Hevelius Introduced Mons Maenalus Constellation in 1687

Summary: Hevelius introduced Mons Maenalus constellation in 1687 as a starry equivalent of a mountain in the Arcadia region of Greece's Peloponnese peninsula.

Boötes the Herdsman (center) stands on Mons Menalis Mount Maenalus (lower right); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. F.: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara

Hevelius introduced Mons Maenalus constellation in 1687 as a starry representation of a real mountain, Mainalo (Ancient Greek: Μαίναλος or Μαίναλον; Mainalos or Mainalon), located in the Arcadia (Αρκαδία, Arkadía) region's Menalon highlands in the central and eastern Peloponnese (Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos) peninsula in southern Greece.

Johannes Hevelius (Polish: Jan Heweliusz; Jan. 28, 1611-Jan. 28, 1687) introduced Mons Maenalus (Mount Maenalus) as one of 10 constellations that he had created in Prodromus Astronomiae. The three-volume astronomical compendium consisted of the Prodromus; a star catalogue, Catalogus Stellarum Fixarum; and a star atlas, Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia. Although the catalogue and star atlas had been printed in 1687, Hevelius's death in that year had left them unpublished and the Prodromus unfinished. The astronomer-selenographer's wife, Polish astronomer Elisabeth Catherina Koopmann Hevelius (Polish: Elżbieta Koopman Heweliusz; Jan. 17, 1647–Dec. 22, 1693), finalized the Prodromus and published all three volumes, under her husband's posthumous authorship, in 1690.

Hevelius presented Mons Maenalus as the last of his 10 newly invented constellations in Chapter VIII, De Numero Aſteriſmorum & Stellarum, tum nonnullis Rebus animadverſione dignis, of section Tabulae Solares Novae ("New Solar Tables") in the Prodromus. He configured the montane constellation from unfigured stars in southernmost Boötes the Herdsman constellation and in northeastern Virgo the Maiden constellation. Hevelius traced his discernment of the starry mountain back to observations in 1660.

"De Monte Maenali. Denique, quòd ultimum & duodecimum Sidus recens noſtrum, Montem nempe Moenalem, ſub pedibus Bootis rejicere voluerim, ex eo accidet, quòd dictus Bootes (uti Poetae fabulantur) in hoc Monte ſubſtiterit: in quo non ſolùm vidi aliquando, vel Tubulo plurimas Stellulas deprehendi (id quod etiam Ruſticis eſt facillimum) ſed eas debitè & accuratè majoribus idoneis Inſtrumentis quoque obſervavi, jam Anno 1660, ac in Catalogum noſtrum retuli, quod ſanè à nemine adhuc praeſtitum, ſi vera loqui liceat: hinc etiam nomina illis Stellis imponendi facultas mihi ſoli competit, prout eo tatim tempore etiam praetiti. Quae modò ſufficiant, cur hocce vel illud Sidus tali nomine, & non alio denominaverim, vel hoc loco, non eo collocaverim. Nunc promiſſam illam Tabulam, quae Numerum Stellarum, tàm à Veteribus, quàm à me primùm obſervatarum, nec non cujusvis Aſterismi preculiares novos meos Characteres exhibet, hic apponam," Hevelius explained (Prodromus, page 117).

Virgo the Maiden (center) with Boötes the Herdsman's lower legs and feet standing (upper center) on slopes of Mons Menalis (upper center right); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. GG: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara

Constellation Mons Maenalus has two main neighbors. Northern neighbor Boötes the Herdsman stands on the starry mountain's slopes. Mons Maenalus emerges from near the northern wing and side of the montane constellation's southern neighbor, Virgo the Maiden, and angles eastward toward the Herdsman's southeastern neighbor, Serpens Caput, the western segment of Serpens the Snake constellation.

Mons Maenalus became an obsolete constellation with its exclusion from the 88 modern constellations approved by the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) inaugural General Assembly, held in Rome in May 1922. Although the constellation may be absent from modern constellation charts, it still is present in night skies.

As part of constellation Boötes, Mons Maenalus shares the Herdsman's visibility range. Full visibility is available to observers located between latitudes 90 degrees north and 35 degrees south. Partial visibility occurs in the southern hemisphere between latitudes 35 degrees south and 82 degrees south, according to English constellation history biographer Ian Ridpath (born May 1, 1947) in his table, "Constellations -- 1" on his Star Tales website. Late spring or early summer qualify for best detection of Mons Maenalus constellation in the northern hemisphere, according to science writer Kelly Kizer Whitt in "Boötes the Herdsman and its bright star Arcturus," published June 25, 2022, on the EarthSky website.

Locating Mons Maenalus is eased for stargazers who focus their starry montane search on southernmost Boötes the Herdsman. Mons Maenalus constellation's brightest star, yellow-hued 31 Boötis (31 Boo), lies southeast of the Herdsman's brightest star, Arcturus (Alpha Boötis, α Boötis; abbreviated Alpha Boo, α Boo). Arcturus (Ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος, Arktouros, "Guardian of the Bear," from ἄρκτος, arktos, "bear" + οὖρος, ouros, "watcher, guardian") marks the Herdsman's western knee, west of the constellation's eastern neighbor, Coma Berenices the Hair of Berenice constellation.

(center) Libra the Balance with (left center) Virgo the Maiden, (upper center left) Mons Menalis and (upper center right) Serpens Caput, western segment of Serpens the Snake constellation (Serpentarius); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. HH: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Boötes the Herdsman (center) stands on Mons Menalis Mount Maenalus (lower right); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. F.: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/content/zoom/133891

Virgo the Maiden (center) with Boötes the Herdsman's lower legs and feet standing (upper center) on slopes of Mons Menalis (upper center right); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. GG: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/content/zoom/133941

(center) Libra the Balance with (left center) Virgo the Maiden, (upper center left) Mons Menalis and (upper center right) Serpens Caput, western segment of Serpens the Snake constellation (Serpentarius); Hevelius's depiction from perspective of outsider looking into celestial globe reverses actual east-west appearance of sky for Earth-based observer as insider looking outward at celestial globe; J. Hevelii, Firmamentum Sobiescianum (MDCXC [1690]), Fig. HH: Public Domain, via ETH-Bibliothek e-rara @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/content/zoom/133943

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