Given that BA constantly emphasizes the fact that the board is an useful reference for the kids and students in general, I'd like to share with them some hystorical point of view regarding the nomenclature of the constellations. It illustrates to a certain extent the implications of science-politics/science-religion entanglements.

It is interesting to note that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries some astronomers of Europe made attempts, for a veriety of reasons, to establish new constellations, at times distorting or even eliminating those of the ancients. For instance, the English astronomer Flamsteed in 1725 out of loyal sentiment named the principal star in the constellation Canis Venatici "Cor Caroli" ("Charles' Heart"). This precedent was followed by the English Hall, who at the end of the nineteenth century placed in the sky "Psalterium Georgii", and the German astronomer Bode, "The Regalia of Friedrich II". Incidentally, in order clear up a site for "The Regalia" of the Prussian king, Bode pushed aside the arm of Andromeda, who held it extended for three thousand years!

How far things were getting out of hand is shown by the following incident. In 1799 the noted French astronomer Lalande put in the sky a constellation called "Felis" ("The Cats"). The explanation he gave was this: "I like cats, I adore cats. I hope I shall be forgiven if after my sixty years of constant labour I place one of them in the sky".

All these reforming actions of individual astronomers are modest indeed beside the projects for total "reconstruction" of the constellations proposed by clerical circles in the seventeenth century. One of these projects calls for replace the "godless pagan" constellations with Christian ones. Some instances: Aries was converted into the constellation of The Apostle Peter, Pisces into the constellation of The Apostle Matthew, and the like. The Sun was to be renamed Jesus Christ, and the Moon was to become the Virgin Mary. The planets were to reform as well: Venus would have taken the name John, The Baptist.

Astronomers were firmly against any such reform. The absurdity of the whole thing was evident even to the more advanced thinkers of the church, for if the new designations were introduced, one would get phrases of a definitely impious slant, such as "Jesus Christ slipped below the horizon", or "Christ was eclipsed by the Virgin Mary"!

Even in the nineteenth century, attempts were made to break up the ancient patterns of the night sky. In 1808 certain sycophantic German scholars proposed changing Orion into the Constellation of Napoleon. The amusing thing is that even the french astronomers found this quite out of place.

The International Astronomical Congress of 1922 finally established order in the stellar affairs. The Regalia of Friedrich, The Cat of Lalande and 27 other luckless constellations were discarded, and strict boundary lines were set up between the remaining 88 constellations.

Some of the delegates to the congress proposed abolishing the constellations altogether, substituting in their place quadrangular areas of standard size.The majority however rejected this idea. The Congress retained the ancient and old designations of the constellations. True, the modern investigator of the sky finds hardly any need for them since stellar work is done by means of coordinates. But constellations are useful in gaining an initial and general understanding of the night sky. And what is more important, these are monuments of ancient culture that reflect in a peculiar fashion the various stages in the development of astronomy.

Source:

"Wonders Of The Night Sky" - F. Zigel (?) - Mir Publishers - Moscow - 1968 - Translated from the Russian by George Yankovsky

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Argos on 2001-11-27 06:59 ]</font>