Astronomical Curiosities Part 18

The Arabians called the bright star Fomalhaut "in the mouth of the southern fish _al-dhifda al-auval_, 'the first Frog,' as the bright one on the southern point of the tail of Kitus [Cetus] is called _al-dhifda al-tsani_ [ Ceti], 'the second Frog.'" Fomalhaut was also called _al-zhalim_, "the male ostrich."

Al-Sufi says, "Some of the Arabians state that a s.h.i.+p is situated to the south of Aquarius." The stars in the Southern Fish (Piscis Australis) seem to be here referred to.

The constellation Pisces, the Fishes, is the last of the "signs of the Zodiac." The Fishes appear on an ancient Greek obelisk described by Poc.o.c.ke. Among the Greeks this sign was consecrated to Venus; and in Egypt to Nepthys, wife of Typhon and G.o.ddess of the sea. Pisces is said to end the Zodiac as the Mediterranean Sea terminated Egypt. This idea was suggested by Schmidt, who also conjectured that the Ram (Aries) was placed at the beginning of the Zodiac because Thebes, a town sacred to Jupiter Ammon, was at the beginning of Egypt in ancient times; and he thought that the constellation Triangulum, the Triangle, represented the Nile Delta, Erida.n.u.s being the Nile.[427] The constellation was represented in ancient times by two fishes connected by a cord tied to their tails. The southern of these "fishes" lies south of the "Square of Pegasus," and the northern between Andromeda and Aries. According to Manilius, the origin of these fishes is as follows: Venus, seeing Typhon on the banks of the river Euphrates, cast herself with her son into the river and they were transformed into fishes!

Some of the Arabians subst.i.tuted a swallow for the northern of the two fishes--the one below Andromeda. The swallow was a symbol of Spring.

According to Dupuis, Pisces represents the 8th "labour of Hercules," his triumph over the mares of Diomed which emitted fire from their nostrils.[428] But the connection between fishes and mares is not obvious, and some of Dupuis' ideas seem very fanciful. Here he seems to have found a "mare's nest."

The constellation Cetus, the Whale, represents, according to ancient writers, the sea monster sent by Neptune to devour Andromeda when she was chained to the rock. Aratus calls Cetus the "dusky monster," and Brown remarks that "the 'Dusky Star' would be peculiarly appropriate to Mira (the wondrous ? Ceti)."[429] Cetus was also called Canis Tritonis, or Dog of the Sea, Bayer in his Atlas (1603) shows a dragon instead of a whale, finding it so represented on some ancient spheres. Al-Sufi calls it Kitus or ??t??, the whale. He says, "it is represented by the figure of a marine animal, of which the fore part is turned towards the east, to the south of the Ram, and the hinder part towards the west behind the three 'extern' stars of Aquarius."

Al-Sufi does not mention the variable star ? Ceti, now called Mira, or the "wonderful," nor does he refer to any star in its immediate vicinity. We may, therefore, conclude that it was near a minimum of light at the time of his observation of the stars of Cetus.

The constellation of Orion, one of the finest in the heavens, was called by Al-Sufi _al-djabbar_, "the Giant," and also _al-djauza_, "the Spouse."

The poet Longfellow says--

"Sirius was rising in the east And, slow ascending one by one, The kindling constellations shone Begirt with many a blazing star Stood the great giant Al-gebar Orion, hunter of the beast!

His sword hung gleaming at his side And on his arm, the lion's hide-- Scattered across the midnight air The golden radiance of its hair."

Al-Sufi says it "is represented by the figure of a standing man, to the south of the sun's path. This constellation very much resembles a human figure with a head and two shoulders. It is called _al-djabbar_, 'the Giant,' because it has two thrones, holds a club in his hand, and is girded with a sword." Orion is supposed to have been a son of Neptune; but there are many stories of the origin of the name. It is also said to be derived from the Greek word ??a, because the constellation was used to mark the different times of the year. According to the ancient fable, Orion was killed by a scorpion, and was placed in the sky at the request of Diana. According to Houzeau, the name comes from _oriri_, to be born.

Scorpio rises when Orion sets, and he thinks that the idea of the ancients was that the Scorpion in this way kills the giant Orion.

In ancient Egypt Orion was called _Sahu_. This name occurs on the monuments of the Ptolemies, and also on those of the Pharaohs. It is also mentioned in the _Book of the Dead_. It seems to have been considered of great importance in ancient Egypt, as its heliacal rising announced that of Sirius, which heralded the annual rising of the Nile.

