Symbols in
astronomy
Symbols in science
Technical symbols, formulas and certain
fundamental quantities of physics use many
symbols and abbreviations. The usefulness of
standard symbols is essential in the process of
globalization.
Astronomy is one of the fields of science in
which we find many symbols.
Symbols of planets
Astronomers have developed symbols to
stand for various celestial objects, including the
planets. The symbols all have some kind of
meaning, usually linked to the planet’s name or
mythology behind the name.
You may think that the symbols have some
strange and complicated meanings, but they are
just some asociation linked to the way they look
and their move around the Sun.
Symbols of the planets and the sun
Mercury
Mercury was named after the winged messenger of
the gods, and the symbol is connected to him because
of the fact that the planet turns very fast around the
Sun. The symbol is a circle on top of a cross with two
curved horns, representing Mercury’s winged helmet
on top of his caduceus – a special staff carried by
heralds often depicted with intertwined snakes and
wings at the top. The caduceus symbol often
represents medicine in North America because it is
confused with a similar symbol.
Venus
The symbol for Venus stands for Venus’ hand
mirror. Interestingly, this is also a common symbol for
female. That is not very surprising though considering
Venus is the Roman goddess of beauty. This is also the
chemical symbol for copper, and mirrors used to be
made out of polished copper leading historians to draw
a connection between the two.
Earth
Earth is not named after a mythological god, so its
symbol is not linked to mythology. There are several
theories as to what Earth’s symbol means. It is a circle
with a cross in the center that could represent the main
compass points, which is the most popular theory.
Additionally, it could stand for a globe divided into four
quadrants. It may also represent the Globus Cruciger,
which is a symbol for Christ’s reign over the Earth. This
ancient symbol of a circle cut into four has been used in
many cultures and even showed up in Norse
mythology.
Mars
Mars is named after the Roman god of war because
of its color. The symbol represents Mars’ shield and
spear. This is also the male symbol, which makes sense
because war was considered a man’s task and
occupation.
Juptier
After the first four planets, the symbols get more
complex. Jupiter’s symbol , which looks like an oddly
shaped four, has a number of possible meanings. It may
be a hieroglyph of an eagle, which was Jupiter’s bird or
a lightning bolt – Jupiter’s weapon. It could also be the
first letter in Zeus’ name – Zeus is the Greek version of
Jupiter – with a vertical line cutting through it to
indicate it is an abbreviation.
Saturn
Although Saturn’s symbol looks somewhat like a
decorative “h”, it is actually supposed to represent
Saturn’s sickle or scythe. Saturn is the Roman god of
agriculture, so the symbol is linked to him.
Uranus
Uranus is a combination of the symbols for the Sun
and Mars. Uranus has the circle with the dot in the
center, which is the symbol for the Sun. It also has an
arrow branching out from it, representing Mars’ spear.
It combines these two motifs because Uranus
personified heaven in Roman mythology, and the
heavens were ruled by the Sun’s light and Mars’ power.
Neptune
Neptune is named after the Roman god of the sea,
which is very fitting considering the planet’s blue-green
color. Neptune’s symbol is the sea god’s trident.
The Sun
•
Think of the solar system. The sun is the star around which
all other celestial bodies of that system revolve. Its brightness
enlightens the planets, making life possible. This pattern
repeats itself in nature, like in the atom, which has the exact
same characteristics of a solar system – the electrons revolve
around the nucleus like the planets go around the sun.
•
So the symbol of the sun can be interpreted as it follows:
the circle symbolizes the Solar System and the dot in the
center symbolizes the central position of the Sun in the Solar
System.
Symbols of constellations
Did you know that there are 88 constellations and each of them has a
sign with its own meaning and history? Each of them has one or more
stories about the way in which way they appeared.
But there are at least 12 constellation that
everyone knows : the zodiacal ones. Many people
think that these symbols are linked with astrology
(the science that study the zodiac an “predict”
what’s going to happen). In fact, they “stole” the
astronomical symbols, astronomy being the science
which study the celestial objects.
These constellations where used a long time ago
by people in order to know what season had been.
When we say that we are in “Leo”, it means that the
Sun sets in the constellation with that name.
Symbols of the zodiacal constellations (I)
CAPRICORNUS
AQUARIUS
ARIES
TAURUS
PISCES
GEMINI
Symbols of the zodiacal constellations (II)
CANCER
LEO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
VIRGO
SAGITTARIUS
Capricornus
The sign is a simplified drawing of a sea-goat, the mythological
animal - half goat, half fish
Capricornus represents the Winter Solstice (December 21st or
22nd) where the Sun, going south reaches its lowest point on the
ecliptic, the Tropic of Capricorn. There the Sun turns and starts to
climb up, heading towards the northern hemisphere, and thereafter
the Sun begins to appear higher and higher in the sky each day. It’s
like a goat climbing a mountain, as the animal in feeding always
ascends the hills because it is naturally a climbing animal.
The fish-tail was significant of the rains and floods of the winter
season.
Aquarius
The symbol is a simplified drawing of water waves because of
some reasons:
• The Babylonians connected this Zodiac sign and the
constellation with one of their gods, Ea, calling it "The Great One."
Ea was often depicted with an overflowing vase.
• Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that
the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively
connoted.
• In Ancient Egypt, Aquarius was associated with the annual
flood of the Nile; the banks were said to flood when Aquarius put
his jar into the river, beginning spring.
Pisces
The symbol is a very simplified drawing of two fish swimming
in converging streams of water.
