THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 70 Falmouth Street Portland,Maine 04103 (207) 780-4249 usm.maine.edu/planet 43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 2021-2022: XXXIV "Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you." -Ovid THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Friday, October 22, 2021 Quiz 8: Celestial Mythology How does celestial mythology differ from terrestrial mythology? Simply, the former pertains to those classical mythological figures one still finds in the night sky as constellations, planets, the moon and other celestial objects. Of course, considering that the mythological realm has proven to be as complex as the physical one, the demarcation separating celestial and terrestrial mythology is hardly sharp. For instance, Heracles is celestial because he is the namesake of a constellation, albeit a curiously faint one. Theseus, who is not represented as a constellation, is terrestrial. Then again, he slew the Minotaur, who was sired by the constellation Taurus and so could be considered celestial by association. The swollen-footed, mother-marrying miscreant Oedipus is also terrestrial. However, as he was famous for having defeated the Sphinx by answering her riddle, he might also be regarded as celestial by association because some scholars believe that the Sphinx was an amalgamation of Leo and Virgo. One can readily see that any mythological figure is likely only a few degrees of separation away from a celestial one and so could be considered celestial. How does celestial mythology differ from terrestrial mythology? Oh, it doesn't really. Enjoy the test, anyway. See you on Monday! *1. _____________ is unique in that it is the only constellation split into two parts.* a. Argo Navis b. Serpens c. Octans d. Pavo *2. Who tamed Pegasus the Winged Horse?* a. Theseus b. Heracles c. Bellerophon d. Jason *3. The Sun is currently moving through which constellation?* a. Virgo b. Gemini c. Leo d. Sagittarius *4. Whose eye is marked by Algol, the "ghoul star?"* a. Andromeda b. Cassiopeia c. Medusa d. Athena *5. The constellation _____________ represents the creature who killed Heracles.* a. Scorpius b.Sagittarius c. Lepus d. Lynx *6. Who was Andromeda's father?* a. Oedipus b. Cepheus c. King Acrisius d. Orion *7. Zeus was disguised as a __________ when he sired Helen and Pollux on Leda.* a. a shower of golden rain drops b. a thunder cloud c. a swan d. a lion *8. The Seven Sisters star cluster, also known as the Pleiades, rests on the shoulder of ____________.* a. Orion b. Heracles c. Taurus d. Leo *9. Which one of the following is not part of the zodiac?* a. Leo the Lion b. Scorpius the Scorpion c. Gemini the Twins d. Orion the Hunter *10. Which of the following did Heracles not kill? (Could be more or less than one).* a. Hydra the Water Snake b. Leo the Lion c. Vulpecula the Fox d. Sagittarius the Archer ANSWERS *1. _____________ is unique in that it is the only constellation split into two parts.* b. Serpens The constellation Serpens is divided into two sections: Serpens Caput, "the Serpent's Head," and Serpens Cauda, "the Serpent's Tail." The two pieces are on either side of the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Charmer. *2. Who tamed Pegasus the Winged Horse?* c. Bellerophon Bellerophon rode on Pegasus as he killed the Chimera. However, when the reckless youth tried to fly Pegasus up to Olympus, the sensible winged horse turned herself upside down, causing Bellerophon to plummet to his death. Pegasus is depicted in the sky flying upside down. *3. The Sun is currently moving through which constellation?* a. Virgo The Sun moves into the Virgo constellation in mid September and leaves it at the end of October. The Sun spends more time in Virgo than in any other single constellation. Virgo is associated with Persephone, whom Hades abducted and imprisoned in the underworld. Zeus brokered an arrangement in which Persephone was able to spend part of the year on Earth with her mother and the part in the underworld with Hades. Persephone returns to Earth at the beginning of spring and descends back into the underworld at the beginning of fall. The Virgo constellation rises when the Sun sets in March and vanishes into the dusk in September. *4. Whose eye is marked by Algol, the "ghoul star?"* c. Medusa Algol is an eclipsing binary star in the constellation Perseus. It marks the eye of Medusa, whose severed head Perseus holds aloft. This star appears to diminish in brightness every third night as the secondary star occults the primary and causes the entire star to lose brightness. *5. The constellation _____________ represents the creature who killed Heracles.* b.Sagittarius Sagittarius represents the centaur Nessus, who killed Heracles posthumously. How? Well, to make a horrid story short, Nessus offered to convey Heracles and his wife Deianeira across a raging river. Heracles, then aged and not nearly as strong as he was in his prime, allowed the centaur to carry Deianeira to the opposite shore. However, when the centaur arrived at the last bank, he attempted to spirit Deianeira away. Heracles crippled the centaur with an arrow and as the creature lay dying, Heracles swam madly across the river to finish him off. Before Heracles arrived, Nessus convinced Deianeira to take some of his blood, which he claimed could be used as a potent love potion. "If your husband ever seems to lose his love for you, smear this blood on his cloak and he will fall deeply in love with you once more." Years later, Deianeira, having noticed that Heracles had become cool and indifferent, coated his cloak with the blood as he slept. The next morning Heracles put on the cloak and screamed in agony, for the blood was actually a potent poison. The gods, at Heracles' desperate urging, rescinded the immortality they bestowed on him after he completed his labors. Mortal once more, Heracles jumped on his own funeral pyre and perished in the flames. Such was the excruciating torment of the poison that the fire felt soothing in comparison. *6. Who was Andromeda's father?* b. Cepheus King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia had one daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia's audacious boast that Andromeda's beauty surpassed even that of the Nereids, sea nymphs sacred to Poseidon, so enraged the ocean god that he unleashed the sea monster Cetus to destroy Cassiopeia and Cepheus' kingdom. A Delphic oracle instructed them to chain Andromeda to the sea shore as an offering to Cetus. Once he devoured the princess, the satiated monster would return to the sea. Fortunately, Perseus arrived just before Andromeda was about to be eaten. He slew Cetus and eventually married Andromeda. *7. Zeus was disguised as a __________ when he sired Helen and Pollux on Leda.* c. a swan That swan became the constellation Cygnus, also known as the "Northern Cross." Leda delivered two eggs. Out of one of them hatched Helen and Pollux. Castor and Clytemnestra, sired by Leda's husband, King Tyndareus, were hatched out of the other egg. *8. The Seven Sisters star cluster, also known as the Pleiades, rests on the shoulder of ____________.* c. Taurus Orion pursues the Pleiades, all seven of whom are protected by Taurus. By remembering that the bull shields the sisters from the hunter's lusty pursuit, one can remember the order: Orion to the east of Taurus which is to the east of the Pleiades. *9. Which one of the following is not part of the zodiac?* d. Orion the Hunter The Zodiac consists of the thirteen constellations through which the Sun appears to travel each year. Although Orion is positioned just south the zodiacal constellations of Taurus and Gemini, it is not part of the zodiac, itself. The zodiac constellations are: Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, and Aquarius. *10. Which of the following did Heracles not kill? (Could be more or less than one).* c. Vulpecula the Fox Heracles slew Hydra and Leo as part of his famous labors. He killed Sagittarius after the centaur tried to kidnap his wife. Sagittarius ended up killing Heracles through trickery, by convincing Heracles' wife to smear some of the centaur's blood on Heracles cloak if she ever thought he was no longer in love with him. She did coat his cloak in the blood years later. Unfortunately, centaur blood is a poison, not a love potion. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Daily Astronomer: https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A= <https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A=1>