The music of the spheres : $b A nature lover's astronomyGrondal, Florence Armstrong
Science
The music of the spheres : $b A nature lover's astronomy
Grondal, Florence Armstrong
Astronomy
Boötes, the constellation in which Arcturus lies, is usually described
as forming a kite-shaped figure of stars, which though faint,
covers a great deal of sky. Boötes, as mentioned before, was a herdsman
who invented the plow, and as a reward for this ingenious method of
tilling the soil, was raised to a position below the stars of the Big
Dipper. But according to another story, Boötes represents Arcas, the
son of Callisto, whom Juno so cruelly turned into a bear. In modern days
this legend seems to have been given preference for, during the
seventeenth century, Helvetius invented the Hunting Dogs, the
constellation of Canes Venatici, and the huge figure of Boötes has
since been usually pictured on the star maps as holding two lively dogs
in leash. These Dogs are interposed between Boötes and Ursa Major.
Although the Hunting Dogs have no mythology, the two constellations are
thus united in a common picture and Boötes and his dogs are said to be
chasing the Bear.
"Boötes leading his hunting dogs over the zenith in the leash of
sidereal fire."
--_CARLYLE._
In Ovid's version of the legend, the hunter was placed in the sky just
as he was and not first metamorphosed into a bear and hung on the Pole
Star as Ursa Minor. Not recognizing his mother in the form of Ursa
Major, Boötes keeps on pursuing her in an eternal chase about the Pole.
He is thus often called "The Watcher of the Bear" or "The Bear Driver."
Those who choose to consider Callisto's son, Areas, as having been
metamorphosed into a bear and hung on the pole of the heavens may then
consider Boötes as representing the herdsman who invented the plow.
The two Hunting Dogs, "Asterion" and "Chara," now held enchained by
Boötes, form the constellation Canes Venatici, which lies just below
the handle of the Big Dipper and above Arcturus and Berenice's Hair. The
collar of the hunting dog Chara is marked by the star Cor Carolli, which
means "Charles' Heart" and was named in memory of Charles I by
Halley, the English astronomer, on the suggestion of the Court
Physician, Sir Charles Scarborough.
[Figure 57]
This star is an attractive double as viewed in a small telescope with
the delicate colorings of "flushed white and lilac." On the head of
Asterion lies the famous whirlpool nebula, although this may only be
seen in a large telescope. This nebula has its great arms of nebulous
material flung widely into space and looks as if it were whirling
rapidly about, but the motion, if any, is too slow for us really to see.
With a few exceptions most of the spiral nebulæ are so very distant
that they may only be seen through a very large telescope, but next to
the stars, they are the most abundant objects in all the sky and are of
great interest to astronomers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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