STAR
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STORIES FROM THE STARS
Crater the Cup
| Crater, which is an old style wine cup,
is a faint constellation between Corvus and Hydra
but it has ancient origins. It is commonly associated with the story
of Corvus the Crow from Greek mythology, but was
recognised by the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians. It was later
associated with the Holy Grail.
Crater comes from the latin word for cup. In particular it refered to the wide, shallow cups that wine was drunk from in Roman times. While today we usually associate a crater with a hole in the ground, it is not hard to see why a large, shallow 'cup' in the ground might be associated with an ancient drinking vessel. The only star to be named is Alkes, alpha (a) Crateris, which is a corruption of the Arabic name for the constellation, Al Kas.
This article is ©2002 Stargazers Astronomy Shop |
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