h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thanks, I'm gonna tackle Leo next...I thinkCefpret had already started one but it's full of errors

Leo's in PR

How would you describe "Coma Berenices"? Berenice's Hair? Leo's Tail? That will make a nice lead on from Leo

Coma Berenices is currently Berenice’s Hair. It seems to have been first alluded to by the Greek mathematician/astronomer Eratosthenes as Ariadne’s Hair in a description of Ariadne’s crown. It has also been mentioned in connection with Leo, the tuft on the tail and with Virgo. The constellation was first catalogued by Tycho Brahe in 1602, so it is a ’modern’ constellation. It refers to the hair of the wife of the King of Egypt, Ptolemy Euergetes (not ‘that’ Ptolemy) who let her hair grow while he was away invading other countries.

Deke

I see that Andromeda still languishes in the 'waiting final polish' section of the 'what's coming' page. Any idea why?

It wasn't so long ago that there were hardly 'any' entries to pass through the system.

DK

No, one I subbed a few days or so ago hit the FP today
I can only assume it's because they're publishing the ones with wider appeal for over the Christmas holidays but they should have stuck 5 or maybe 10 new ones (there *are* plenty pending) for the whole holiday period (the Eds are away now until ?Jan I forget!) but I don't know if they'll be logging in from home to change the FP articles.

I have got your Aquarius entry to sub BTW. I've already repaired the code, but I wanted to ask you something, would you prefer I make a new thread about that entry or speak here? I don't mind either. I prefer that we keep this thread for our little chats but we can go back to them after subbing Aquarius.

I made a start on Monoceros the Unicorn today, as I already submitted Coma Berenices - Berenice's Hair to PR

Also by the way, I would be more than willing (in my capacity as Photographer group owner and moderator) to process your artwork for your entries. (I've been lurking, ) This is what we do: A26602427 - you don't have to join the Group (Gnomon isn't a member) but you can if you like, let me know and I'll send you an invite.

I would have thought they would be trying to get back to three new entries a day by now. Perhaps they’re just wary of running the well dry again.

Talking about specific entries, I don’t mind either way but maybe it would be best to keep the subject to a separate thread as you suggest. Never mix business with pleasure.

Thanks for the offer with the drawing. I’ve almost prepared one for Aquarius. I can send it to you if you want to look over. I’m no artist and I wouldn’t describe my efforts as art by any stretch of the imagination. You had better see if it passes muster before I join your group though.

Deke

email it to me as a jpg/jpeg attachment if you can (I can't open bmp) to anniebarrnoneATyahooDOTcoDOTuk replacing the CAPS with your best guess

I'll make a new thread for Aquarius

I hope you have a very Happy Christmas

Deke

You too, Deke. All the best to you and yours.

Monoceros is in PR now

I had a quick look through Monoceros. Good work as usual.

One quick comment re the proper names of the stars. My Boy’s own book of Star names records that there are no proper names for any of the stars in Monoceros. So unless they have been named since that book was first published (1899...quite possible) I’d check your source. A quick Google doesn’t bring up anything either.

The main thing that calls those names into question though is the name you have for Alpha. It must, I think, be a misnomer. ‘Lucida’ is a rather old fashioned word for ‘the brightest star in the constellation’ and not of itself a proper name. I came across this while I was researching Gemini. In that case it was stated the ’…the lucida was Pollox’ (beta Gem).

I believe it’s associated with the word lucid, ...to be clear or easily understood.

One Typo:
>>in the unicorn so Monoceros is not prominent constellation.<<
…in the unicorn so Monoceros is not a prominent constellation.

Deke

I have now done Cancer: A30442259 I would be really grateful of a read-through before I submit that to PR as I don't know if I've got the wording quite right, particularly the "Tropic of Cancer" section, I'm also still looking for a quote, but unsuccessful so far.
I'm unsure whether I should have all that in about 55 Cancri A's solar system, or whether that should be a separate entry altogether.
eg: A30448947

Re the names of the stars in Monoceros,
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:WOwFqdEoteoJ:astrosurf.com/duplessis/observateur/revue/section1.pdf+Ctesias+alpha+monoceros&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk

I am not sure if that link will work so: http://tinyurl.com/2g3jxl
(you'll need to scroll down)
I have replaced Lucida with Ctesias

Only quotes that I have are:

Thereafter a light among them brightened,
So that, if Cancer one such crystal had,
Winter would have a month of one sole day.

