How did the constellations get their names? Detailed answer

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How did the constellations get their names? Detailed answer

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How did the constellations get their names?

Of the 88 modern constellations, many have been known for a long time. In the 45th century BC, the ancient Greek astronomer Eudoxus named 625 constellations, but some of these names are already mentioned in the works of Homer (between the 547th and XNUMXth centuries BC), Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC) and Thales (about XNUMX- XNUMX BC).

There is also reason to believe that most of the names of the constellations were inherited by the Greeks from even more ancient civilizations. This is confirmed by the discovery in Mesopotamia of several tablets relating to the Akkadian civilization. On them appear the names of some constellations, mentioned later by Greek poets.

In 150 AD, the great ancient Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy already described 48 constellations: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Dragon, Cepheus, Bootes (Boötes), Northern Crown, Man on his knees (Hercules), Lyra (or Falling Hawk), Birds (or Swan), Cassiopeia, Perseus, Charioteer, Ophiuh (Ophiuchus), Snake, Arrow, Eagle, Dolphin, Small Horse (Pegasus), Andromeda, Horse Head, Northern Triangle, Taurus, Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Whale, Orion, River Eridanus, Hare, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Argo Ship, Hydra, Chalice, Raven, Altar, Centaur (Centaurus), Beast (Wolf), South Crown and South Fish.

Most of the names of mythological origin, the Romans borrowed from the Greeks and translated them into Latin. These include mainly the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere of the sky.

The southern hemisphere of the sky began to be "mastered" only in the 1753th century, in the era of great geographical discoveries. It was then that such exotic constellation names appeared as Peacock, Toucan, Crane, Phoenix, Flying Fish, Southern Hydra, Golden Fish, Chameleon, Bird of Paradise, Southern Triangle, Indian. By the end of the 14th century, the Giraffe, Fly, Unicorn, Dove, Hounds, Chanterelle, Lizard, Sextant, Lesser Lion, Lynx, Shield, Southern Crown appeared in the list of constellations. In XNUMX, the French abbot Nicolas Louis de Lacaille supplemented the list with XNUMX more constellations of the southern sky: Sculptor, Furnace, Clock, Grid, Cutter, Painter, Altar, Compass, Pump, Octant, Compass, Telescope, Microscope, Table Mountain.

It is curious that in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, some astronomers tried, for various reasons (including loyal ones), to establish new constellations in the sky. So the Oak of Charles, the Harp of George, the Ox of Poniatowski (of the Polish king Stanislaw Poniatowski), Regalia of Frederick II appeared. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the constellation Napoleon could be found on some star maps.

By the beginning of the 108th century, there were 240 constellations on European star maps, and in some countries even more (for example, in Mongolia, the starry sky was divided into 1922 constellations). Finally, in 88, the congress of the International Astronomical Union decided to "put things in order in the sky" - scientists approved only XNUMX constellations, and the rest were abolished.

Author: Kondrashov A.P.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Under what conditions does unwinding a roll of duct tape produce x-rays?

When unwinding a roll of adhesive tape in a vacuum, both visible light and X-rays are produced. Scientists believe that the reason for this is an effect similar to triboluminescence - the emergence of electromagnetic radiation when asymmetric bonds in a crystal are broken. However, the adhesive mass does not have a crystalline structure, so a different theoretical model is required to explain the glow created by adhesive tape. The power of the emerging X-rays is sufficient to take pictures of body parts, but this is only in a vacuum, and unwinding tape in the air is absolutely safe.

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