STAR
LORE
STORIES FROM THE STARS
Ara the Altar
| Abbreviation : | Ara |
| Genitive case : | Arae |
| Brightest Star : | b Arae |
| Ara depicts a burning altar, such as was
used in ancient times to make sacrifices to the gods upon. In classical
times it was associated with Lupus the Wolf as
the altar that Centaurus is sacrificing Lupus
upon. Lupus and Ara once shared boundaries but have since been divided
by the placement of Norma the Level between them. Ara is easily located
to the south of the sting of Scorpius. Although the brightest star
in the constellation is given as beta (b)
Arae at mag. 2.9 and most of the other stars are around 3rd to 4th mag
this symmetrical constellation is easy to see in moderately dark skies.
This article is ©2002 Stargazers Astronomy |
MAIN PAGE - NOTICEBOARD - EVENTS - ASTROSPEAK - LINKS - CONTACT US