Seema's blog

  Cygnus is a prominent constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the swan” in Latin and it is also known as the Swan constellation.  The constellation is easy to find in the sky as it features a well-known asterism known as the  Northern Cross  . Also  the star Deneb  is one of the vertices of summer  triangle . The Mythology of Cygnus Cygnus (the swan) had many identities; however Cygnus was most likely Zeus in disguise. Leda (the wife of the Spartan king, Tyndareus, and the mother of the Gemini and Helen of Troy) had unrivaled beauty. Leda was so beautiful that Zeus could not resist her. Zeus knew that as himself he would not be able to win the love of Leda. Instead he took the form of a beautiful swan and eventually won her love. Another story about Cygnus involves two gods who were racing chariots in space. The two friends were so intent and focused on the race that they were not paying attention to where they were going. Suddenly, they f...

  Lyra constellation lies in the northern sky. It represents the lyre, a musical instrument with strings used in antiquity and later times. The constellation is associated with the myth of the Greek musician and poet Orpheus.  Lyra, the Harp It's easy to find Lyra, the harp, by first finding Vega — one of the brightest stars in Earth's night sky. Look for Vega high overhead in mid-summer. Lyra looks like a small parallelogram with Vega just beside one of the corners of the parallelogram. The legend of Lyra tells the story of Orpheus, who was given a harp by the god Apollo. Orpheus' music was sweeter than that of any other mortal man. It could soothe any savage, bring joy to the heart of the weary. It was even said that rivers changed course to stay near its beauty. Orpheus married the lovely maiden Eurydice. But after their wedding, as she walked with her bridesmaids, she was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was so stricken with grief that he journeyed to the underworld ...

The Summer Triangle is visible for most of the year, but in July and August it shines directly overhead at around midnight. The bright three points of the  Summer Triangle  are among the first stars you can see after sunset: Deneb, Vega, and Altair.   The Summer Triangle is called an  asterism , as it’s not an official constellation, but still a striking group of stars. However, the Triangle is the key to spotting multiple constellations!  Its three stars are themselves the brightest in their respective constellations: Deneb, in Cygnus the Swan; Vega, in Lyra the Harp; and Altair, in Aquila the Eagle.  That alone would be impressive, but the Summer Triangle also contains two small constellations inside its lines, Vulpecula the Fox and Sagitta the Arrow.   There is even another small constellation just outside its borders: diminutive Delphinus the Dolphin. The Summer Triangle is huge! We will see one by one. Altair designated α Aquilae is  the...

  The 5th month of Marathi calender Shravan started on 9th August 2021. The name is because of Shravan Nakshatra. It rises at 8 pm towards East in this month. It is situated at the bottom of Scorpio .See the pic. Three stars in line,the middle one is Shravan ,the Altair ,brightest of all  & the 2 stars which are at both sides are the parents of him.   Hindu mythology Shravan bal was the most obdient child of his parents. Shravan Kumar's parents, Shantanu and Gyanvanti (Malaya), were hermits.  They were both blind.  When they became aged, Shravan wanted them to take to the four most sacred places of Hindu pilgrimage to purify the soul.  Since Shravan Kumar could not afford the transport, he decided to put each parent in a basket and tie each to an end of a bamboo pole, which he would carry on his shoulder while on their pilgrimage. According to Ramayana , while hunting in the forest of Ayodhya, then-Prince Dashratha heard a sound near a lake and unleashe...

  Sagittarius  is one of the  constellations of  the  zodiac  and is located in the Southern  Celestial  hemisphere .  It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy  and remains one of the 88 modern constellations  Its name is Latin   meaning archer , and its symbol is     a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur  pulling back a bow.  It lies between Scorpius  and  Ophiuchus  to the west and Capricornus   and Microscopium   to the east. See the  name  Microscopium, from microscope. Isn't it interesting? Greek mythology Edit In Greek  mythology , Sagittarius is usually identified as a centar: half human, half horse.  a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse. The arrow of this constellation points towards the star Antares , the "h...

 Today is 11 th July,first day of Ashadh. You might have heard about Mahakavi Kalidas & his Meghdoot. He had described  to a cloud , the route from Ramtek in Nagpur in Maharashtra to Alakanagari in Uttar Pradesh with astonishing  details of geography, nature etc. Ashadhyasya Pratham Divase ...... This  day is celebrated  as Kalidas din. Okay...... It was a bit  off track.  So we see 2 Nakshatras in  Ashadha month ,on the  East ,Poorvashadha & Uttarashadha,hence the name! It is at the bottom of Scorpio. The rectangle  near the curved portion ;sting of Scorpio ,is called   Poorvashadha.  And the remaining 5 stars form a shape like trunk of elephant ,  is called Uttarashadha.  Now  you got to know which  constellation I am talking about..... Yes, it is  Sagittarius.  Why the name? We will see soon..... Till then good bye.  Don't  forget to comment. 

Dhruv as the Pole star, a Pahari painting by Manaku c. 1740 Dhruva  ( ध्रुव,  Dhruva , " unshakeable, immovable, or fixed" ) The Sanskrit term  dhruva nakshatra  ("polar star") has been used for Pole Star in the Mahabharata. He was the son of Uttānapāda and grandson of Manu.His mother was  Suniti. The king also had another son Uttama, born to his second queen Suruchi, who was h is favorite.  Once, when Dhruva was a child of five years of age, he was sitting on his father's lap at the King's throne.  Suruchi, who was jealous of the older son from the first wife (since he - Dhruva - would be heir to throne, and not Suruchi's son), forcefully removed Dhruva from his father's lap.  When Dhruva protested and asked why he could not be allowed to sit on his father's lap, Suruchi berated him saying, 'only God can allow you that privilege. Go ask him Suniti - being of gentle nature and now the lesser favorite wife - tried to console the distraught chi...