"Constellations of the star sky"
In dark, moonless and cloudless night inthe sky the set of stars is visible. It seems, difficultly to understand thismajestic picture of the star sky about which our great compatriot M. V. Lomonosov(1711-1765) with inspiration wrote:
"The chasm of stars has opened isfull,
To stars of number is not present, a chasm- A bottom ".
Even more difficultly the problem isrepresented to count all visible stars in the sky. But difficult at firstsight, it becomes quite easy if to apply correct ways of its decision. Theseways were created not at once, and decades and centuries, and the first of themleave the roots in an extreme antiquity. At the beginning of a human societywhen for the first time there was a primitive manufacture, already it wasnecessary for nomad tribes to be guided at transitions from a place of a pas aplace to find a way to former places of parking. At higher step of developmentof a human society, at agriculture occurrence, there was a necessity toconduct, at least and rough, the account of time for regulation of agriculturalworks.
What exit saw from the created position theancient people which did not have at the order even the bare rudiments modernus of sciences? It is unique that was always before them, and is more true,over them, is a star sky on which the ancient people began gradually to learnto be guided by districts and to keep count of time. Practical necessity ofstudying of the star sky has led to origin of the science which have receivedsubsequently in the Ancient Greece the name of astronomy, an event from twoGreek words: астрон-a star and номос - the law.
But the name at all does not serve as theproof of origin and development of this science only in the Ancient Greece. Theastronomy has arisen and independently degree of its development, naturallydeveloped literally at all people, but, was in direct dependence on a level ofdevelopment of productive forces and culture of the people.
If someone made fascinating travel fromMoscow to Yaroslavl on the Yaroslavl highway, that should pay attention of apas rather a small number of turns on all its extent. The highway is almostrectilinear, and its turns are connected only with detour of ravines, marshyplaces or too abrupt hills. And after all the Yaroslavl highway is laidbasically on the old road connecting Moscow with Yaroslavl.
Both cities - almost coevals. Moscow ismentioned in annals since 1147 though, judging by last archeologicalexcavations in the Moscow Kremlin, it as settlement existed already in secondhalf Х century Yaroslavl based in 1010 By the same timeoccurrence of the traveller of a path between two cities concerns also. Whatway possible to pave in those days surprisingly direct shortest way between twocities removed from each other? Yes only same to what not less direct roadbetween Moscow and Vladimir - orientation on stars has been laid; other ways oforientation in those days was not.
But how it is possible to be guided onstars if them the great variety is visible to a pas the sky? It would Seem,easily to get confused in this abundance of stars. Here for this purpose alsoit was necessary to group, first of all, bright stars (which in the sky not soalready much) in the figures well remembered by the contours. Such star figures- Combinations of stars, or constellations - have been allocated, and later tothem have carried also weaker stars located around constellations. It is quitenatural that the various people created the imagination differentconstellations and if it is casual contours of constellations and coincided,they were called differently. As sources of names of constellations myths aboutgods, legends on legendary heroes and the events connected with them, variousanimals and, at last, the instruments of production used by the people in aneveryday life, as a rule, served.
So, known group of seven bright stars,reminding a ladle outline, ancient Greeks named.
The Big Dipper. If to this group of starsto attach the weak stars located near to a ladle at sufficient imagination itis possible to spend borders of this constellation so that they will remindoutlines of any big animal (fig.1)
Fig.1. Constellations of the Big and SmallShe-bear.
The Greek myth tells that nymph Kallistohas been transformed by jealous spouse Zevsa the Hero into a she-bear who wasbadgered on hunting by dogs by its own son Arkad (Volopas). Zevs has givenKallisto immortality, having placed it in the sky in the form of constellationof the Big Dipper. Near to the Big Dipper its persecutors - Volopas and HoundsDogs (fig.2) are located also, but the constellation of Hounds of Dogs hasappeared in the sky only in XVII century when the Ancient Greek myth has beenadded by companions of the hunter. In the Ancient Greece the constellation ofthe Big Dipper was called also as the Chariot what the Homere in "Odysseus"mentions.
Fig.2. Constellations of the Big Dipper,Volopasa and Hounds of Dogs.
In Ancient Russia the same constellationhad different names - the Cart, the Chariot, the Pan, the Ladle; the peopleoccupying territory of Ukraine, named its Cart; in Zavolzhe it was called theBig Ladle, and in Siberia - the Elk. And till now in some areas of our countrythese names have remained.
By analogy other group of seven, but weakerstars located near to the Big Dipper and also reminding outline of a ladle,ancient Greeks named constellation of the Small She-bear. The same group ofstars has been named by Siberians the Small Ladle, and the people occupying coastLedovitogo of ocean, saw in it a polar bear with the head lifted up upwards onwhich to a nose North star located at the very end of the handle of a ladle (fig.3flaunted).
Fig.3. Constellation of the Small She-bearin the form of a polar bear.
The name of these two constellations at thepeople occupying territory of the present Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic israther original. Observing the star sky, they, as well as other people, havepaid attention to an immovability of North star which invariably occupies atany time the same position over horizon. It is quite natural that these people,the basic which source of existence were herds of horses, named North star"An iron nail" ("Temir-Kazyk") hammered into the sky, andin other stars of the Small She-bear saw adhered to this nail "the lassowhich has been put on a neck of the Horse (constellation of the Big Dipper). Withindays the Horse ran all over the way around "nail" (fig.4). Thus,ancient Kazakhs united constellations of the Big and Small She-bear in one.
Fig.4. The constellations of the Big andSmall She-bear united in constellation of the Horse.
If an average star of a tail of the BigDipper mentally to connect a straight line to North star and to prolong thisline further we will see constellation of Kassiopei which outline reminds theturned and a little stretched letter "M" (or Latin "W"). Thisconstellation ancient Greeks has been named in honour of mythical tsarinaKassiopei: in outlines of this constellation they saw a throne with the tsarinasitting on it (fig.5). The Belarus people saw in this constellation of twopeople mowing a grass (fig.6).
Fig.5. Constellation of Kassionei inrepresentation of ancient Greeks.
Fig.6. Constellation of Kassiopei inrepresentation of Byelorussians.
Winter evenings over a horizon South sidepack up the most effective constellation of the sky - constellation of Orion,desert by the seven bright stars from which the arrangement of four reminds thehuge letter X, and three other, extended abreast, cross out this letter in themiddle. To the right of the top bright stars, and also more to the left andabove them two arches from the weak stars, turned by concavity to bright star...
