Pusya Nakshatra

 

On 14th of January,on the day of Makarsankrant there was the first day of Pousya ,the 10 th month of Indian calendar.

In this month you can see Pusya Nakshatra rising in the East, therefore the name.

The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. 

One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than any other nearby bright open clusters. 

Under dark skies, the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye, and has been known since ancient times. 

Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as a "nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer". It was among the first objects that  he studied with his telescope

On a dark night, look for it as a smudge of light, with 3 times the moon’s diameter. It’s really a wondrous cluster of stars. 

Binoculars magically transform this smudge of light into a glittery swarm of stars.

In ancient times, the cluster was used as a weather predictor. If it is not seen in the sky ,then there would be a violent storm.

Galileo had the first telescopic view of the Beehive in 1609. With his paper tube and two pieces of glass he was able to detect 40 stars. 

Today it is known that there are approximately 1,000 stars in this beautiful cluster.

The Beehive star cluster was known as a manger in Greek and Roman mythology. You might notice two bright stars on either side of the cluster with your binoculars, or you might see them with the unaided eye in dark skies. These two stars represent the donkeys & they are eating from the manger- an open box in a stable designed to hold fodder for livestock.

In Egypt, it's known as honeycomb.

It's known that Jupiter was born in this Nakshatra.

This is the story.

How's that?

Next time we see how to locate it in the sky.