Caribbean Skies
Steven Dutch
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The Green Flash
Directions in the Sky
Stars and Constellations
• Many proper star names are Arabic
• Catalog labels also used (Alpha Centauri)
• Constellation names are Latin
– Ancient groups from Near Eastern myths via
Greeks
– Numerous 17th-18th Century inventions
• 89 Constellations
– Fixed boundaries in sky
– Every star is in one, and only one, constellation
• There is no “official” way to draw constellations
About Constellation Names
• Latin uses word endings where we often use
prepositions
• Possessive form different from normal form
• Centaurus but Alpha Centauri
• Tucana but 47 Tucanae
• Gemini – Geminorum
• Virgo – Virginis
• Orion – Orionis
Seeing the Constellations
Seeing the Constellations
Seeing the Constellations
At Dusk
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
The Andromeda Myth
About 10 PM
South of
Orion
The Magellanic Clouds
An Ex-Constellation
Argo Gets Broken Up
Eta
Carinae
Pre-Dawn
The
Southern
Cross
Omega
Centauri
The Southern Cross
The Southern Cross
Southern Cross and Centaurus