under the Ursa Major, near Bootes placed Hounds Dogs, the constellation associated with its neighbors mythological subjects.This picture has an interesting celestial destiny, and includes many interesting cosmic objects.
Constellation of the Dog: Legend
Today, this heavenly image associated with dogs arcade, forever wandering the dome above his head in the form of Bootes.He was the son of Zeus and Callisto (the nymph of the goddess Artemis), jealous hero turned into a bear.A born hunter, Arkady did not recognize his mother in the wild beast and unleashed her dogs.Zeus, in memory of this event (in another version, wanting to protect his beloved son from retaliation and wife) put his characters into the sky.There shone Constellation of the Dog, as well as the Big Dipper and Bootes.
history
Hounds Dogs - constellation, are not among the ancients.In Ptolemy luminaries included in it belonged to the Bootes and formed his stick and some other parts.Actually, the name "Dogs Hounds", it is probably due to incorrect translation of the Greek word, first in Arabic, and from there to the Latin.As a result, "baton" has turned into "dogs."
author considered constellation Hevelius, who first introduced him to his celestial atlas "Uranographia" in 1690.Asterion and Chara ("small star" and "joy") - the so-called dog Bootes in the legend - in the image of the astronomer constrained length of the leash, the end of which is in the hands of the Arcade.
Location
Hounds Dogs - small constellation.In it under good conditions with the naked eye can distinguish up to thirty bodies.Find a heavenly pattern can be, guided by the Great Bear, the discovery of which, as a rule, no one is straightforward.Hounds Dogs are placed just under the bucket.A line drawn through the alpha and gamma of the Big Dipper in the south-east direction, indicating the brightest point of the constellation, light, called Cor Caroli.To the east of Hunting Dogs placed Bootes, as clearly seen in the night sky.
Cor Caroli
Alpha Hunting Dogs - the brightest star of the celestial figure.Such poetic name given to her by Charles Scarborough.In 1660 he proposed to map the sky constellation Cor Caroli, consisting of only one star.His wish was realized."Constellation" has existed in this form until the end of the XIX century.Then the name was transferred to the alpha Hunting Dogs.The star was dedicated to Charles I, who was executed in 1649 and is the father of Charles II, which took place at the court of Charles Scarborough.
Alpha Hunting Dogs - one of the most beautiful binary systems, according to many scientists.Its main component is a white and blue hot main sequence stars.It is the prototype of a class of the same name variable stars.The reasons that lead to a change in brightness of the star are its rotation and a very strong magnetic field.The last of the sun setting over the same a hundred times.Glitter star with a period of 5.47 days varies from +2,84 m to +2,94 m.The magnetic field of light, in addition to these fluctuations, creates an impressive size spots and inhomogeneities in the photosphere of the described space object.
second component of the system - a yellow dwarf, who belongs to the main sequence.
Beta
next brightest star of the celestial pattern is called Chara.It is a yellow dwarf and belongs to the spectral class G. By many ways similar to the Sun Star.Scientists note it as one of the most interesting objects in the sky.In 2006, the Hunting Dogs beta was identified as the most promising light for the search for extraterrestrial life.Along with the alpha Hunting Dogs, also called Asterion, Chara forms a "southern dog."
Interest
Hounds Dogs - a constellation that can boast of a sufficiently large number of curious formations in addition to the space bodies.This galaxies and nebulae and globular clusters.One of them - the M51.This galaxy, which bears the name of the Maelstrom.It separates from the Earth about 23 million light-years.The feature of the object in that it consists of two galaxies.Most of them, NGC 5194, has a pronounced spiral structure.One of the arms of the galaxy rests in the companion NGC 5195. Owners of amateur telescopes will be interested to learn that Whirlpool - the only such facility in which you can see a spiral structure without professional equipment.
many admirers astronomy is well known globular cluster M3.There are more than 500,000 stars.Not bad, it significantly through binoculars provided away from urban lighting.
no coincidence that many of the telescopes aimed at the Constellation of the Dog.Photo object from its territory, other than those mentioned, contain such beautiful galaxies like M63 (the Sunflower Galaxy), M94 or M106.In addition, there is still known to astronomers of the stars of this heavenly figure.It is likely that the Hounds Dogs have prepared a lot of surprises for us.
