March Skies by Starlitenergies
“Then a
light among them brightened,
So that, if
Cancer one such crystal had,
Winter would
have a month of one sole day.”
~ The Divine
Comedy, Dante
Astronomy
We have
entered the best time of year to catch a glimpse of Cancer (Latin for Crab) if
you want to get technical with a telescope go for, right Ascension: 9 hours,
Declination: 20 degrees, and visible between latitudes 90 and -60 degrees at
9pm (UK time).
To be honest
you’ve probably never actually seen old crabby at least not with the naked eye,
this is the faintest of the 13 zodiac constellations. In early March every year,
the constellation Cancer can be seen due south, highest in the sky around 9pm
in the UK. On a moonless night, out in the countryside cancer is weirdly easy
to see and appears like a very dim upside-down Y.
Let’s say
you have vague idea of what some of the other constellations look like, Cancer
has Gemini in the west, Lynx to the north, Leo Minor to the northeast, Leo to
the east, Hydra to the south and Canis Minor to the Southwest.
Cancer is
one of the 48 constellations identified in the 2nd Century, Greek-Egyptian
astronomer Claudis Ptolemaeus’ (aka. Ptolemy) Almagest and today is one of the
88 constellations that are recognised by the International Astronomical Union
(IAU).
Within this
constellation there are 5 named stars; Acubens (claw) a double star, Altarf
(eye) which is the brightest, some think 660 times brighter than our sun, and
an orange hued giant star, Asellus Borealis (northern donkey/ass) a white-hued
star, Asellus Australis (southern donkey/ass) another orange-hued star and
second brightest of the 5, and, Tegmen (shell) actually a system of at least 4
stars.
Cancer is
home to many deep sky objects. NGC 2775 – a spiral galaxy which has been the
location of 5 supernovae explosions in the past 30 years, DX Cancri – a cool
red dwarf star which the closest star in the constellation cancer to earth, 55
Cancri – a binary star system which has a solar system of its own, containing a
yellow dwarf known as Cancri A that has 5 planets orbiting it, the innermost
planet is thought to be a terrestrial “super earth” and originally thought to
have a diamond core.
In 1771
Charles Messier (French Astronomer) found several objects in our night sky they
are denoted as M (then a number) and Cancer has one of the most famous, The
Beehive cluster or M44. It’s a small cluster of stars which resemble a swarm of
bees; others have described it as a cloud of stars, mistaking it for a nebulous
object. Ptolemy said, “the nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer”. The breast
of the crab is also known as Praesepe (the multitude or manger).
I say small,
but it’s thought to be three times the size of our moon and have at least 1000
stars. It was one of the first objects studied by Galileo as it’s the nearest
open cluster relative to our solar system. So far, 11 white dwarfs have been
identified; it also contains red giants representing the later stages of
stellar evolution, which to me means its old, 600 million according to one
amateur astronomer I met recently.
Pliny used
this group of stars as an indicator of wet weather, saying that when Praesepe
is not visible in a clear sky, there is the likelihood of a violent storm to
come. Rain was expected from the South if North Asellus was concealed, and from
the North if South Asellus was concealed.
Oh, this is
a photo I got at a recent stargazing party
Another
notable object is M67, which happens to be one of the oldest known clusters in
our Milky Way; it has 100 stars similar to our sun and many red giants. The
estimated star count is over 500, making it a fantastic cluster for studying
stellar evolution.
A little bit of Astrology
The tropic
of cancer was named after the constellation; this is a line of latitude 23.5
degrees north, where the sun is directly overhead t noon on the 21st June, the
beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere. When the lines were named 2000
years ago, the sun was in the constellation of cancer, now the precession of
the equinoxes has meant the sun is no longer in Cancer during the summer
solstice, but more in to Taurus.
Ancient
Chaldean and Platonist philosophy said as the sign of the Sun's greatest
elevation, Cancer was considered nearest to the highest point of heaven - thus
the constellation was recognised as 'the Gate of Men' through which souls
descended to Earth from heaven.
However, in
astrology Cancer will likely remain one of the four cardinal (hinge) signs that
indicate a change of season (2000-year-old system after all). As the fourth
zodiac, the sun transits this area on average between 22nd June and 22nd July
with those born between these dates being called “Cancerians”. The cardinal
signs are the trendsetters and spotters, the ones who get the party started.
