पृष्ठम्:ब्राह्मस्फुटसिद्धान्त भाग १.pdf/४८

CONSTELLATIONS
These named constellations date back to very early period.
In India, Gärgya is the name of an astronomer who is associated
with a hymn of the Atharvaveda which for the first time enume
rates constellations. In many of these constellations, the stars
form a well marked group, clearly separated from other groups,
and the names given to these formations are supposed to have
been suggested by a resemblance to the shapes of certain familiar
objects. Of course, the resemblance is usually very slight, and
depended merely on a fancy.
It is remarkable that different countries devloped almost
similar notions regarding these constellations. The late Dr. A. C.
D. Crommelin considered that there is a reason to believe that
the stars may have been grouped to some extent by the Egyptians
as early as 4000 B. C., and he remarked on their use of the then
Pole Star for orienting the Great pyramid, Again, Chinese are
said to have mapped out the sky into many divisions of stars by
2500 B. G., if one can rely on their records.
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The idea of constellations takes us to a date much earlier
than 2500 B. C. even. In total forty-eight have come down from
extremely ancient times, but these do not cover the entire extent
of the sky. The part not occupied by any of them evidently did
not rise above the horizon where the early astronomers to whom
we owe their naining lived; and the stars concerned were there-
fore not included in their constellation schemes. The centre of
this part (near the bright star Achernar) must have been near
the South Pole of the heavens of the time, and its angular radius.
from the Pole gives us roughly the latitude of their homes. The
date appears to have been about 2800 B. C., when, owing to the
precession of the equinoxes, the South celestial pole was in the
position indicated. The latitude seems to have been about 38⁰
North. These are the findings of E. W. Maunder (Astronomy
without a Telescope, p.5, 1902); but from the same considerations
Dr. Crommelin assigns a latitude of 36° and a date 2460 B.C.-
and Proctor 2200 B. C. Maunder also suggested that the presence
of the Lion and Bear anong the stellar configurations and the
absence of Elephant, Tiger, Camel and Crocodile seem to ex-
clude India towards the East and the countries towards the
West, the latitude and the longitude indicated being those of
Asia Minor or Armenia. The suggestion that the blank area in