The constellation Erida.n.u.s lies south of Taurus, east of Cetus, and west of Lepus. In ancient times it was supposed to represent the Nile or the Po. Ptolemy merely calls it ??ta?? aste??s??, or asterism of the river.

It was called Erida.n.u.s by the Greeks, and Fluvius by the Romans. It appears to correspond with the Hebrew s.h.i.+cor. Al-Sufi calls it _al-nahr_, "the River."

One of the most interesting points in Al-Sufi's most interesting work is the ident.i.ty of the bright star known to the ancient astronomers as _achir al-nahr_, "the End of the River," and called by Ptolemy ?s?at?? t??

p?ta??, "the Last in the River." Some astronomers have identified this star with a Eridani (Achernar), a bright southern star of the 1st magnitude, south of Erida.n.u.s. But Al-Sufi's description shows clearly that the star he refers to is really ? Eridani; and the reader will find it interesting to follow his description with a star map before him.

Describing Ptolemy's 34th star of Erida.n.u.s (the star in question), he says, "the 34th star is found before [that is west of] these three stars [the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd, which are ?{2}, Du, and ?' in Proctor's Atlas], the distance between it and that of the three which is nearest being about 4 cubits [9 20']. It is of the first magnitude; it is that which is marked on the southern astrolabe, and called _achir al-nahr_, 'the End of the River.' There are before this bright one two stars, one to the south, [s Eridani, not shown in Proctor's small Atlas], the other to the north [?

Eridani]; Ptolemy does not mention these. One of these stars is of the 4th magnitude, the other of the 5th. There is behind the same [that is, east of it] a star of the 4th magnitude distant from it two cubits [e Eridani].

To the south of the three stars which follow the bright one there are some stars of the 4th and 5th magnitudes, which he [Ptolemy] has not mentioned."

Now, a glance at a star map of this region will show clearly that the bright star referred to by Al-Sufi is undoubtedly ? Eridani, which is therefore the star known to the ancients as the "End of the River," or the "Last in the River."

The position given by Ptolemy agrees fairly well with Al-Sufi's description, although the place is slightly erroneous, as is also the case with Fomalhaut and Centauri. It is impossible to suppose that either Ptolemy or Al-Sufi could have seen a Eridani, as it is too far south to be visible from their stations, and, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the star was still further south in ancient times. Al-Sufi says distinctly that the distance between Ptolemy's 33rd star (which is undoubtedly _h_ Eridani, or Proctor's ?') and the 34th star was "4 cubits," or 9 20'. The actual distance is about 9 11', so that Al-Sufi's estimate was practically correct. Halley, in his _Catalogus Stellarium Australium_, identifies Ptolemy's star with ? Eridani, and Baily agreed with him.[430] Ulugh Beigh also identifies the "Last in the River" with ?

Eridani. The Arabic observer Mohammed Ali Achsasi, who observed in the seventeenth century, called ? Eridani _Achr al-nahr_, and rated it first magnitude.[431] To argue, as Bode and Flammarion have done, that Ptolemy and Al-Sufi may have heard of a Eridani from travellers in the southern hemisphere, is to beg the whole question at issue. This is especially true with reference to Al-Sufi, who says, in the preface to his work, that he has described the stars "as seen with my own eyes." a Eridani is over 11 "cubits" from _h_ Eridani instead of "4 cubits" as Al-Sufi says. This shows conclusively that the star seen by Al-Sufi was certainly _not_ a Eridani. The interest of the identification is that Al-Sufi rated ?

Eridani of the _first_ magnitude, whereas it is now only 3rd magnitude! It was measured 306 at Harvard and estimated 34 by Stanley Williams, so that it has evidently diminished greatly in brightness since Al-Sufi's time. There is an interesting paper on this subject by Dr. Anderson (the discoverer of Nova Aurigae and Nova Persei) in _Knowledge_ for July, 1893, in which he states that the "Last in the River," according to the statements of Hipparchus and Ptolemy, _did_ rise above their horizon at a certain time of the year, which a Eridani could not possibly have done.

This seems sufficient to settle the question in favour of ? Eridani. Dr.

