Centaurus+-+Anna+Sundin

= = =The Constellation Centaurus= The name Centaurus comes from the Greek mythical creature the centaur. In Greek mythology the centaur is a half-man, half-horse creature. The constellation Centaurus depicts a particularly wise and famous centaur named Chiron. Chiron was often mentioned in Greek mythology, as he was the mentor and the tutor of great heroes, such as: Hercules, Theseus and Jason. The accomplishments of Chiron gave him a spot in mythology forever, however, it also lead to his downfall. Hercules accidently wounded Chiron, resulting in the immortal Chiron begging the gods to take him out of his misery. Zeus granted Chiron’s wish and gave the great tutor a place among the stars for eternity. There are other myths portraying the constellation as the centaur Pholus. Pholus was another wise centaur who befriended Hercules. One day, the centaur went to entertain Hercules with wine, but the scent of the wine drove the other centaurs into a frenzy. To stop the frenzy, Hercules killed all of the centaurs, except for his friend Pholus. Unfortunately, Pholus touched one of Hercules’ poisoned arrows and died. The gods rewarded the centaur for his kindness and friendship by placing him in the sky as a constellation. __ Other Cultures’ Interpretations __ The Greek constellation of Centaurus is a well-known pattern in the Southern sky. However, other cultures made patterns using the same stars portraying different symbols. The earliest documentations of Centaurus go back to an ancient Babylonian constellation known as the Bison-man. The Bison-man was depicted as either a four- legged bison with the head of a man or as a creature with a human head and torso attached to the rear legs of a bison or bull. The creature was associated with the Babylonian Sun god, Utu. In Chinese culture, the stars found in Centaurus can be found in three different significant areas: the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermillion Bird of the South, and the Southern Asterisms. The Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols that houses the Chinese constellations, it symbolizes both the spring and the east. The Vermillion Bird of the South is another one of the Four Symbols in the Chinese culture, it symbolizes the element fire, the summer and the south. The Southern Asterisms containing stars from Centaurus are the asterisms Horse’s Tail and Horse’s Abdomen. __Notable features.__ Alpha Centauri: Alpha Centauri is a multiple star system containing Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B and Alpha Centauri C. Beta Centauri: A blue-white giant star with an apparent magnitude of 0.6 and belongs to the spectral class B1III. As a blue-white giant star, Beta Centauri is still in the Main Sequence stage of life. Theta Centauri: An orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of 2.06 and belongs to the spectral class K0IIIb. As an orange giant star, Theta Centauri has left the Main Sequence stage of its life and is becoming an “old” star. Centaurus A: The fifth brightest galaxy in the sky and one of the closest radio galaxies to the solar system. The galaxy has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.84. It is either a lenticular or giant elliptical galaxy. Centaurus A is thought to be undergoing collision with a spiral galaxy, as a result, there is an intense burst of star formation. NGC 3918: A blue planetary nebula with an apparent visual magnitude of 8.5. It is the brightest planetary nebula in the far southern region of the sky. As a planetary nebula, NGC 3918 is a type of emission nebula and is the remnant of a low mass star. Inside the planetary nebula gases are infused with heavy elements and Population I type stars are produced.
 * Alpha Centauri A: A yellow Main Sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of -0.01 and belongs to the spectral type G2V. It is the fourth brightest star in the sky. As a Main Sequence star, Alpha Centauri A is in the prime of its life,,
 * Alpha Centauri B: A Main Sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 1.33 and belongs to the spectral type K1V.
 * Alpha Centauri C/ Proxima Centauri: A red dwarf with an apparent magnitude of 11.05 (not visible to the naked eye) and belongs to the spectral class M5Ve or M5Vie, which means that it is either a small main sequence star or a sub-dwarf. Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our solar system.

__Bibliography__

Drawing by Johannes Hevelius: //Centaurus,// Photo provided by raremaps.com

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"The Chinese Sky." //Chinese Astronomy Resource//. The International Dunhuang Project, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015. .

"Centaurus Constellation." //Constellation Guide//. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2015. [].