The crystal ball nebula ngc 1514 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation taurus, near the border with perseus. Its three primary stars form an acute triangle pointing northsouth. The firstcentury astronomer claudius ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his. Astronomers recognize 88 official constellations in the sky. These include delphinus, equuleus, lacerta, sagitta and vulpecula most. Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac, situated between capricornus and pisces.
Constellation, in astronomy, any of certain groupings of stars that were. When jacob bartsch included camelopardalis on his star map of 1624, he described the constellation as a camel on which rebecca rode into canaan, where she was to marry isaac. Caesius, in modern times, associated it with the kings horse that haman hoped for, as is told in the book of esther. It is sometimes also known as equus primus, or the first horse. The greek writer geminus, who predated ptolemy by a century or two, tells us that hipparchus introduced a constellation. Homer mentioned a few now familiar constellations in his epic poem, the odyssey. Equuleus was visualized as the head of a horse, next to the head of the much betterknown horse pegasus. Welcome to another edition of constellation friday. There are 22 different constellations that start with the letter c.
There are 88 officially recognized constellations in the sky, and these astronomical patterns have a fascinating and long history. The constellation includes a series of starburst nebulae where new stars are forming. Ptolemy referred to this constellation as the head and neck of a. The constellation equuleus, globular cluster m72, and. Asterisms are the small star patterns within a constellation. The history of science program of the university of oklahoma provides exhibits online as a resource for students and scholars, to support undergraduate instruction and to facilitate collaborative research. Equuleus is a small, faint constellation with few notable deep sky objects and no stars brighter than fourth magnitude. Equuleus january 8, 2017 peter christoforou star constellations 0 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. In this weeks astronomy magazine podcast, well help you observe the constellation equuleus, globular cluster m72, and the fireworks galaxy ngc 6946 in augusts night sky. It is a small constellation ranking 69th out of the 88 constellations. Equuleus, the little horse, is a constellation that lies between pegasus and delphinus. The constellation of equuleus the foal is in the northern hemisphere and at only 72 square degrees it is the second smallest by area. Constellation facts for kids interesting facts about. 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.
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. Initially published in 1942 and now celebrating its 50th anniversary, star maps for beginners has sold more than 450,000 copies. In greek mythology, the constellation was mainly associated with the foal celeris. In the western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from ptolemys list in the almagest which in turn has roots that go back to mesopotamian astronomy, and most of the far southern. The constellation is one of the original constellations that was devised by the ancient grecoegyptian astronomer ptolemy who lived between 90 a. Equuleus is an old constellation that may have been identified by ptolemy in the second century.
The big dipper and the little dipper are asterisms. The constellation is best seen in the northern summer, as it is located along the milky way. This is the list of notable stars in the constellation equuleus, sorted by decreasing brightness. It is a very old constellation that has its roots in many cultures. A constellation in the northern hemisphere, between pegasus and aquila.
Equuleus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aquila is a constellation on the celestial equator. But where crux is inside the milky way and full of celestial treasures, equuleus sits off to the side by itself in a relatively empty part of the sky, offering. Equuleus is one of the 48 constellations cataloged by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the second century. Equuleus is a constellation in the northern hemisphere. The smallest constellations, by dennis mammana creators. Aquarius is one of the oldest of the recognized constellations along the zodiac the suns apparent path. It is visible in midseptember rising just before pegasus. Equuleus, the little horse, is one of the smallest constellations in the heavens. 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. Each constellation is celebrated in pictures and text. Its name is latin for eagle and it represents the bird that carried zeusjupiters thunderbolts in grecoroman mythology its brightest star, altair, is one vertex of the summer triangle asterism. Ptolemy assigned four faint stars to equuleus, which we know today as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta equulei, but gave no brightness estimates for them. Equuleus is the 87th largest in terms of size in the night sky.
Its name is latin for watercarrier or cupcarrier, and its symbol is, a representation of water. Four hundred years later eudoxus of cnidus wrote about 43 constellations or 45 or 48 depending on ones interpretation which survive today. Guide to the constellations celestial sphere proper motion constellation former constellations 88 modern constellations constellation family asterism astronomy list of nakshatras chinese constellations andromeda list of stars in andromeda antlia list of stars in antlia apus list of stars in apus aquarius list of stars in aquarius aquila. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Little horse constellation in the northern sky at about 21. If you know where to look in the northern hemisphere, and what to look for, these constellations pop into our line of sight and really are a wonder to behold. There is no certain legend applied to equuleus and it is supposedly created by the. It was included in the original 48 constellations described by ptolemy. Kitalpha was the equuleus saint in the xxi century. Pisces constellation simple english wikipedia, the. This is the smallest of all constellations in the sky and has no stars.