Anderson says, "It is much to be regretted that Professor Schjellerup, the able and industrious translator of Sufi, has allowed this to escape his notice, and helped in the preface and note to his work to propagate the delusion that a Eridani is Ptolemy's 'Last in the River'"; and in this opinion I fully concur. Al-Sufi's clear account places it beyond a doubt that the star known to Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Al-Sufi, and Ulugh Beigh as the "Last in the River" was ? Eridani. ? must have diminished greatly in brightness since Al-Sufi's time, for in ranking it as 1st magnitude he placed it in a very select list. He only rated thirteen stars in the whole heavens as being of the 1st magnitude. These are: Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Aldebaran, Regulus, Leonis, Fomalhaut, Rigel, ? Eridani, Sirius, Procyon, Canopus, and a Centauri. _All_ these stars were actually _seen_ by Al-Sufi, _and described from his own observations_. He does not mention a Eridani, as it was not visible from his station in Persia.

? Eridani is a splendid double star (340, 449: 8"38, 1902, Tebb.u.t.t). I found the components white and light yellow with 3-inch refractor in the Punjab. Dr. Gould thinks that one of the components is variable to some extent. This is interesting, considering the brilliancy of the star in Al-Sufi's time. The brighter component was found to be a spectroscopic binary by Wright, so that on the whole the star is a most interesting object.

The small constellation Lepus, the Hare, lies south of Orion. Pliny calls it Dasypus, and Virgil Auritus. In ancient Egypt it was the symbol of vigilance, prudence, fear, solitude, and speed.[432] It may perhaps represent the hare hunted by Orion; but some say it was placed in the sky to commemorate a terrible plague of hares which occurred in Sicily in ancient times.

A little north-west of the star Leporis is Hind's "crimson star" (R.A.

4{h} 53{m}, S. 14 57', 1900) described by him as "of the most intense crimson, resembling a blood drop on the background of the sky; as regards depth of colour, no other star visible in these lat.i.tudes could be compared with it." It is variable from about the 6th to the 8th magnitude, with a period of about 436 days from maximum to maximum.

The constellation Canis Major, the Great Dog, is remarkable for containing Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. In the Greek mythology it was supposed to represent a dog given by Aurora to Cephalus as the swiftest of all dogs. Cephalus wished to match it against a fox which he thought surpa.s.sed all animals for speed. They both ran for so long a time, so the story goes, that Jupiter rewarded the dog by placing it among the stars.

But probably the dog comes from Anubis, the dog-headed G.o.d of the ancient Egyptians. According to Brown, Theogirius (B.C. 544) refers to the constellation of the Dog.[433] He thinks that Canis Major is probably "a reduplication" of Orion; Sirius and Canis Majoris corresponding to a and ? Orionis; d, 22, and e Canis Majoris to the stars in Orion's belt (d, e, and ? Orionis); and ?; and ? Canis Majoris with ? and Orionis.[434]

The Arabic name of Sirius was _al-schira_, which might easily be corrupted into Sirius. The Hebrew name was Sihor. According to Plutarch, the Ethiopians paid regal honours to the Celestial Dog. The Romans used to sacrifice a dog in its honour at the fetes called Robigalia, which were held on the seventh day before the Calends of May, and nine days after the entry of the sun into Taurus. Pliny says, "Hoc tempus Varro determinat sole decimam partem Tauri obtinenti quod canis occidit, sidus per se vehemens," etc.[435]

Owing to some remarks of Cicero, Horace, and Seneca, it has been supposed that in ancient times Sirius was of red colour. Seneca says, "Nec mirum est, si terra omnis generis et varia evaporatio est; quam in clo quoque non unus appareat color rerum, sed acrior sit Caniculae rubor, Nartis remissior, Jovis nullus, in lucem puram nitore perducto."[436] It is now brilliantly white with a bluish tinge. But this change of colour is somewhat doubtful. The remarks of the ancient writers may possibly refer to its great brilliancy rather than its colour. Al-Sufi says nothing about its colour, and it was probably a white star in his time. If it were red in his day he would most probably have mentioned the fact, as he does in the case of several red stars. Brown, however, quotes the following from Ibn Alraqqa, an Arabian observer:--

"I recognize Sirius _s.h.i.+ning red_, whilst the morning is becoming white.

The night fading away, has risen and left him, The night is not afraid to lose him, since he follows her."

Schjellerup thinks that it is very doubtful that Sirius was really red as seen by Hipparchus and Ptolemy. But in an exhaustive inquiry made by Dr.

