The constellation is ... Big constellations. How constellations look like

There are enough things, concepts and phenomena that are admirable in the world. Take at least the starry sky. It is as mysterious as it is magnificent. To study the stars began in the VI millennium BC. E. Already then they began to be grouped together. The constellation is not only a cluster of stars, but also a part of the sky. But where do the stars come from? There are several legends that raise the veil over this mystery.

History of the origin of stars

Many stars, especially bright and beautiful, received names. However, none of the scientists today can tell where they came from. According to one legend, the stars are the eyes of the boys who escaped to heaven. They caught a bird and ordered her to tie the vine to the strongest tree in heaven. When the bird did everything, the boys began to climb it upwards. However, this was noticed by their mothers and they began to ask the children to return. But the sons were deaf to the requests. Then mothers began to scramble for them to bring back the dudes. When the last boy climbed to the sky, he cut the creeper, and the women who fell down turned into animals. Since that time, the guys had to be punished every night to watch their deeds from heaven. And the stars are their eyes.

There is another legend that tells about the appearance of stars in the sky. It says that a long time ago near a small village there was a lake in which mermaids lived. During the day they swam and frolicked with fish and other marine inhabitants, and at night they went ashore, sang and danced. By the way, mermaids never had tails. These creatures were no different from ordinary girls. The villagers believed that it was impossible to look at the singing and dancing mermaids, so they did not go out at night from home. But one guy decided to challenge this belief. He went to the lake at night and hid behind a tree. As soon as it was dark, mermaids began to come out of the pond. They had fun all night, and with the advent of the sun went back to the lake. And suddenly one of them (the one that was last) noticed the boy. She did not tell the rest of her friends about it, but she wanted to live on the ground, together with people. She decided in the morning to go and find a village. There was a mermaid in the woods all day, but I could not find the village. As soon as it began to darken, she saw the lights in the windows of the houses, and realized that she was very close to her dream. She also realized that without water it was hard for her to breathe, so she was not destined to live among people. From bitterness and resentment, a mermaid burst into tears and struck her hands on the water. However, the drops did not fall back into the lake, but rose to the sky and turned into stars, as a symbol of unfulfilled dreams. And every new sparkling dot in the sky is someone's dream, which is not destined to come true.

If we talk about scientific hypotheses, they connect the appearance of stars with the compression of gas-dust condensations in molecular clouds. However, no scientist can explain the origin of clots in molecular clouds, and why they shrink. Opinions were divided. Some researchers believe that molecular clouds by means of a magnetic field, which it contains, are kept from contraction. And here in those places where this field begins to weaken, and clots are formed that act as pre-stellar cores. And what about their opponents? And they say that pre-stellar cores are the result of randomly colliding chaotic flows of matter. Neither the first nor the second version has a sufficient evidence base, and therefore it can not be said what is the real cause of star formation.

Constellations - one of the most delightful shows

As already mentioned, the constellation is a certain group of stars. At the present time, scientists talk about the existence of 88 such clusters. We will not consider each of them, but we will dwell on the most famous ones. Let's talk about how the constellations look , whose names are on everyone's ears. Most of us have often heard and even used these names in our speech, but far from everyone could find these or other star clusters on the sky map. And this is not surprising, because the night sky is literally strewn with a myriad of flickering dots, and it's not easy to assemble them into a specific figure. The constellations differ in form, the number of heavenly bodies, which they include, size and age. And, probably, everyone has their own story. The names of the stars and constellations that we will consider, as a rule, are related to legends and folk tales. Some of them we will offer to your attention a little lower, but now a little more theory.

Classification

There are large constellations and small ones. The first include the Great Bear, Hercules, Pegasus, Aquarius, Bootes, Andromeda. To the second - the Southern Cross, Chameleon, Flying Fish, Small Dog, Paradise Bird. Of course, we named only a small fraction, the most famous.

Map of the sky, astronomers divided into 2 parts: southern and northern (by analogy with the hemispheres of the Earth). Thus, the constellations also distinguish between the southern and northern constellations. We will name the most famous of them. In the Northern sky more significant constellations. The southern one has always been a landmark for sailors. By the way, the latter is considered the center of our galaxy, and the first - its edge. Constellations of the Northern Hemisphere: Big and Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Dragon, Swan, Lira, Bootes, etc. Southern includes the Southern Cross, Centaurus, Fly, Altar, South Triangle, etc. The map of the night sky fascinates, and every cluster of stars is beautiful In his own way.

Some "heavenly compasses" are visible all 365 days a year, and some can be seen only in a certain period (for example, Hydra, Leo and Big Dipper are clearly visible in April). Therefore, the question of when to observe the constellation, it is possible to answer exactly as follows: every night. And some clusters of stars can not be seen at all. For example, the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere are not always "shown" to the inhabitants of the northern latitudes. Although the same Lion can be found in the Northern Hemisphere in spring and in the Southern Hemisphere in the fall.

