Saturday, February 18, 2012

What are the names of these constellations?

There is a an old myth of there being two constellations that were supposedly lovers that were separated by the gods or something. I looked it and supposedly it's the Chinese constellations Vega and Altair but... I could have sworn it was Greek or Roman mythology. Is there a similar constellation that has a similar story? Like once a year they are out on the sky the same night because of some reason?What are the names of these constellations?Vega and Altair are not constellations, they are both stars, located in the constellations of Lyra and Aquila, respectively.

The Chinese legend you mention is well known. The Milky Way figures in the legend as a river separating the lovers, but a bridge connects them once a year.

In the Greco-Roman sky we have a limited number of female figures: Virgo, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda being just about it (Ursa Major and Minor are both female, but not human). Cassiopeia's husband, Cepheus, is in the sky, but there is no legend separating them. Andromeda was rescued by Perseus, but again, no legend of separation.

Some of the constellations have grammatical feminine gender, but these are mostly modern (such as Mensa--table, Tucana--toucan, etc)

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