[MR] Northern Regional Badge Polling

[Richard Mowbray]

I didn't add anything to anything. That was directly cut and pasted
from a google search. 

Thanks for your time, "JAMD".

--- "David W.James" <vnend at adelphia.net> wrote:

> On Feb 14, 2005, at 11:10 PM, Richard Mowbray wrote:
> > Orion... Perhaps second only to the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, the
> > constellation of Orion is one of the most recognizable patterns of
> > stars in the northern sky. ...
> > www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/ constellations/constellations/Orion.html
> -
> > 5k -
> 
> > Sounds like north to me.
> 
> > Richard
> 
> 	If you read a little further (note that you added a space before the
> 
> first 'constellations'):
> 
> 	"From the northern hemisphere, the three bright stars (Alnitak, 
> Alnilam and Mintaka) in a straight line that form Orion's Belt are 
> easily visible on the southern horizon in winter evenings."
> 
> 	I will note that one of the most striking of the summer 
> constellations, Scorpius, can also be seen from much of the northern 
> hemisphere (and definitely from all of Atlantia) low on the southern 
> horizon, but that also does not make it a 'northern' constellation.  
> (And with a declination of -40 degrees, any such attempts would be 
> pretty silly.)
> 
> 	So, as you might think, if the constellation is 'on the southern 
> horizon' when seen from the north, then it isn't necessarily a 
> 'northern' constellation, even if it is visible from there.  If you
> go 
> to one of the other links on that page:
> 
> http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/skycharts/ori.gif
> 
> 	You will be presented with a map of a small part of the heavens 
> centered on Orion.  To the upper right of Orion you will find Taurus.
>  
> Note the red line passing through Taurus and above (north) of Orion; 
> this is the ecliptic; the path the sun appears to take against the 
> stars as the Earth orbits it.  As Orion is below the ecliptic, and 
> south of the signs of the zodiac, when writing in persona I would
> refer 
> to it as a 'southern' constellation.  Not writing in persona, note
> the 
> light blue line that passes just above Orion's belt.  This is the
> line 
> above the equator on the equinoxes (Sept and April), known as the 
> celestial equator.  You will note that Orion sits astride this line, 
> making it an equatorial constellation in the purest sense.  A 
> constellation's 'center' is determined using its entire expanse,
> which 
> in the case of Orion includes sections above it (the raised arm and
> the 
> shield) that most people do not realize are (or recognize as) part of
> 
> the same figure.  Due to this inclusion the 'center' of the 
> constellation is modernly considered to be 5 degrees above the 
> celestial equator, so it is, technically, a 'northern' constellation.
>  
> But if one considers the portion that most people recognize as
> 'Orion', 
> the balance would tip south of it.
> 
> 	I would note that Orion's belt is south of the equatorial line,
> making 
> the belt, just as technically, 'southern'.
> 
> 	All technicalities aside, Orion, while visible from the 'northern 
> hemisphere' is not a constellation known for its 'northness', and 
> therefore is not a prime choice for a symbol of Atlantia's Northern 
> Region.
> 
> 	Getting back to period perceptions, if your library has a copy of 
> Peter Whitfield's "The Mapping of the Heavens" (ISBN 0-7123-0402-9), 
> note the illustration of the constellation on page 74, a woodcut from
> 
> Gallucci's _Theatrum Mundi_, from 1588.  Gallucci draws Orion
> (reversed 
> from the way we usually see it drawn today, but typical of period 
> representations) but in particular note that he draws the lines 
> converging below the figure; clearly Gallucci considered it a
> southern 
> figure; note his depiction of Bootes, directly above it, has the 
> opposite convergence, as you would expect for a more northerly 
> grouping.
> 
> 	Note also that on Apian's star chart (page 73) from 1540 Orion is 
> completely absent.  On Honter's (facing page), from 1541 Orion is 
> present, but, again, in the far south.  Orion is missing from Durer's
> 
> star chart from 1515, reproduced on page 71 (which, Whitfield claims,
> 
> was the first printed star chart.)  It is missing as well from both
> the 
> Vienna Manuscript, c.1440 (p. 68) and Aratus's map (page 32.)
> 
> 	I think this makes it clear that it was not generally considered an 
> attribute of the northern sky by folks in period.
> 
> David/Kwellend-Njal
> (AAVSO logs my observations as 'JAMD'.  Kwellend-Njal just knows
> that, 
> as a traveler, a knowledge of the night sky is invaluable.)
> 	
> 
> 
>
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