Centaurus and Hercules
By: Nick Hammel
Centaurus
- Translation: The Centaur
- Located in the Southern hemisphere
- Visible between latitudes 30 and -90 degrees
- Best seen in May (at 9:00 PM)
- Centaurus belongs to the Hercules family
- It contains 11 stars
- It is home to two of the brightest stars, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centaurus A, one of the brightest galaxies in the sky, and to the globular cluster Omega Centauri.
- Centaurus represents Chiron who is mentioned a lot in Greek mythology. Chiron was one of the Centaurs, which is a beast which were said to be half-horse and half-human. But unlike the others, Chiron was extremely wise and tutored Hercules. Hercules accidentally wounded Chiron. The immortal centaur pleaded with the gods to end his suffering. Zeus mercifully let him die and gave him a place among the stars.
Hercules
- Hercules is a constellation in the northern hemisphere
- Translation: Hercules
- Visible between latitudes 90 and -50 degrees
- Best seen in July (at 9:00 PM)
- Hercules is the fifth largest constellation in the sky
- Located in the Great Globular Cluster
- Consists of 12 stars
- Hercules is depicted as a hero figure with a club standing over a slain dragon. The dragon is associated with Ladon, the beast with a hundred heads that guarded the Garden of the Hesperides.
Citations
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/centaurus-constellation/
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Centaurus.html
http://www.topastronomer.com/StarCharts/Constellations/Centaurus.php
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Hercules.html
http://www.topastronomer.com/StarCharts/Constellations/Hercules.php
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/hercules-constellation/