We are at the letter D
in our A-Z tour of heavenly bodies.
There are only three constellations that begin with a “D”, the most
popular being Draco or the Dragon. This
constellation doesn’t stand out like the dippers or Orion. Most of the stars are rather dim and although
the constellation is huge, wrapping itself around the North Pole, it is hard to
follow the stars to make out the dragon as it squeezes in between the two
dippers (or the Bears or Ursa Major and Minor). However, it is visible most of the year for
those of us in the northern latitudes, but it is probably best seen in summer
when it is higher in the sky. For southern readers, Draco will remain elusive.
There are several
legends that are associated with Draco.
In one, Ladon the dragon guards the apples of Hesperides, which is under
Atlas’ control. Hercules final feat that
will free him is to snatch one of these “golden apples.” By tricking Atlas, Hercules fetches an apple
and in the summer when the dragon is at its zenith, Hercules can be seen
standing over the dragon.
There's another legend set
in primordial times when the Titanic gods fought against the Olympic gods. In this story, Minerva, the goddess of
wisdom, caught the dragon by its tail and tossed it up on the dome of stars in
the sky where it swings around and around the pole (kind of like a record turning
on a turntable). Some say the dragon got
tangled up and was unable to free itself and, being near the pole, froze
there.
 |
| The Dragon and Bear |
Most everyone has heard
of the North Star, but I’m pretty sure even the oldest of my readers can't recall
a time when that star set in the Little Dipper didn’t stand over the Celestial
Pole. But the North Star has not always
maintained this prominent position over the pole. A mere five thousand years ago, Thuban (or
alpha-draconis), a star within Draco’s tail, was the star that appeared over
the pole. The star does move, just very
slowly. Although I’m pretty sure I won’t live to see it, twenty-some thousand
years from now, the dragon will again claim the north point in the sky.
I love dragons but don't know much about the constellations. Interesting subject.
ReplyDeleteDraco always makes me think of Harry Potter. I didn’t know it was also a constellation. :)
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Shameful to admit, but I've always had trouble locating the dippers - so I doubt I can find Draco. Especially if he's (slowly) on the move. ;)
ReplyDeleteAJ's comment made me chuckle, because I had thought about Harry Potter when I saw the name Draco. :P
ReplyDeleteHow fascinating that the dragon will once again be the north point in the sky.
I used to be fascinated by the constellations, back when I could see the stars at night (not so much in the city.) This is a lovely idea for the A to Z Challenge.
ReplyDeleteLove those dragons in the night sky!
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with this one, but I'm able to pick out the Dippers occasionally at home, so I'll have to take a look up next time we have a cloud free night to see if I can spot it!
ReplyDeleteCait @ Click's Clan
The stars tell such interesting tales!
ReplyDeleteMost know about the North star and the Dippers. I wish the others weren't so hard to see without a chart.
ReplyDelete"Female Scientists Before Our Time"
Shells–Tales–Sails
I love the pictures of the constellations, but I marvel how anyone could take a collection of points and see such fantastic creatures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tamara. Maybe I don't have a good enough imagination but I don't see images in the constellations.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the first thought that came to me when I saw "Draco" was the Harry Potter movies and books. On a serious side note, the guy who played Daddy Draco in the movies is the captain in the upcoming Star Trek series.
ReplyDeleteOh! That's really helpful, because the Pole star and the Dippers are the only constellations I know by sight (also Cassiopeia, which is the three in a line, right?). So maybe now I can also pick out Draco...
ReplyDeleteI was right about D for Draco! I can remember lying in a field in Portree, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia with a constellation map and a flashlight covered with red cellophane in the summer of 1969 determined to find the dragon in the sky. It was great fun, but now it's so much harder to find a dark sky to search in. I can wrap my mind around the gradual shift in the Earth's axis of rotation and how the poles trace a "cone" over 26,000 year, but I my eyes cross when I try to visualize and understand the "precession of the equinoxes" along the ecliptic. The ancient astronomers figured all this stuff out ~ amazing.
ReplyDelete