Thursday, April 06, 2017

The Letter E: Eridanus



We are at the letter E in our April’s A-Z challenge, as we tour of heavenly bodies.  “E” isn’t a popular letter to begin constellations, but there is one that is close to my heart even though it can’t always be fully seen in the northern hemisphere, especially where light pollution is a problem on the southern horizon.  Today we’re considering the constellation Eridanus, or the River Eridanus.  For those of us in the Northern Latitudes, the beginning of the constellation can be easily found as it begins near the star, Rigel, in Orion’s foot.  From there it winds itself south, star after star, nearly 40 degrees south, ending up at the star Acamar.  This star, whose name means the end of the river, was the brightest star from the southern skies that could be seen in ancient Greece.  Later, as Europeans traveled further south, they noticed the line of stars continued on, ending at the star Achernar, nearly 60 degrees south. 
Ancient cultures thrived by rivers and this constellation was often seen as a reflection of their river.  Egyptians saw it as the Nile, different European groups as the Rhine and Rhone, the Spaniards as the Ebro, the Romans as the Po, the Indians as the Ganges, and the Chinese the Yellow River.  With the northern stars near the foot of Orion, the upper part of the constellation was also seen at times as Orion’s footstool. 


There is something about a river flowing off the horizon that draws my eyes, my imagination, and my heart.  

9 comments:

  1. Would that I lived in a Star Trek universe and could visit all these places in person

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  2. Sure will search the night skies for this river!
    -----
    Team MocktailMommies
    Collage Of Life

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  3. Love that last line - perfect analogy!

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  4. I'm always fascinated how each culture adapts things to their own beliefs and surroundings. You've given me another reference to Orion - if I can just remember all this next winter when he's back in his glory!

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  5. Nice thought: the reflection of a river in the sky!

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  6. You've already significantly increased my knowledge of heavenly bodies.

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  7. That is neat that each culture saw the constellation as a reflection of their own river.

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  8. Great constellation research. I have a friend who is writing a book based on Aurora chasers you might be interested in. Her site KaelinArt.com
    H is for Hauling books http://theglobaldig.blogspot.com/2017/04/h-is-for-hauling-books-atozchallenge.html

    @trincarl

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  9. Awesome! A new constellation for me. It's really cool to know that such widely distributed groups of people saw this group of stars as their river! Thanks for sharing the River Eridanus. You certainly have put a lot of time into these posts! The end is in sight! Take care!

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