(Dante, alluding to its faintness and high position in ’Paradiso‘)

or:
…………………..and there a crab
Puts coldly out its gradual shadow-claws,
Like a slow blot that spreads, ’till all the ground,
Crawled over by it, seems to crawl itself.

(Mrs Browning’s ’Drama of Exile‘)

Don’t know if that helps much.

Re tropic of Cancer. I’d reword it slightly:

The Tropic of Cancer is the most northern latitude on Earth where the Sun appears overhead at midday on the 21 June. This is known as the summer solstice and gives the longest hours of sunlight for the Earth‘s northern hemisphere. This line of latitude was named from the constellation of Cancer, where the Sun appeared to reside at the time of the solstice. Precession, (the wobble of the Earth on its axis), has since moved the summer solstice further along the ecliptic, through its neighbouring sign of Gemini and currently to where it now occurs in Taurus .

I think you can leave the A Cancri info in. It's all pertinent to the constellation. I'll see if I can dig out a bit more for you later and I'll get back when I've had a closer read.

Deke

Thanks Deke I've added the Dante quote

Hercules is on the FP today

You have Ara; Vela; Puppis and Karina on the back-burner, right? I'll make a note of them to ensure there's no repetition

Right, I think Cancer is ready for PR

Would you care to browse through Cetus A30442303 for me, before I submit it to PR? (I had three constellations picked yesterday so might as well keep the momentum going)

...and now Camelopardalis A30481382 is ready

Sorry that I haven't responded before. I've been a bit indisposed.

Cancer
A couple of other details you might like

According to ancient lore it was thought that Cancer was the 'Gate of Men' through which the souls of men descended from heaven to human bodies.

M44 Praesepe, the Beehive cluster, was also known as 'the Manger'. It is flanked by Gamma and Delta which are the two asses. It is also referred to later and turned into the manger of the Christ child, with the two flanking stars the ox and ass of the biblical story.
M44 was the only cluster to be recognised by ancient astronomers as a nebula and described as a mist or small cloud. Galileo was the first to recognise and describe it as a cluster of stars when he turned the first telescope on it.
Chinese mythology named it as 'Tsei She Ke', 'The Exhalation of Piled-up Corpses'.

The earliest written record of the planet Jupiter (Zeus) is recorded by Ptolemy in his Almagest. He records that it was seen on Sept 3rd circa 240BC when Jupiter occulted Delta Cancri.

Cetus.
I don't think that the para on the whale sits very well with this. It doesn't seem necessary to include a description of a whale in a piece on a constellation. You could perhaps include a bit more about it in the legend section.

My Boy's Own Book of Sea Creatures tells that Cetus is 'The Whale', or 'Sea Monster'. Whale is a later description but sea monster is associated with the Perseus legend and appears in legend pre dating the Greeks. It has been associated with a strange and ferocious marine creature a It is described and illustrated in the Leyden manuscript as a beast with greyhound like head, ears and fore legs and with a long trident tail. The Roman historian Pliny, claimed to have seen the skeleton when it was brought to Rome. It measured 40 feet in length and its vertebrae six feet in circumference. In the 17 Century it was associated with the whale that swallowed Jonah.

Deke

That's OK
I've removed the para about the whale, what about the "Whale oil in the space programme" bit, is that relevant, do you think?

The whale oil item is OK, but I'd have included it in your modern culture section where it might sit better, rather than by itself. But I don't think it matters too much.

Deke

OK I've switched that.

A30527462 Lepus is now ready, but it's a bit bare-bones, there's not a lot to write about so I've concentrated on the Spirograph nebula and Hind's crimson star.