The Babylonians called this constellation and sign "The Tails,"
picturing the two fish swimming in opposite directions, also
representing the rivers Euphrate and Tigris.
Pisces is also associated with Aphrodite and Eros, those who
escaped from the monster Typhon by leaping into the sea and
transforming themselves into fish. In order not to lose each other,
they tied themselves together with a rope.
Aries (the Ram)
The symbol is a simplified image of the ram's horns.
Aries is the wake-up call of the zodiac. In ancient times the spring
equinox marked the start of the New Year and festivities were held to
honor the birth of new life and the new beginnings that lay in store.
Its origin is Egyptian and derives from their practice of sacrificing
the sacred ram to the Sun at the spring equinox, to ensure his return
and secure a successful year ahead.
Taurus
The symbol is a simple representation of the head of a bull,
with its horns.
To the Egyptians, the constellation Taurus was a sacred bull
that was associated with the renewal of life in spring. When the
spring equinox entered Taurus, the constellation would become
covered by the Sun in the western sky as spring began.
In Greek mythology, Taurus was identified with Zeus, who
assumed the form of a magnificent white bull to abduct Europa, a
legendary Phoenician princess. It is said that Taurus carried
Europa out to the sea.
Gemini
The symbol is the old Roman figure II, standing for the number 2.
In Greek mythology, Gemini was associated with the myth of
Castor and Pollux, who were grown by the wolves. Pollux was the
immortal son of Zeus, who seduced Leda, while Castor was the
mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta and Leda's husband. When
Castor died, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality,
and he did, by uniting them together in the heavens.
Cancer
The symbol is a simplified drawing of the crab's rounded shape
and two big claws.
Cancer was the location of the Sun's most northerly position in
the sky (the summer solstice) in ancient times. This is also the time
that the Sun is directly overhead at 23.5°N, a parallel now known as
the Tropic of Cancer.
In Greek mythology, Cancer is identified with the crab that
appeared while Hercules was fighting the many-headed Hydra. The
crab bit Hercules on the foot, Hercules crushed it and then the
goddess Hera, a sworn enemy of Hercules, placed the crab among
the stars.
Leo
The symbol is a simplified drawing of the lion's head and mane .
In Greek mythology, Leo was identified as the Nemean Lion which
was killed by Hercules. The Nemean Lion would take women as
hostages to its lair in a cave, to their misfortune. The Lion was
impervious to any weaponry : the warriors' clubs, swords, and spears
were rendered useless against it. Because of this, Hercules slipped into
the Lion's cave. When the Lion pounced, Hercules caught it in midair
and bent it backwards, breaking its back and freeing the trapped
maidens. Zeus commemorated this labor by placing the Lion in the sky.
Virgo
The sign is an M with what might be the crossed legs of a
chaste virgin. The M of the symbol is not that easy to explain. It
might be a Medieval symbol of medicine or alchemy, but nobody
knows for sure.
Virgo was often drawn with an ear of wheat in her left hand.
Virgo is thought to represent Erigone, who found her father, Icarius
(Bootes) dead, while she was searching for him. Because of the
pain, she hanged herself and was raised to heaven for her piety.
An alternative story identified her as Astraea, daughter of
Jupiter who, at the advent of the Bronze Age, flew to heaven.
Libra
The symbol is a simplified drawing of a scale.
The scales were held sacred to the sun god Shamash, who
was also the patron of truth and justice. It was also seen as the
Scorpion's Claws in ancient Greece. Since these times, Libra has
been associated with law, fairness and civility. It has also been
suggested that the scales are in allusion to the fact that when
the sun entered this part of the ecliptic at the autumnal equinox,
the days and nights are equal.
It is the only constellation which doesn’t symbolize a leaving
creature.
Scorpio
The symbol is an M with the scorpion tail stinger. The M of
the symbol is not that easy to explain. It might be a Medieval
symbol of medicine or alchemy, but nobody knows for sure.
One myth say that Orion boasted to goddess Artemis and
her mother, Leto, that he would kill every animal on the earth.
The ladies sent a scorpion to deal with Orion. The pair battled
and the scorpion killed Orion. However, the contest was
apparently a lively one that caught the attention of the king of
the gods Zeus, who later raised the scorpion to heaven and
afterwards, at the request of Artemis, did the same for Orion
to serve as a reminder for mortals to curb their excessive pride.
So every winter Orion hunts in the sky, but every summer he
flees as the constellation of the scorpion comes.
Sagittarius
The symbol is a simplified drawing of a bow and arrow.
In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half
human, half horse.
But there is a mythology espoused by Eratosthenes, saying that the
archer was not as a centaur but he was the satyr Crotus, son of Pan.
According to myth, Crotus often went hunting on horseback and lived
among the Muses, who requested that Zeus place him in the sky, where
he is seen demonstrating archery.
The arrow of this constellation points towards the star Antares, the
"heart of the scorpion," and Sagittarius stands poised to attack should
Scorpius ever attack the nearby Hercules, or to avenge Scorpius's slaying
of Orion.
As you saw, in science we must have imagination in order
to understand the symbols and their meanings. We need to
open our eyes, look up at the sky, and try to see more than
everybody else does.
Astronomy may seems boring and complicated, but if you
understand what’s happening daily in the nature and in your
own lives, you will understand that there’s no difference at all.
Everything out there is happening naturally,but uncontrollable,
just like on Earth.
The physics laws are the same everywhere.
This project was made by:
•Paula Gherghinescu
•Cordun Cristina
Bibliography:
• www.wikipedia.com
•www.universetoday.com
•www.zodiacsign.com