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The Corona Borealis plays a part in several legends.
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Stargazing: Corona Borealis legends

A. Lee, W. Wilson/Stellarium

Stargazing: Corona Borealis legends

At this time of year, it’s easy to spot the cres­cent smile out­line of the con­stel­la­tion Co­rona Bo­re­alis, the North­ern Crown. For the An­cient Greeks and Ro­mans, this crown was a ce­les­tial wed­ding pres­ent from Aph­ro­dite (Venus) to Ari­adne, Prin­cess of Crete.

The Shawnee peo­ple, who have lived in the Pitts­burgh re­gion since the 1700s, look to Co­rona Bo­re­alis and be­hold “The Ce­les­tial Sis­ters.” The heav­enly sis­ters de­scended nightly to dance on Earth. The mighty hunter, White Hawk, fell in love with the most beau­ti­ful sis­ter. They mar­ried, but she re­mained home­sick for the heav­ens. She se­cretly in­toned a magic chant and re­turned to the sky in a sil­ver bas­ket. She be­came the star Arc­tu­rus in Bootes, with her sis­ters spar­kling nearby in Co­rona Bo­re­alis.

The Ojibwe peo­ple see Co­rona Bo­re­alis as a sweat lodge and nearby Her­cu­les as the ex­hausted bather, his spirit re­newed by a pu­ri­fi­ca­tion cer­e­mony. The Iro­quois and Al­gon­quin tribes see a ce­les­tial bear den, fash­ioned from the stars of Co­rona Bo­re­alis and two stars from neigh­bor­ing Bootes. Ursa Ma­jor, the Great Bear, emerged from this den af­ter hi­ber­na­tion.

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On Tuesday night, you might see Co­rona Bo­re­alis as the “scoop” that fell off the ice cream cone shape of stars that form the nearby con­stel­la­tion, Bootes. That “scoop” of stars will lead you to the up­side-down let­ter H fig­ure of the con­stel­la­tion Her­cu­les.

First Published: August 3, 2021, 10:00 a.m.

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The Corona Borealis plays a part in several legends.  (A. Lee, W. Wilson/Stellarium)
A. Lee, W. Wilson/Stellarium
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