STAR
LORE
STORIES FROM THE STARS
Centaurus the Centaur
| Centaurus is constellation nearly everyone
has heard of. A large constellation, it contains many famous objects,
the most famous being alpha Centauri, the closest star to our own sun.
There is also the largest globular cluster we can see in our galaxy, known
as omega Centauri and the enigmatic galaxy designated as NGC 5128, also
called Centaurus A as it is a strong emitter of radio energy - a black
hole is now thought to reside within it. The shape of the centaur,
a creature half man and half horse, straddles the Southern Cross that hides
underneath it. Centaurus is also connected with several nearby constellations.
On the old pictorial star atlases he is always shown with a spear that
he is stabbing into the heart of Lupus the Wolf, who is about to be sacrificed
on Ara the Altar.
The Greeks associated the celestial centaur with Chiron, the noblest of that hedonistic race. He was the son of Chronos and the ocean nymph Philyrides. Apollo and Diana taught him botany, music, astronomy, divination and medicine and he was the teacher of some of the more prominent heroes in Greek mythology, most notably Hercules, Jason and Achilles. He was also thought to be the inventor of the constellations. His death was a tragic one, as centaurs were immortal creatures. While caught in a rage, his pupil Hercules shot Chiron with one of the poisoned arrows that had been dipped in the blood of the Hydra after he had cut its heads off. As this would have condemned Chiron to writhe in agony for ever as the poison flowed through his veins, he pleaded with Zeus to remove him from the earth. Zeus took pity upon him and granted his plea, placing the centaur among the stars.
His forefeet, alpha (a)
and beta (b)
Centauri are colloquially known as the "the pointers" to the Southern Cross.
Alpha has the proper name of Rigil Kentaurus, which means "the foot of
the centaur". Beta Centauri, though not as bright nor as famous, has two
names, Hadar and Agena. Hadar means "ground" and it is thought it
may have received this name as in ancient times these stars did not rise
far above the southern horizon for observers in the Mediterranean.
Agena may have a connection with the knee.
This article is ©2001 Stargazers Astronomy Shop |
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