See on the supposed change of colour,[437] he comes to the conclusion that Sirius was really red in ancient times. Seneca states distinctly that it was redder than Mars (see extract above), and other ancient writers refer to its red colour. It has been generally supposed that the Arabian astronomer Alfraga.n.u.s, in his translation of Ptolemy's _Almagest_, refers to only five red stars observed by Ptolemy, namely, Arcturus, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Antares, and Pollux. But Dr. See shows that this idea is due to a mistranslation of Alfraga.n.u.s by Plato Tibertinus in 1537, and that Ptolemy did not speak of "five red stars," but five _nebulous_ stars, as stated by Christmann and Golius. Ptolemy described Sirius as ?p???????, "fiery red," the same word used with reference to the other stars mentioned above. The change of colour, if any, probably took place before Al-Sufi's time.

Dr. See says--

"Prof. Newcomb rejects the former well-authenticated redness of Sirius, because he cannot explain the fact. But the ink was scarcely dry on his new book on the stars, in which he takes this position, when Nova Persei blazed forth in 1901; and observers saw it change colour from day to day and week to week. Could any one explain the cause of these numerous and conspicuous changes of colour? Shall we, then, deny the changes of colour in Nova Persei, some of which were noticed when it was nearly as bright as Sirius?"[438]

On the ceiling of the Memnonium at Thebes the heliacal rising of Sirius is represented under the form and name of Isis. The coincidence of this rising with the annual rising of the Nile is mentioned by Tibullus and Aclian. About 4000 B.C. the heliacal rising of Sirius coincided with the summer solstice (about June 21) and the beginning of the rising of the Nile. The festival in honour of this event was held by the Egyptians about July 20, and this marked the beginning of the sacred Egyptian year. On the summit of Mount Pelion in Thessaly there was a temple dedicated to Zeus, where sacrifices were offered at the rising of Sirius by men of rank who were chosen for the purpose by the priests and wore fresh sheepskins.

Sirius seems to have been wors.h.i.+pped by the ancient Egyptians under the name of Sothis, and it was regarded as the star of Isis and Osiris. The last name without the initial O very much resembles our modern name.

According to Al-Sufi, the Arabians called Sirius _al-schira al-abur_, "Sirius which has pa.s.sed across," also _al-schira al Jamanija_, "the Sirius of Yemen." He says it is called _al-abur_, "because it has pa.s.sed across the Milky Way into the southern region." He relates a mythological story why Sirius "fled towards the south" and pa.s.sed across the Milky Way towards Suhail (Canopus). The same story is told by Albufaragius[439]

(thirteenth century). (The story was probably derived from Al-Sufi.) Now, it seems to me a curious and interesting fact that the large proper motion of Sirius would have carried it across the Milky Way from the eastern to the western border in a period of 60,000 years. Possibly the Arabian story may be based on a tradition of Sirius having been seen on the opposite, or eastern, side of the Milky Way by the men of the early Stone Age. However this may be, we know from the amount and direction of the star's proper motion that it must have pa.s.sed across the Milky Way from east to west within the period above stated. The Arabic name _al-abur_ is not, therefore, a merely fanciful one, but denotes an _actual fact_. The proper motion of Sirius could not possibly have been known to the ancients, as it was only revealed by accurate modern observations.

The little constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog, lies south of Gemini and Cancer. Small as it is, it was one of the original forty-eight constellations of Ptolemy. In the Greek mythology it was supposed to represent either one of Diana's hunting dogs, or one of Orion's hounds.

Ovid calls it the dog of Icarus. Others say it was the dog of Helen, who was carried off by Paris. According to the old poets, Orion's dog, or the dog of Icarus, threw himself into a well after seeing his master perish.

The name Fovea, given to the constellation by Bayer, signifies a pit where corn was deposited. This comes from the fact that the rising of the star Procyon (a Canis Minoris) indicated the season of abundance. But Lalande thought it more probable that the idea of a pit came from the Greek se????, which means a corn store, and that it was confounded with Sirius.