Constellation of the Dipper

The constellation, which even the children recognize in the sky, is the Big Dipper. It is the third largest and has the shape of a bucket. In any case, we think so, but this is only an apparent appearance. Few people know that the Big Dipper consists of 125 stars. The name of this constellation was due to its shape. And appearance in the sky is obliged, according to legend, Zeus.

Once the thunderer was in love with the beautiful Callisto. However, this upset the wife of Zeus. In revenge, she turned the rival into a bear, which was almost killed by her son - hunter Arkas, who returned home and saw a wild beast. Zevs himself prevented this. And he placed Callisto in the sky with Arkas and his dog. Now the son must protect his mother in heaven. Arkas turned to the constellation Bootes, and his dog is the Little Bear. Here is an interesting legend.

The Ursa constellation is 70 light years from Earth. With the naked eye, you can distinguish 7 stars, which are considered to be the main ones. These are Dubha, Merak, Fekda, Megrec, Aliot, Mizar, Benetnash. They also form a ladle, which is clearly visible in the night sky. All these stars, except for Dubha, are hot white giants. Dubche is an orange giant star.

Next to the Great is the Little Bear. The highlight of this constellation is that it contains the North Star - the most famous in the whole sky. She is a supergiant. In addition to Polyarnaya, the constellation includes Kochab, Ferhad, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta and This Little Dipper.

Every night you can see these constellations in the sky. Photo of the Big Dipper really reminds the outline of the beast. In order to find the Polar Star, you need to mentally connect the extreme points of a large bucket and extend this line up. Its length should be approximately equal to 5 lines connecting the extreme stars of the Big Dipper.

Orion

Another treasure of the starry sky is the constellation Orion. It is one of the biggest and most interesting. If you believe the legend, the constellation is the personification of the hunter of Orion. He once went to the forests of Kieferon. However, the day was so hot that all the thoughts of the guy were engaged only in the search for a stream with cool water, where he could quench his thirst. Orion found such a stream, and nearby I saw a wonderful cave, covered with greenery. When the hunter came closer, he saw there resting Artemis with his nymphs. The goddess of hunting at this time wanted to swim in the lake, and the nymphs who saw Orion screamed, having managed to close their mistress from the mortal's eyes. However, Artemis was angry and turned Orion into a deer, leaving him with a human mind. The hunter ran to run away, and after him his dogs chased him. Orion wanted to shout to them that he is their master, but can deer speak? Dogs caught up with him and tore him to shreds. The gods pardoned the unfortunate and left in the sky in the form of a constellation. Do not forget the hounds.

This southern constellation has 2 main stars - Rigel and Betelgeuse. They are among the brightest in the sky. It is also interesting that in addition to the bright light, they do not unite anything more. Rigel is a hot bluish-white star, and Betelgeuse refers to the cold red supergiants. If we consider the size of these celestial bodies, then Betelgeuse is much larger. But her temperature is much lower than that of Rigel. Therefore, the light emitted by it is not so bright. There are also gas nebulae, which are an ornament of this constellation. Photo of Orion looks very beautiful. Agree, to trace some relationship between individual stars and combine them into a concrete figure, you need to have a powerful imagination. And people put on the map of the sky as many as 88 such schemes!

Constellation Dog

The appearance of this constellation in the sky is associated with the legend of Orion. Since this hunter had 2 favorite dogs, the constellations in the sky too are 2 - Big and Small Dog. Let us briefly examine each of them.

The constellation of the Small Dog is small enough. It is decorated with the star Procyon. It is very close to the Sun, therefore it stands out in the sky. By its nature, Procyon is a yellowish sub-gigant.

The constellation of the Great Dog is located in the Southern Hemisphere. Its decoration is blue and white Sirius. This star can change color from blue to red and is one of the brightest and largest in this constellation. It can even be called the brightest in the sky. The blue hot star Mirzam is also very beautiful. Its brightness changes every few hours. It is rich in the accumulation of celestial bodies by a large number of galaxies and nebulae. Especially well seen constellation Dog in Montenegro.

Swan

His appearance in the sky Swan owes all-powerful Zeus. According to the legend, I saw once the ancient Greek high god Leda beautiful. She was the wife of King Sparta Tindarei. But what did this mean in Zeus' eyes? Leda liked him so much that he decided to make her his lover. Scared him only jealousy of the wife - Hera. Therefore, to meet with the beauty flew thunderer in the guise of a white swan. And after a while a son and daughter were born to a woman. The gods immortalized the image of a swan in the sky as a symbol of the love of Zeus and Leda.