Cancer
energy with its strong claws and vulnerable underbelly can make us cling to
comforts – from job security to beloved family, friends and even pets. Therefore,
change can threaten this security-seeking sign, which seems to want to plant
deep roots. Under the influence of a cancer transit, we tend to feel nostalgic.
They are times of nurturing ourselves and our loved ones.
The crab
carries its home on its back; this is all about setting up a cosy and safe pace
wherever it goes. Cancers will certainly be merry I their home life is serene
and harmonious and large, the more the merrier comes to mind! Traditions are
upheld in the cancer household, since these folks really do prize their family
histories. Ruled by the moon fertility is a quality Cancers find most pleasing
as well as a desire to protect home and hearth.
The essence
of Cancer energy is tenacious, highly imaginative, loyal, sensitive, domestic,
feminine, maternal, fertile, compassionate, caretaking, romantic, persuasive
and creative. But they can also be isolated, passive aggressive,
hypersensitive, pessimistic, suspicious, insecure, moody, and overly
competitive.
Under the
Cancer influence, emotions of intuitions overrule logic and intellect. They’ll
cry you a river if they feel inclined too, ever heard the phrase “first to
laugh, first to cry…” that’s the cardinal crab! They are the fluid river that
gets the emotion ocean and creative juices flowing. Deeply intuitive and
sentimental, Cancer can be one of the most challenging zodiac signs to get to
know, they are incredibly loyal and able to emphasise deeply with others pain
and suffering. Give the crab time if they’ve isolated and crawled into their
shell, it can be a Herculean task to pry them out of their moody hiding places,
but eventually they’ll want to come out to play again.
I could go
on and on about Cancer in Astrology, but I’m not going too. There’s plenty of
websites and books out there to read, including some in the sources below.
A little Myth…
Since
ancient times, constellation myths have told the tales of gods and monsters,
heroes and villains, and other legends using only the stars in the night sky.
People have
looked upon the stars since the beginning of time, divining meaning out of the
seemingly random specks of light that dot the sky. In man's attempt to draw
meaning from the powerful and mysterious forces of the universe, legends have
been told about the purpose and creation of these stars. Constellations, in and
of themselves, are simply man-made groupings of stars, created to explain the
most ancient and important questions of all time.
According to
an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the night
time sky by the goddess Hera to form the constellation Cancer. Hera swore to
kill Heracles, the most famous Greek hero. Hera attempted to kill Heracles in
many different ways, but each time his incredible physical strength allowed him
to survive. The Romans called him Hercules.
Hera cast a
spell of madness on Heracles, causing him to commit a great crime. In order to
be forgiven, he had to perform twelve difficult tasks. One of these tasks was
destroying the terrible nine-headed water-serpent, Hydra.
During the
battle between Heracles and Hydra, the goddess Hera sent a giant crab to aid
the serpent. But Heracles, being so strong, killed the crab by smashing its shell
with his foot. As a reward for its service, Hera placed the crab's image in the
night sky.
Another
version states that Cancer bit Hercules while he was fighting Hydra, and so the
hero kicked him so hard he landed among the darkest part of the sky. Giving
cancer the name “dark sign”.
The North
and South Aselli stars, The Asses, represent the asses ridden by Dionysos and
Hephaestus whose braying terrified the Titans. Praesepe is sometimes depicted
as their manger. Robson states that the Asses can show a charitable nature and
caring responsibility, but with a danger of violent death, serious accidents
and burns.
Nonetheless
the crab is a celebration of loyalty, persistence and determination.
Sources
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellationmonth_list.html
https://www.universetoday.com/19721/cancer-constellation/
https://www.space.com/16970-cancer-constellation.html
http://earthsky.org/constellations/cancer-heres-your-constellation
http://www.softschools.com/facts/space/cancer_constellation_facts/835/
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/cancer-constellation/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(constellation)
http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/zodiac-signs/cancer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(astrology)
http://astrostyle.com/cancer-horoscope/
https://www.astrology.com/astrology-101/zodiac-signs/cancer
Pliny,
Natural History, II. A reproduction of Pliny's 1st century text
Robson,
Fixed Stars and Constellations, 1923, p.116.
R.H. Allen,
Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning; 1899, Dover Publications, pp. 107-108
J.M.
Woolford, The Only Astrology book you'll ever need
J. Spiller,
Astrology for the soul (1997)
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