The Mythology of the Night Sky

This book is for amateur astronomers who would like to know the mythology behind the names of astronomical objects in the night sky. It covers the lore and legend behind Ptolemy's 48 constellations, along with significant asterisms, the planets and their moons, the brightest named asteroids and dwarf planets.

The revised second edition includes a host of new moons and dwarf planets discovered since 2011. In addition, it now features a new section on major asteroids and their associated myths. While still primarily focused on Greco-Roman mythology, the book now branches out to cover more recently named objects from other cultures, such as Hawaiian, Rapanui, Tongva and Inuit.

To assist practical observers, the book gives the location and description of each constellation, including named stars and deep-sky objects. A host of helpful astronomy tips and techniques, as well as a brief introduction to astrophotography, is included to encourage direct observation and imaging of these mythical objects in the night sky.

Auteur

David Falkner first became interested in Astronomy as a pre-teen when his father took him to a show at the Holcolm Planetarium in Indianapolis, IN. He became hooked and has loved astronomy ever since. When he was a teenager he inherited a home-made Newtonian telescope that needed the primary mirror. He ground a 6 mirror and completed his first telescope, which gave him years of pleasure observing the heavens. In 1973 David joined the US Navy and became an officer in 1980. In 1986 as a Naval Officer stationed in Monterey, California he was involved with the Friends of MIRA (Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy) where he conducted outreach to local schools associated with the return of Halley's Comet. David retired from the US Navy in 1993 and settled in Minnesota where he continues his love of astronomy. He has taught introductory Astronomy at a local community college and does extensive astronomy outreach both a NASA Solar System Ambassador and as President of the Minnesota Astronomical Society.

Résumé

Every amateur astronomer can easily recognize at least most of the constellations. For example, Orion: the brilliant stars Betelguse and Bellatrix form the shoulders of The Hunter, Saiph and Rigel his feet, and the bright diffuse nebula M42 makes a sword hanging from his belt, made up of three prominent stars. But how many of us know the story of Orion? What myths did the ancient Greeks weave around this mighty hunter that placed him so prominently in the sky? Did you know that this mythical being was said to have been killed by Artemis, herself a hunter, while he lay exhausted by his fight with Scorpius, dominated by the red supergiant Antares, which hangs in the sky opposite Orion.

The Mythology of the Night Sky is intended primarily for amateur astronomers who would like to know the mythology behind the names of constellations and planets. It deals with the 48 constellations identified by the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy, as well as all the planets of our solar system and their moons, which are named after Roman gods.

To assist practical observers the book is organized by season, and gives the location and description of each constellation, including named stars and deep-sky objects. Readers are encouraged to observe and image the constellations for themselves, and there is a lot of practical information in this book to help them along the way.

Each Greek mythological story is told in its entirety. Often this shows how several constellations are related, giving the reader a greater appreciation of why the character, animal, or object was awarded the honor of a place in the night sky.

In addition to providing a detailed (and mostly Greek) mythology of the constellations and the vast soap opera that was part of the ancient Greek pantheon, The Mythology of the Night Sky also covers the planets of our solar system, which are named after Roman - not Greek - gods. The significance to the Romans for the names of the planets is explained, as well as how the named moons orbiting the planets (many of them named relatively recently) related to their parent planet's name. Later discoveries such as Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and their moons have been added in recent times.

The Mythology of the Night Sky strikes a unique balance between "backyard astronomy" and mythology. It describes each constellation and its observation and imaging, but unlike most astronomy books it also tells the mythological tales in full. Not only will readers appreciate the importance of the mythological characters, and why they were immortalized in the stars, but they will also see how many times several constellations are part of the same story and that even their location in the night sky was significant to the ancients.

Contenu

Contents

1 An Introduction to Greco-Roman Mythology The Night Sky and Ancient Cultures

Greek or Roman?

The Creation of the World Astronomical Family Trees

2 The Winter Constellations Orion - The Hunter

Canis Major - The Great Dog Canis Minor - The Little Dog

Lepus - The Hare

Scorpius - The Scorpion Taurus - The Bull

The Hyades - The Daughters of Atlas

The Pleiades (M45) - The Seven Sisters Auriga - The Charioteer

Eridanus - The River

Aries - The Ram

Gemini - The Twins

The Ship Argo Puppis - The Stern

Pyxis - The Mariner's Compass

Vela - The Sails Carina - The Keel

3 The Legend of Jason and the Argonauts

The Constellations The Legend

4 The Spring Constellations

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor - The Greater Bear and the Lesser Bear Ursa Major - The Great Bear and the Big Dipper

Ursa Minor

Boötes - The Herdsman (or the Plowman) Virgo - The Virgin

Corvus - The Crow

Crater - The Cup

Centaurus - The Centaur Lupus - The Wolf

Leo - The Lion

Hydra - The Watersnake

Cancer - The Crab

5 The Summer Constellations Ophiuchus - The Serpent-Bearer

Serpens (Cauda and Caput) - The Serpents Corona Borealis - The Northern Crown

Corona Australis - The Southern Crown Draco - The Dragon

Aquila - The Eagle

Scorpius - The Scorpion

Libra - The Scales Sagittarius - The Archer

Lyra - The Lyre

Cygnus - The Swan

Ara - The Altar Hercules - The Hero

Sagitta - The Arrow

Equuleus - The Foal

6 The Legend of Hercules The Constellations

The Legend

7 The Autumn Constellations

Delphinus - The Dolphin Aquarius - The Water-Bearer

Capricornus - The Sea-Goat

Pisces - The Fishes Pisces Austrinus - The Southern Fish

Pegasus - The Flying Horse

Andromeda - The Princess Cetus - The Sea-Monster (Whale)

Cassiopeia - The Queen

Cepheus - The King Perseus - The Hero

Triangulum - The Triangle

8 The Legend of Perseus

The Constellations The Legend

9 Introductions to Other Mythologies

Norse Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Inuit Mythology

Hawaiian Mythology

Rapa Nui Mythology

Tongva Mythology

10 Planets and Satellites

Mercury Venus

Earth

Earth's Satellite - The Moon

Mars

Mars' Satellites Jupiter

Jupiter's Satellites

Saturn Saturn's Satellites

Uranus Uranus' Satellites

Neptune Neptune's Satellites

11 Dwarf Planets and Asteroids

The Dwarf Planets

Ceres

Pluto

Eris

Haumea

Makemake

Sedna

Quaoar

Orcus

The Asteroids

Vesta (4 Vesta)

Pallas (2 Pallas)

Ceres (1 Ceres)

Iris (7 Iris)

Eros (433 Eros)

Hebe (6 Hebe)

Juno (3 Juno)

Melpomene (18 Melpomene) Eunomia (15 Eunomia)

Flora (8 Flora)

12 Astrophotography Using a Compact Digital Camera or Smartphone Camera

Introduction to Digital Cameras

Astrophotography Using a Compact Digital …