Lila McCann - Astro
Geek++
Introduction
Constellations. Those patterns in the sky that allegedly resemble mythic heroes, beasts, and various other things that no one can really see. Just as modern man sees everything from rhinoceroses to religious figures in the clouds (or Elvis in a trailer park), ancient civilizations saw patterns in the stars. These ancient cultures named these patterns after the great monsters and greater heroes of their mythology.
Today, 88 official constellations exist. They are primarily used by stargazers to locate objects in the sky. Rarely do we stop to consider the mythology behind their names.
Just for fun, let's say we want to find a constellation that represents Lila. We likely wouldn't choose Orion, the mighty hunter. Nor are we likely to choose Musca, the fly, to represent her. So, which constellation best fits? Here are my top 5 choices, arranged in my favorite order: random!
#5 - Andromeda, the Chained Maiden
The Story
Andromeda was a beautiful princess of Greek mythology. The daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, she was sentenced to death for her mother's arrogance and vanity, and chained to a rock by the sea. The hero Perseus, fresh from his slaying of Medusa, saw her plight and rescued her, setting her atop the wingèd horse Pegasus.
The Good
For those of us who wish to see Lila flying high, Andromeda seems a good choice.
The Bad
Not quite Lila's life story. And I'm sure Lila's home life was much better than Andromeda's.
FYI
- Andromeda contains the Andromeda Galaxy (M321), one of the most famous galaxies aside from our own Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy is located about 2.9 million light-years away.
- The designation M31 indicates that the Andromeda Galaxy is the 31st object listed in a catalog of objects created by the astronomers Messier and Méchain. Many of the objects in this catalog are now popular targets for amateur astronomers.
- This constellation also contains several named stars, including Alpheratz, Mirach, and Almach, all magnitude 2.
- Magnitude is a measure of how bright an object appears. The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the object. The brightest stars are magnitude 0 or below. The unaided eye can sometimes see magnitude 7 stars in good conditions.
#4 - Norma, the Square
The Story
Norma is a carpenter's square. That's about it.
The Good
Why am I calling Lila a square? Well, she's been called a dork, so how much of a stretch is it, really?
The Bad
Not much going for this constellation. No bright stars or much of anything noteworthy. Not a good comparison to our Lila.
FYI
- Norma is a southern constellation. Though northern constellations tend to date back millennia and have ancient names, most southern constellations were created in the 18th century by astronomers, and named after tools of their time.
- Unlike Triangulum (the triangle), Norma refers to a carpenter's square, not the geometric shape.
#3 - Corvus, the Crow
The Story
Corvus is a crow from an ancient Greek myth. (Don't you love background stories that aren't really background stories?)
The Good
Crow... blackbird... y'know.
The Bad
Ok, so it's a bit of a stretch.
FYI
- Corvus contains the named stars Alchiba, Kraz, Gienah, Algorab, and Minkar.
- Many of the brighter stars were named by ancient civilizations. Throughout the centuries, the names were often mangled and retranslated until they bore little resemblance to the original names.
- Many star names begin with "Al-" since it is the Arabic equivalent of "the". Arabic astronomers preserved much astronomical and scientific knowledge during Europe's dark ages.
#2 - Virgo, the--um--Maiden
The Story
Virgo is a zodiacal constellation, which was seen as a young maiden holding an ear of grain.
The Good
Well, Virgo is a young woman, Lila is a young woman, so there's a similarity. Since Virgo is one of the zodiacal constellations, it is also widely known, and it carries a positive connotation.
The Bad
No comment.
FYI
- The brightest star in Virgo is named Spica. It is a bright blue, magnitude 1 star. The ancients saw it as the tip of the ear of grain being held by the maiden.
- Virgo borders the spike-shaped constellation Boötes, which contains a reddish star named Arcturus. Boötes borders Ursa Major, which contains the famous Big Dipper.
- Beginning stargazers often learn the following mnemonic:
Arc to Arcturus, spike to Spica,
That is, follow the arc of the Big Dipper's handle to find Arcturus, then follow the spike of Boötes to find Spica.
#1 - Lyra, the Lyre or Harp
The Story
The Lyre was a Greek stringed instrument, similar to a harp. According to myth, it was created by Apollo. It appears in many Greek myths.
The Good
Hey, a musical constellation. Plus the pronunciation of Lyra is fairly close to the pronunciation of Lila.
The Bad
None, really. Its my top pick.
FYI
- The brightest star in Lyra is named Vega. At magnitude 0, Vega is one of the brightest stars in the sky.
- Lyra contains the Ring Nebula (M57), a colorful planetary nebula which may be spotted through binoculars or seen at high magnification through a telescope.
So, there you have it. My top 5 picks of constellations that could represent Lila.
Questions, comments, or additions are welcome. The original page used images from a skycharting program called "Cartes du Ciel." It's not a bad freeware program, if you don't mind reading a little French. Since then, I've gotten a copy of Starry Night Pro. I've removed all the images from this page because... well... no one looks at this page anyway.