Billions of small planets forming a single system, and attract the eyes of inquisitive eyes. The first mention of the constellation of the Wolf is found for a very long time. It has a fairly ancient history and was familiar to the Phoenicians and Greeks, and the Sumerians referred to it as the "Monster of Death."
The Wolf revealed a number of very interesting objects, but all of them can be observed only with the use of a powerful telescope.
Discovery and History
The Greek astronomer of antiquity Ptolemy entered the constellation of the Wolf in the Almagest list under the name "beast." The stars of this cluster were once part of the constellation Centaurus. The astronomer of ancient Greece, Hipparchus separated the constellation of the Wolf from the Centaurus and named it The Beast (Therion). Although this was not considered genuine work, until the work of Ptolemy was not translated into Latin. In it, the scientist finally identified the constellation of the Wolf.
The stars of the Centaurus in ancient mythical legends were depicted in the form of animals impaled on the centaur's spear.
The same creature with animals on the spear appears in the constellation Ara (translated as "altar"). In ancient Babylon, the Wolf was called Yp - ldim ("wild dog"). The area of the constellation is 333.7 square degrees. By its size, the Wolf occupies in the sky only 46 out of 88 places.
The brightest luminaries in the constellation of the Wolf form a rather distorted quadrangle. It takes considerable imagination and imagination to recognize the wolf, which is depicted on old star maps, in a figure formed by stars.
Location and Surveillance
The wolf is a constellation of the Southern Hemisphere, so it can be seen by an observer who is located in this region of the planet. Its closest neighbors are the Compass, Nagon, Hydra and Libra. In the sky, the constellation Wolf borders on Centaurus and Scorpio. To find it in the sky, you must focus on the constellation Centaurus and Libra. The constellation of the Wolf is easily detected to the left of the first star cluster and south of the second. The cluster is quite large. His list of stars includes 108 heavenly bodies. In fine, clear weather, you can see about 70 stars.
What time is better to observe the constellation of the Wolf? A good time to observe falls on May. It is clearly visible south of the 35th parallel.
The mythology of the constellation Wolf
Myths and legends tell of constellations and help us interpret the meaning of their names. In the mythology associated with the constellation of the Wolf, it is mentioned that people of the Copper Age did not raise cattle, did not cultivate the land and did not grow trees. Residents only destroyed each other in wars, wallowing in blood and crimes. They did not honor and respect the gods. For this, the thunderer Zeus disliked people and decided to punish them.
Wrath of the gods
First of all, his fury fell upon the Arcadian ruler of Lycaon, who ruled in Likasura. Zeus, in the guise of an ordinary mortal, descended into the kingdom of Lycasura. Before that, he sent a sign to the townspeople, and everyone met a thunderer, rendering proper honors. The only one who did not kneel before Zeus was Lycaon.
The king’s pride overshadowed his mind, and then he decided to check whether Zeus is a god. The ruler hacked one of his slaves, fried one of the body parts, and cooked the second and presented it to Zeus. Lycaon suggested that if an alien is a god, then he must know that the food was made from human meat and would not eat it. Zeus was terribly angry. Lightning flashed in the thunder’s hands and turned the ruler’s palace into a pile of ashes. Zeus himself turned Lycaon into a wolf and left in the sky in the form of a constellation, another for edification.
List of stars in the constellation Wolf
There are no stars of the first magnitude in the constellation of the Wolf. Nevertheless, it contains luminaries of the second and third magnitudes - there are about 30 of them. Alpha Wolf, the blue giant, is considered the brightest in the constellation. She has a magnitude of 2.3 m.
Its other name is Beta Andromeda. The luminary refers to the closest star cluster relative to the solar system, namely the Centaurus - Scorpio association.
The Chinese know this star under the name Yang Moon (south gate). And the Arabs refer to Alpha Wolf as a “Guiding Star” or “Star of Fate.” The luminary received this historical name in antiquity from the Arabs, but it is rarely used in astronomy. The star is located quite far from Earth, at a distance of approximately 550 light years.
The Beta star in the constellation Wolf is a blue giant located 524 light-years from Earth. In China, she is known as Ke Kvan ("cavalryman").
Gamma in the constellation is a double star, in tandem with another blue giant. The Delta of the Wolf is a white and blue subgiant, also qualified as a Beta Andromeda variable.
Most noticeable objects
There are several nebulae and star clusters in the constellation. In the nineteenth century, James Dunlop discovered globular clusters NGC 5986 and NGC 5824. Near the formation of NGC 5986, the nebula IC 228 B is located. This light-blocking cloud consists of gas and dust.
The planetary nebula NGC 5882 can be found in the center of the constellation Wolf.
Along with this, not far from the center, there is a fairly wide, open cluster NGC 5822. It consists of more than a hundred star formations that are clearly visible in modern telescopes.
To the west of the Wolf there is a pair of spiral galaxies and a planetary ring nebula - IC 4406. It is noteworthy stellar formation in that it contains a large number of hot, atypical Wolf-Rayet stars. This is a fairly rare phenomenon in space.
Interesting fact
The constellation of the Wolf is interesting in that it was in it that a supernova broke out. This event dates back to 1006 AD. It was located at a distance of 7,200 light years from the Sun. The star was huge and emitted bright light, and also 2-3 times the size of the disk of Venus. Many ancient sources have a description of the birth of a supernova, which could be observed in daylight.
Constellations - Heritage of the Past
Studying the starry sky is a pleasant and mesmerizing activity. Most likely, the desire and desire to learn new things prompted a person to study and observe the starry sky. Not understanding the true nature of the appearance of stars, the ancients composed legends about celestial bodies and united them into groups of constellations, naming them with the names of gods, kings, animals and objects.