracking artificial satellites and in assisting astronomers and navigators to locate certain stars. In greek mythology, perseus was the son of danae, who became the hero who slew medusa.
The creator of the constellation is unknown, but equuleus was introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Media related to grus constellation at wikimedia commons. Constellations the story of space told through the 88 known star patterns in the night sky. We do not have hipparchuss original to check, but presumably it was the same constellation that ptolemy adopted for his own catalogue.
Some examples of constellations are ursa major, orion, and andromeda. All 88 constellations are part of the official list by the international astronomical union iau. Constellation, in astronomy, any of certain groupings of stars that were imaginedat least by those who named themto form conspicuous configurations of objects or creatures in the sky. Pictures of all 88 constellations, how to locate them. Constellation could also mean just a group or cluster of things, but in this video series were pronouncing and spelling out some of the most notable constellations we can see with the naked and. The firstcentury astronomer claudius ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his great book. It is located belowimmediately southof orion the hunter, and is sometimes represented as a hare being chased by. The earliest direct evidence for the constellations comes from inscribed stones and clay writing tablets dug up in mesopotamia within modern iraq dating back to 3000 bc. Content is available under the creative commons attributionsharealike license. To this day, most books that tell the stories of the constellations are retellings of. The 88 modern constellations are defined regions of the sky together covering the entire celestial sphere.
Some stars are much brighter than others but the brightest stars in a constellation are visible to the unaided eye so its possible to see constellations without the use of a telescope. It is the second smallest of the night sky s 88 recognized constellations, with its brightest star, kitalpha, a yellowwhite giant found 186 light years away that shines with an apparent magnitude of just 3. Here are the 48 original constellations introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the almagest, c. Equuleus is easy to find despite its lack of bright stars, courtesy of its brighter neighbors. In ancient china, the stars were part of a constellation known as the black tortoise of the north. The small constellation of delphinus was one of the original 48 constellations complied by ptolemy in the almagest in the 2nd century ce. Homers epic poem, the odyssey talks about the constellations and eudoxus of cnidus wrote about 43 constellations, 400 years later. It is the second smallest of the night skys 88 recognized constellations, with its brightest star, kitalpha, a yellowwhite giant found 186 light years away that shines with an apparent magnitude of just 3. The firstcentury astronomer claudius ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his great book almagest, but since ptolemy borrowed much of his material from earlier writers, one must wonder if. It is the second smallest of the modern constellations, spanning only 72 square degrees. Obsolete constellations including ptolemys argo navis. This page was last changed on 17 november 2014, at 02. The comprehensive list of ancient constellations appeared in a book. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license.