STAR
LORE
STORIES FROM THE STARS
Monoceros the Unicorn
| Monoceros started to appear on charts
in the early 17th century but there are conflicting statements on who introduced
it and when. It apparently appeared on some early Persian star charts
as well. It is a faint constellation, none of the main stars that
make the pattern of unicorn are brighter than 4th magnitude, despite lying
half in the star clouds of the Milky Way and being adjacent to Orion and
Canis Major.
Unicorns are a mythical creature - usually described as a beautiful white horse with a single spiral horn protruding from it's forehead. There are several references to unicorns in the Bible. They were a symbol of purity and goodness and their horns had great magical properties that were much sort after. The twisted horns of narwhals, from the Arctic Sea, were sometimes passed off as unicorn horns. There is a story that the unicorns didn't make it onto Noah's Ark, so were left to drown in the rising waters. They either vanished, which is why we see none now, or they turned into the narwhal to survive in the ocean. Unicorns were also mentioned in Chinese histories and were omens of great portent.
This article is ©2002 Stargazers Astronomy Shop |
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