A bright star in the sky. Star Sirius - Alpha Big Dog

Modern astronomy has divided the entire celestial sphere into certain areas, calling them constellations. Each such site contains dozens, and sometimes hundreds of stars. In the olden days they were simplified, assigning different constellations to each constellation. Connecting the stars with lines, the ancients received drawings remotely reminiscent of terrestrial beings. So there were constellations of Peacock, Crane, Golden Fish and so on. At the moment, there are 47 constellations in the Northern Hemisphere, and 41 in the Southern Hemisphere. It is believed that the brightest star in the northern sky is in the constellation of the Great Dog (Canis Major in Latin).

The constellation of the Great Dog

By combining all the lines in this constellation between the stars, we get a drawing that resembles a dog. In total there are 148 stars in it. We see only 80 of them, and the most notable of them is Sirius. This bright star in the sky radiates a bluish glow, so it's hard not to notice it. It is worth noting that it is Sirius that is considered the leader in brightness not only in the constellation itself, but also in the vastness of the entire night sky above the Earth. Therefore, for thousands of years people have been paying special attention to it.

It can be seen both in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of our planet. This is due to the fact that it is very close to our solar system. Closer than Sirius, only Alpha Centauri, Wolf 359, Bernard's star and the red dwarf Lalande.

Between the Sun and Sirius, the distance is 8.64 light years. In comparison with the location of other stars of the Milky Way, this distance is considered insignificant. If we do not take into account the largest planets of our system, this bright star in the sky is best seen.

Sirius

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, it was believed that this Sirius is lonely in the whole of the sky, until in 1844 a theory was advanced that next to it there is a large body invisible to the eye of man. This fact was supposed by the astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel from Germany. This hypothesis he built on the principle of motion of the celestial body and the trajectory of its deviation.

In his opinion, this invisible body, together with Sirius, rotates in a single type, and he calculated that one rotation occurs in fifty years. But his theory was rejected by other respected astronomers on the basis of the lack of practical evidence. Prove his rightness Frederick could not until his death, and sixteen years later in America, the creator of the telescope Alvan Graham Clarke saw another heavenly body next to this bright star in the sky. Thanks to this, Sirius began to observe, and soon the theory of the German astronomer was confirmed.

White dwarf

After a very short time, astronomers managed to understand why Sirius is moving along such a trajectory. The thing is in the star, which is nearby - the scientists gave her the name Sirius V. Her status is a white dwarf, in which thermonuclear reactions do not occur. It is also interesting that the mass of this celestial body is equal to the mass of the Sun, while the size is much smaller. That's why Sirius B attracts other stars, provoking them to rotate along a certain trajectory. Its influence extends to the brightest star in the sky - Sirius A.

Sirius B was the first white dwarf to have such a giant mass. Scientists have determined that these stars are about three hundred million years old. There is a theory that when Sirius was just emerging, it consisted of two objects, one of which exceeded our luminous body by a factor of five, the other in two. The first luminary has burnt out, turning into a visible Sirius B with a reduced diameter and a large mass. Sirius A has retained its properties, so people can admire its radiance not the first millennium.

The red glow of Sirius

In ancient times, various thinkers also observed Sirius, but in their observations there is a very strange pattern: they all noticed that a bright star in the sky in the south radiates a red glow. A bright red star was called by her a Roman philosopher and noble citizen Lucius Annie Seneca. The same glow was observed by Claudius Ptolemy in the fourth century BC. One might assume that the color of the star was distorted because of the hemisphere where the observers were. But even in the history of Chinese astronomy there are records of a red star, observed by scientist Sima Qian. Virtually all peoples in the ancient centuries left records of such an unusual sight. Scientists-astronomers believed that more recently (by celestial measures) the bright star in the night sky was red.

Official version of the red glow

But official science does not agree with this statement at all. They believe that in such a short period of time, no major changes with Sirius could occur. According to modern scholars, people of that time just wanted to embellish what they saw, adding to the description of bright epithets. In addition, if you watch him in the evening and in the morning, you can see that Sirius is flickering - it is this twinkle that distorts his true light.

Worship Sirius

To understand the meaning of beliefs and cults created on the basis of the worship of this star, one must take into account not only that it is seen from all corners of the Earth for many centuries, but also to which constellation the star Sirius belongs. For example, the Sumerians called it the Arrow, in their religion it was believed that this god sent Ninurta. But the Egyptians believed that this star personifies the goddess Soppet.

Egypt

To watch this star began also Egyptian astronomers. By the way, with her help they determined when exactly the Nile would be bottled. They believed that this was due to the tears of the goddess Isis mourning her husband, the god of agriculture of Osiris. Also in ancient Egypt, the year was counted not according to the Sun, but according to Sirius.

Greece

But in Greek mythology the word "Sirius" has a direct translation - "bright". The Greeks believed that the brightest star in the sky in January is the Great Dog of Orion. Also, the Greeks believed that this dog is following the Pleiades track, which Osiris is hunting, and is chasing the Hare.

In Latin, this star was called Holidays, which in translation means "little dog". Those moments when Sirius was most visible, were considered the days of this star. These days it was impossible to do anything, and it was difficult to do, because they were the hottest in the year.

At the same time, the indigenous people of New Zealand revered the star Sirius as the embodiment of the deity of Rehua, who lives in the highest sky.

Dogon

The most mysterious worship of Sirius at the moment is considered to be the service of this star by the Dogon tribe. Despite the fact that modern science has recently discovered Sirius B, to the inhabitants of this tribe she was known from very ancient times. And this is in view of the fact that the device of everyday life and the level of knowledge of Dogon is still at a primitive level. It is also worth noting the fact that the calendar of this tribe is built on a fifty-year period, referring precisely to the period of rotation of the white dwarf around the bright star of Sirius A. It is impossible to see this star without equipment, and even in the Dogon there are no primitive devices for observing the sky.

Conclusion

The brightest star in the sky is Sirius. It can be seen both from the Southern Hemisphere and from the North. We watched this star for a very long time, and eventually found out to which constellation the star Sirius belongs - it is called the constellation of the Great Dog. It is believed that this star is the second most important for the Earth after the Sun. Until now, many of the information and legends associated with Sirius are considered a mystery to modern science. That is why many are interested in what this star represents, which is so close to us.