The name of the bright star Procyon (a Canis Minoris) is derived from the Greek p??????, "the advanced day," because it appeared in the morning sky before Sirius. Procyon was called by the Hindoos Hanouman after their famous monkey G.o.d, from whose tail a bridge is said to have been formed to enable the army of Rama to pa.s.s from India to Ceylon. Al-Sufi says that the star was marked on the old astrolabes as _al-schira al-schamia_, "the Syrian Sirius." It was also called, he says, _al-schira al-gumaisa_, "the Sirius with blear eyes" (!) from weeping because Sirius had pa.s.sed across the Milky Way, Procyon remaining on the eastern side. Here we have the same legend again. The proper motion of Procyon (about the same in amount and direction as that of Sirius) shows that the star has been on the eastern side of the Milky Way for many ages past. About 60,000 years hence, Procyon will be near the star ? Canis Majoris, and will then--like Sirius--have pa.s.sed across the Milky Way.

Argo, the s.h.i.+p, is a large constellation south of Hydra, Monoceros, and Canis Major. It is called by Al-Sufi _al-safina_, "the s.h.i.+p." It is supposed to represent the first s.h.i.+p ever built. The name is derived from the builder Argo, or from the Greek word ?????. This s.h.i.+p is said to have been built in Thessaly by order of Minerva and Neptune, to go on the expedition for the conquest of the golden fleece. The date of this expedition, commanded by Jason, is usually fixed at 1300 or 1400 B.C. With reference to the position of this supposed s.h.i.+p in the sky, Proctor says, "It is noteworthy that when we make due correction for the effects of precession during the past 4000 years, the old constellation Argo is set on an even keel, instead of being tilted some 45 to the horizon, as at present when due south." He connects Argo with Noah's Ark.

The brightest star of Argo is Canopus, called Suhal by Al-Sufi. It is the second brightest star in the heavens; but it is not visible in northern lat.i.tudes. The Harvard photometric measures make it nearly one magnitude brighter than the zero magnitude, about two magnitudes brighter than Aldebaran, and about half the brightness of Sirius. This fine star has been suspected of variable light. Webb says, "It was thought (1861) in Chili brighter than Sirius." Observing it in the Punjab, the present writer found it on several occasions but little inferior to Sirius, although very low on the southern horizon. From recent observations by Mr.

H. C. McKay in Australia, he believes that it is variable to the extent of at least half a magnitude.[440] But it is difficult to establish variations of light in very bright stars. The parallax of Canopus is _very_ small, so its distance from the earth is very great, and it must be a sun of gigantic size. According to Al-Fargani, Canopus was called the star of St. Catherine by the Christian pilgrims in the tenth century.[441]

It was called Suhal by the old Arabians, a name apparently derived from the root _sahl_, "a plain"; and Schjellerup suggests that the name was probably applied to this and some other southern stars because they seem to move along a plain near the southern horizon. Al-Sufi says that he measured the lat.i.tude of Schiraz in Persia, where he observed, and found it to be 29 36'; and hence for that place Canopus, when on the meridian, had an alt.i.tude of about 9. Canopus was the ancient name of Aboukir in Egypt, and is said to have derived its name from the pilot of Menelaus, whose name was Kan.o.bus, and who died there from the bite of a snake. The star is supposed to have been named after him, and it was wors.h.i.+pped by the ancient Egyptians.

Al-Sufi does not mention the famous variable star ? Argus, which, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, he might possibly have seen _close to the horizon_, if it had been a bright star in his day. It lies between f Velorum and a Crucis. Both of these stars are mentioned by Al-Sufi, but he says nothing of any bright star (or indeed any star) between them. This negative evidence tends to show that ? Argus was not visible to the naked eye in Al-Sufi's time. This extraordinary star has in modern times varied through all degrees of brightness from Sirius down to the 8th magnitude!

Schonfeld thought that a regular period is very improbable. It seems to be a sort of connecting link between the long period variables and the _novae_ or temporary stars. It is reddish in colour, and the spectrum of its light is very similar to that of the temporary stars. Whether it will ever become a brilliant object again, time alone can tell; but from the fact that it was presumably faint in Al-Sufi's time, and afterwards increased to the brightness of Sirius, it seems possible that its light may again revive.

The long constellation Hydra lies south of Cancer, Leo, Crater, Corvus, Virgo, and Libra. It was also called Asina, Coluber, Anguis, Sublimatus, etc. In the Greek mythology it was supposed to represent the Lernaean serpent killed by Hercules. According to Ovid, who fixed its acronycal rising for February 14, it had a common origin with Corvus and Crater.

