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Sky Chart and Artist Rendering of Eridanus
Origin:
Eridanus has be associated with the Nile River and Euphrates since ancient
times. It has also been associated with the Tigris, Sumerian Strong
River (also known as Ariadan), Ganges, and Po. Homer called it an
"ocean stream". It may not actually represent any but a
mythic river. The truth is lost in antiquity. One of the constellations described by Ptolemy in the second
century A.D.
Information:
Eridanus is the 6th largest constellation meandering from as far north as Orion, west to Cetus, the Whale,
to as far south of just north of Hydrus, the
Small Water-snake, ending with the bright star Achernar. No overall
picture is evident in the River. The constellation is considered a
late-fall constellation for northern observers, rising before Orion by
about an hour. Eridanus is an excellent constellation to explore for
nebulae and galaxies with the telescope.
Mythology:
One story goes that Phaethon, pleading to
the point of distraction with his father, Apollo the Sun God, to allow him
to drive the celestial chariot, which carried the sun from east to west
across the skies, one day. Knowing that his son was not ready for
such responsibility, Apollo refused his son's entreaties. Phaethon
was pursuaded, in the way siblings do, by his sisters and even his own
mother to keep pestering his father. But Apollo always refused.
Eventually, worn down by the constant begging from Phaethon, Apollo
granted his request. So one day Phaethon mounted into the chariot
drawn by two white horses, took the reins and set off across the skies
with the sun. It was immediately apparent that Phaethon was
incapable of controlling the horses. At one moment, they flew so high in
the sky that the Earth nearly froze, then, at the next, they plunged so
close to the earth that the fields were burnt. To put an end to this
dangerous situation and bring the heavens back into control, killed the
young man with a lightning bolt. Phaethon's burning body fell back to
Earth and landed in the River Eridanus. As punishment for their poor
judgment, Zeus changed Phaethon's sisters into poplar trees lining the
banks of the river. |