Ptolemy mentioned this constellation in his great book almagest, but since. Its brightest star is kitalpha from the arabic for part of a horse, with a magnitude of 3. The constellation that is the largest is hydra, which takes up 3. Here is an excerpt from sestis description of the constellation of ara, the altar. While the giraffe is not a reference to mythology, the constellations name could be a reference to the book of genesis in the bible, but this remains doubtful. The constellation is associated with several greek myths, most. This constellation is located close to the celestial equator and is bordered by vulpecula, sagitta, aquila, aquarius, equuleus, and pegasus. Equuleus constellation legal definition of equuleus. Equuleus little horse is a faint northern sky constellation that was included by the greek astronomer ptolemy in his astronomy treatise called. Equuleus celestial atlas by alexander jamieson 1822.
Often referred to as the foal of the heavens, equuleus is the second smallest constellation in the sky. In ancient china, the stars were part of a constellation known as the black tortoise of the north. Its quite old, and may have been founded by ptolemy in the second century ad. The altar built by the cyclopes was eternalized by zeus, who placed it as a constellation in the southern reaches of the sky, under the stars of scorpio and at the beginning of the milky way, so that the. Constellations were part of the historical record in mesopotamian culture around 4000 b.
Today, in honor of the late and great tammy plotner, we take a look at the little horse the equuleus constellation. Two small constellations are shown this month, faint equuleus in the lower left and distinctive delphinus on the right hand side. Equuleus, the horse constellation facts and mythology. Constellation equuleus the constellations on sea and sky. Equuleus article about equuleus by the free dictionary. It is best seen in the late summerearly autumn months in the south at around midnight. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. A very small inconspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere near pegasus, the brightest star being a triple star of 4th magnitude. Media in category equuleus constellation the following 26 files are in this category, out of 26 total. Greek protome means head or bust in sculpture, with later astronomers it was equus primus and prior. Exhibits online unites text, images, and other media on topics in the history of science. The orion constellation has 81 visible stars, including some of the brightest and most important stars in the night sky. Equuleus, the little horse lower constellation on the chart is a small and relatively faint constellation found bordered by aquila, aquarius and pegasus.
Interestingly, the old astronomy books and sky charts, which depicted the constellations as. It is the second smallest of the 88 constellations, bigger only than crux. Such stars are named for the constellation in which they reside, so it is. Equuleus literally means little horse of foal in latin. Equuleus the little horse the second smallest constellation in the sky, and contains no notable deep sky objects due to its small size and its distance from the plane of the milky way. How the night sky constellations got their names space. We have probably all heard of the big dipper and its smaller counterpart, the little dipper.
Equuleus is thought to be cerleris, the swift brother of pegasus, whom mercury gave to castor, the brother of pollux gemini. This constellation, as is commonly remarked, never sets, and those who want to find an explantation for this say that tethys, the wife of ocean, refuses to receive it when the other starts come to their setting because she had been the nurse of hera. Equuleus is also linked to the story of philyra and saturn. Equuleus constellation synonyms, equuleus constellation pronunciation, equuleus constellation translation, english dictionary definition of equuleus constellation. Fortyeight of the constellations are known as ancient or.
A northern constellation which lies between delphinus and pegasus, and culminates at midnight in early august. Its origin is uncertain, though its brightest stars were cataloged by ptolemy c. In some references, it may also represent cerleris, the brother of pegasus. Equuleus constellation britannica encyclopedia britannica. The constellation that is the smallest is crus, which takes up 0. These stars form an ancient group whose origins are lost in history. The creator of the constellation is unknown, but equuleus was introduced by the greek astronomer ptolemy in the 2nd century. In any case, it can be seen rising in midseptember just before pegasus. Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. Material is drawn from diverse fields from ancient times to the present. 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. Equuleus is the second smallest constellation in the northern hemisphere. Just before the rebirth of pallas, a city in italy had his time frozen by saturn servants that named themselves as.
Definition of equuleus constellation in the legal dictionary by free online english dictionary and encyclopedia. Delphinus, equuleus constellations digital images of. Forty eight of the constellations we know were recorded in the seventh and eighth books. In mid of september the above field culminates at about 21. However the author of the almagest often borrowed from others and it is possible his principal source, hipparchus, was. Rigel is the brightest star in it, and betelgeuse is a huge, rather unstable red giant.
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