Apollo, wis.h.i.+ng to sacrifice to Jupiter, sent the Crow with a cup to fetch water. On his way to the well the Crow stopped at a fig tree and waited for the fruit to ripen! Afterwards, to excuse his delay, he said that a serpent had prevented him from drawing the water. But Apollo, to punish the Crow for his deception, changed his plumage from white to black, and ordered the serpent to prevent the Crow from drinking.[442] Hydra was called by Al-Sufi _al-schudja_, "the Serpent, or Hydra." He says that "it contains twenty-five stars in the figure and two 'outside', and its head is to the south of the southern scale of the Balance" (a Librae). But this is clearly a mistake (one of the very few errors to be found in Al-Sufi's work), for he goes on to say that the head is composed of four stars forming a figure like the head of a horse, and he adds, "This head is in the middle between _al-s.h.i.+ra al-gumaisa_ [Procyon] and _Kalb al-asad_ [Regulus] the Heart, inclining from these two stars a little to the south." This clearly indicates the stars d, e, ?, and s Hydrae which, with ? Hydrae, have always been considered as forming the Hydra's head. These stars lie south of a and Cancri, not south of Libra as Al-Sufi says (doubtless by a slip of the pen).

Ptolemy's 12th star of Hydra (a Hydrae) is, Al-Sufi says, "the bright red star which is found at the end of the neck where the back begins; it is of the 2nd magnitude. It is that which is marked on the astrolabe as _unk al-schudja_, 'the neck of the serpent,' also _al-fard_, 'the solitary one.'" Al-Sufi's estimate of its brightness agrees well with modern measures; but it has been suspected of variable light. Sir John Herschel's estimates at the Cape of Good Hope varied from 175 to 258 magnitude. He thought that its apparent variation might be due to its reddish colour, and compares it to the case of a Ca.s.siopeiae. But as this latter star is now _known_ to be irregularly variable it seems probable that a Hydrae may be variable also. Gemmill found it remarkably bright on May 9, 1883, when he thought it nearly equal to Pollux (12 magnitude). On the other hand, Franks thought it nearer the 3rd than the 2nd magnitude on March 2, 1878.

On April 9, 1884, the present writer found it only slightly less than Regulus (13 magnitude). On April 6, 1886, how-ever, it was considerably less than Regulus, but half a magnitude brighter than Canis Minoris, or about 2 magnitude. In the Chinese Annals it is called the "Red Bird."

In a list of thirty stars found on a tablet at Birs-Nimroud, it is called "The son of the supreme temple." Although to the naked eye deserving the name of Alphard or "the solitary one," it is by no means an isolated star when examined with a telescope. It has a faint and distant companion, observed by Admiral Smyth; and about 25' to the west of it Ward saw a small double star (8, 13: 90: 50"). With a 3-inch refractor in the Punjab, I saw a small star of about 8 magnitude to the south and a little east of the bright star, probably identical with Smyth's companion.

Farther off in the same direction I saw a fainter star, and others at greater distances in the field. There is also a faint star a little to the north. I also saw Ward's double with the 3-inch telescope.

There is some difficulty in identifying the stars numbered by Ptolemy 13, 14, and 15 in Hydra. Having plotted a map from Ptolemy's positions (as given by Al-Sufi), I have come to the conclusion that Ptolemy's stars are 13 = ? Hydrae; 14 = ?; and 15 = ? Hydrae, probably. From the clear description given by Al-Sufi of the stars observed by _him_, I find that _his_ stars are 13 = ?_{1}; 14 = ?_{2}; and 15 = ? Hydrae. We must, therefore, conclude that Ptolemy and Al-Sufi saw only three stars where now there are four,[443] and that ? Hydrae was not seen, or at least is not mentioned by Al-Sufi. ? is, therefore, probably variable. It was rated 4 by Tycho Brahe, Bayer, and Hevelius; it is at present about 5th magnitude.

If Ptolemy did not see ?_{2} it is probably variable also, and, indeed, it has been suspected of variable light.[444]

The small constellation of Crater, the Cup, lies north of Hydra, and south of Leo and Virgo. Al-Sufi calls it _al-batija_, "the Jar, or Cup." He says the Arabians called it _al-malif_, "the Crib, or Manger." According to Brown, the stars of Crater exactly form a Bakhian ?a??a???, with its two handles rising above the two extremities of the circ.u.mference.[445] An Asia Minor legend "connected Crater with the mixing of human blood with wine in a bowl." Crater is referred to by Ovid in the lines--