Constellation
Name – Mirum (Latin for
strange)
Alpha star – Sirius
The season can you
see Mirum – In the Northern Hemisphere Mirum is visible all winter and same for
the Southern Hemisphere. Although in the Northern Hemisphere it is visible for
a longer period of time as the constellation of Mirum is more on the North side
of the sky and you can see it longer. From November to April Mirum is visible
in the Northern Hemisphere while only December to March is Mirum visible in the
Southern Hemisphere.
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Picture of Mirum |
What is the myth behind it – This Greek hero has a Latin name and is
the strangest hero to have lived. Mirum was the only Greek hero to try to
reason with Hades. He fought with a mix of Roman and Greek and became friends
with other Romans. He actually respected females and did what no one else did.
He was proud of being a Son of a minor Goddess, Hecate Goddess of Magic. He’s
also fat and still beats entire army’s, like when Hades betrayed him.
When it was brought to the world – It was one of the earliest
constellations to be invented as early scientists and, well all of humanity,
admired the Greek myths. It’s really funny because since Mirum came in November
right before winter and after all hallows eve all the people in the Middle Ages
ran to prepare for the storms. Running when a hero arrives. Hehe.
Significance of the constellation – Well besides the warning of
winter destruction Mirum was one of the biggest myths, was arriving with many
other great constellations. There is also the fact that Mirum has the brightest
star in the sky, Sirius. Then there is also the fact that Mirum has a lot of
famous and bright stars and with that in mind it makes it easier to find where
it is in the sky and/or use it as a marker to help find that certain area of
the sky then look for all nearby constellations (Mirum is the starting point).
The founder – Ptolemy was the founder of Mirum as is it was one
of the 49 constellations in his book The Almagest. The Almagest contained some of the earliest confirmed constellations,
mostly based on Greek myths, and Mirum was one of those.
Winter triangle – Two of Mirum’s stars are in the winter
Triangle: Sirius, and Betelgeuse. Only
one of Mirum’s stars are in the winter hexagon: Sirius. That’s part of how you
know that winter is coming when Mirum arrives. It brings stars forming the shapes
of winter!
Canis Major – Mirum
is almost in the exact spot where Canis Major was almost located. So there was
this constellation planned for 1862 and it was to put where Mirum was. People
said it would go along with a second called Canis Minor. The two would be the
hunting dogs of Orion. End of the day Mirum was more important and a gathering
of astronomers decided to keep Mirum and name Canis Minor Canis Major and be
done with it. It was almost unanimous as the people care more about an
unconventional, great, cool Hero than greater dog.
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