This northern constellation has another name - the Northern Cross. You can find it near Cepheus. His brightest stars are Deneb, Sadr and Albireo.

a lion

Legends of the constellations say that the Nemean Leo is the prototype of the Lion in the sky. Once this animal instilled fear and horror into people. To get rid of it, King Eurystheus turned to Hercules for help. He immediately went in search of the Nemean Lion. The whole day he spent in search of the scarecrow, but all the efforts were in vain. And as soon as the night fell on the ground, the lion himself gave himself a terrifying roar. It did not take a long time for the hero to reach the lair of the monster. Looking closely, he saw 2 exits from the cave in which the Nemean Leo lived. One of the outputs of Hercules laid stones, and near the other hid himself. When the animal seemed, Hercules began to shower it with arrows from the bow. However, they all bounced off the monster's skin, without causing the slightest harm to it. Then the fearless hero rushed to the beast and strangled him. And the Nemean Lion got to heaven thanks to Zeus, who wanted to leave a reminder of his son's exploit.

This northern constellation really looks like a lion figure with a lush mane. Would you like to find it on a map of the night sky? Then lower your eyes slightly below the back legs of the Big Dipper. This constellation contains several bright stars. However, the most striking is Regulus. Slightly tarnished - Denebola and Zosma.

Virgo

If you turn to Greek mythology, the prototype of the constellation of the Virgin is the goddess of fertility Demeter. She had her daughter Persephone, whose father was the all-powerful Zeus. Persephone was very nice and loved life. However, Zeus promised to give her to the wives of Aida. As soon as the time came, the god of the underworld abducted Persephone and took him to the realm of shadows. For days and nights Demetra shed tears. In her sorrow, she could not think of anything, except her daughter. All the plants began to wither, and the Earth was seized with hunger. The only salvation for all the living was the return of Persephone to his mother. Then Zeus asked Aida to let the girl go. The ruler of darkness could not help but obey. However, before parting, he forced the beautiful woman to swallow a pomegranate seed, which is a symbol of the continuity of marriage. Thus, Persephone could not forget her husband. Zevs arranged the life of Persephone as follows: 2/3 years she was on Olympus with her mother, and 1/3 - with Hades. Seeing her daughter, Demeter blossomed with happiness, and again the green fields and birds began to sing. But as soon as her daughter was going to her husband, Demeter was sad, and the time was coming on the snow blizzard.

This constellation can not be attributed to the most striking. However, its dimensions are quite impressive. It is located to the left of the Lion and below the Bootes and has the shape of a curved quadrilateral. The brightest star of the Virgin is Spica. The rest are inferior to her in this parameter. The most significant of them are Porrima and Windemeathrix.

Ophiuchus

As already mentioned, very many names of stars and constellations are associated with ancient myths. Ophiuchus is no exception. This constellation perpetuated the memory of the healer Asclepius, the son of Apollo. Once he saw a snake bring healing herbs to his girlfriend. Thus, he learned the secrets of healing and could even raise the dead. Zeus feared that the whole of humanity would become immortal, and killed the healer with a thunderbolt. However, he left him a place in the starry sky.

This constellation is quite large. Its appearance resembles a polygon that does not have a clear shape. It is located near Hercules. Ophiuchus contains 3 bright stars: Rasalhag, Tsebalmar and Sabik.

Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda and Perseus

There is a legend that binds as many as five constellations. They are Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Pegasus and Perseus. Once upon a time, King Cepheus ruled Ethiopia. He had a beautiful wife, the queen of Cassiopeia. In this marriage, Andromeda's daughter was born, who even surpassed her mother in beauty. Once the king boasted of the beauty of his daughter, being surrounded by Nereids. Envious of her mythical inhabitants of the sea and complained to the mighty Poseidon. The lord of the seas sent a monster to Ethiopia, whose flame erupted from his mouth. The only thing that could save the country from destruction is the sacrifice of Andromeda. Then he tied a native daughter to the rock. However, at this time Pegasus flew past Pegasus. When he saw the girl, he got into a fight with the monster and overcame him. All the main participants of this legend were transferred to heaven. Since then the star constellations Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda and Perseus adorn the sky.

Pegasus in shape resembles a square and contains the star Alferac, which is the extreme in Andromeda. Besides it, there are 4 more bright heavenly bodies. They are Markab, Sheath, Algenib and Enif. The constellation Andromeda has 3 bright stars: Alferat, Mirah, Almah.

Centaurus

This is the southern constellation. His prototype is the centaur Chiron, who was the son of the god of time Kronos. He was a wise teacher. His disciples were Achilles, Jason and others. One day his friend Hercules released a random arrow and mortally wounded Chiron. The gods, in reward for his achievements, decided to give the centaur a place in the sky in the form of a constellation.

There is not one person who does not admire the starry sky. The constellation is something as mysterious as the beautiful. It has its own history and its life. Unfortunately, we are not very interested in this, so far not everyone knows the beautiful legends about the constellations. Some constellations are large and bright, some are small, but from this they do not become less beautiful.