Earth and Space News: John Hill six northern hemisphere constellations

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Wednesday, January 3, 2024

John Hill Named Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer Constellation in 1754

Summary: Naturalist John Hill named Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation in his 1754 astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens.

John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation (center-lower center) inhabits the northern celestial hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2) and shares the quadrant with one other Hill-invented constellation, Lumbricus the Earthworm (upper-center left): Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.

"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world in theſe obſervations," began Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) at the beginning of his dictionary entry on Testudo as a slight variation, with the addition of the phrase "in theſe obſervations," of the standard phrase introducing his dictionary entries for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then completed the sentence by briefly situating the new constellation's celestial location: ". . . and compoſed of certain conſpicuous and unformed ſtars between the conſtellation Lynx and the ſign Gemini."

Hill glimpsed in the particular stars the outline of a member of the ray-finned, eyes-atop-the head Uranoscopus genus. "The Uranoſcope is a ſea-fiſh of peculiar figure, and has its name from its eyes being in ſuch a poſition that it always looks upwards. Nature has deſtined it for living at the bottom of the ſeas, and its prey being always above it, this is the only direction of the eyes that could be uſeful. Moſt of the writers in natural hiſtory have named it, and it will be found figured and deſcribed at large in the hiſtory of animals, publiſhed, ſome time ſince, by the author of theſe obſervations."

Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation's extent is proportioned well to its starry components, according to Hill's design. "The conſtellation is of conſiderable extent, and, in proportion to the ſpace it occupies in the heavens, is not ill furniſhed with ſtars. Theſe are happily enough diſpoſed to represent the figure, and the conſtellation is in this the more marked, that it takes in all the viſible ſtars in that part of the ſpace which it occupies; and without any forcing of the out-line, does not leave one out of anywhere."

Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer presents a distinctive celestial outline. "The figure is that of a fiſh with a large head, the eyes looking upward, a body very thick toward the head, but thinner all the way to the tail, and that fin a broad one."

Uranoscopus neighbors with Auriga the Charioteer, Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Lynx the Lynx. The celestial Star-Gazer's position configures well with its neighborhood. "It is very well marked in its place in the heavens, for it is over the head of Gemini, and under the belly of the Lynx, the reſt of the conſtellations about it are Auriga and Cancer, there is a ſmall ſpace left between theſe four conſtellations, in the middle part of which, and not very near to any of them, are the arrangement of ſtars, now thrown into a conſtellation, under the form of the Uranoſcope; that ſign is thence detached from all of them, and, as it were, ſituated at equal diſtance among them."

The Star-Gazer swims celestially under Lynx the Lynx, with its head tilted upward toward the Lynx's front leg. The Star-Gazer's head nears the right arm of its western neighbor, Auriga the Charioteer. Uranoscopus passes above Gemini the Twins, with its body over Castor's head and his upraised left arm. Cancer the Crab's northern legs lie to the east-southeast of the Star-Gazer's tail.

"The belly of the Lynx runs almoſt parallel with the body of this fiſh, its head is under the fore legs of the Lynx, and at a ſmall diſtance from the right ſhoulder of Auriga; its tail is juſt over the head of Gemini, and its body over the extended arm of one of them, that which holds the dart. Cancer is at ſome little diſtance behind its tail, and below it."

Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer encompasses 17 "conſpicous ſtars . . . and of theſe there are ſeveral very conſiderable." Six stars shape the head, with "one at the extremity of the head, and a little behind it another ſmaller, at ſome little diſtance behind theſe ſtand two in the place of the eyes, both conſpicuous and bright, a little beyond theſe are two placed on the lower out-line." Four cluster at the head-trunk transition. Six scatter across the trunk, with "two . . . near the upper out-line, and one . . . in the middle; beyond theſe is a ſingle one near the middle, then two others" in the lower trunk. The 17th, which centers the tail's fork, "is ſmaller than the reſt, but it is ſufficiently conſpicuous."

Nine of Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer's stars are identified by David Harper, once an astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics and positional astronomy but now a genome researcher, and his wife, astronomer L. (Lynne) M. Stockman, in "Uranoscopus -- The Star-Gazer Fish," posted on their Obliquity website. Gemini the Twins constellation accounts for two stars: Omicron Geminorum (ο Geminorum; abbreviated Omicron Gem, ο Gem) and Pi Gem (π Gem). Auriga the Charioteer provides seven stars: 63 Aurigae (abbreviated 63 Auri), 65 Aur, 66 Aur, Psi2 Aur (ψ2 Aur), Psi4 Aur (ψ4 Aur), Psi5 Aur (ψ5 Aur) and Psi7 Aur (ψ7 Aur).

Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer resides in the northern celestial hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2). The celestial Tortoise shares the quadrant with another Hill-invented constellations, Lumbricus the Earthworm.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has not designated Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer as an official constellation. Its unofficial status places Uranoscopus in the category of an obsolete constellation, also known synonymously as defunct, extinct, forgotten or former. Yet, an unofficial status does not erase the concerned constellation from the night skies. Skygazers seeking the perciform constellation still may discern Uranoscopus in its sheltered location east of Auriga the Charioteer, between Lynx the Lynx and Gemini the Twins.

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

John Hill's Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space between Auriga the Charioteer, Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Lynx the Lynx; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between third and fourth of six pages on Gemini: Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urania_or_a_compleat_view_of_the_Heavens/n_ReAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1; Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uranoscopus_Constellation.jpg

John Hill equated his Testudo the Tortoise constellation with a member of the Testudo genus of tortoises native to North Africa, Western Asia and Europe; depictions (last row) of two species of tortoises in the Testudo genus, in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 6, opposite page 113: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50375464882/; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071496

For further information:

Forde, Tanya C. "Cygnus Constellation Guide -- The Graceful, Night-Sky Swan." Love the Night Sky > Astronomy.
Available @ https://lovethenightsky.com/cygnus-constellation-guide/

Harper, David; and L. (Lynne) M. Stockman. "Uranoscopus -- The Star-Gazer Fish. Unofficial Abbreviation: Ura. Genitive: Uranoscopi. Origin: John Hill." Obliquity > Sky Eye > The Constellations > Extinct Constellations.
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Ura.html

Hill, John. "Fishes Series 4: The Stargazer or Unranoscapus." Plate 15, opposite page 274. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071496
Available via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50375464882/

Hill, John. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071277

Hill, John. "Trachinus: Trachinus cirris multis in maxilla inferiore. The Trachinus, with numerous cirri on the under jaw. The Star-gazer." Pages 263-264. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071484

Hill, John. "Uranoscopus, the Star-Gazer." Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n612/mode/1up

Hill, John. Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Introduced 15 Constellations in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/english-naturalist-john-hill-introduced.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Named Bufo the Toad Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/english-naturalist-john-hill-named-bufo.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Named Eel Constellation Anguilla in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/english-naturalist-john-hill-named-eel.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Named Leech Constellation Hirudo in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/english-naturalist-john-hill-named.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Named Slug Constellation Limax in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/english-naturalist-john-hill-named-slug.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "English Naturalist John Hill Named Spider Constellation Aranea in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/english-naturalist-john-hill-named.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "John Hill Named Scarabaeus the Rhinoceros Beetle Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/12/john-hill-named-scarabaeus-rhinoceros.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Earthworm Constellation Lumbricus in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/naturalist-john-hill-named-earthworm.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Manis the Pangolin Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/naturalist-john-hill-named-manis.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Patella the Limpet Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/naturalist-john-hill-named-patella.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Pinna Marina the Mussel Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/12/naturalist-john-hill-named-pinna-marina.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Shellfish Constellation Gryphites in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sep. 6, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/naturalist-john-hill-named-shellfish.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Testudo the Tortoise Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/12/naturalist-john-hill-named-testudo.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Tooth Shell Constellation Dentalium in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/naturalist-john-hill-named-tooth-shell.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Sea Horse Constellation Hippocampus in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sep. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/naturalist-john-hill-named-sea-horse.html

Sassarini, Iacopo. "63 Aurigae." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/63-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "65 Aurigae." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/65-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "66 Aurigae." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/66-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "ψ2 Aurigae (psi2 Aurigae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/psi2-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "ψ4 Aurigae (psi4 Aurigae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/psi4-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "ψ5 Aurigae (psi4 Aurigae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/psi5-aurigae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "ψ7 Aurigae (psi4 Aurigae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Auriga.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/psi7-aurigae-star

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Naturalist John Hill Named Patella the Limpet Constellation in 1754

Summary: English Naturalist John Hill named Patella the Limpet constellation in his 1754 astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens.

John Hill's Patella the Limpet constellation (lower right) inhabits the northern hemisphere's third quadrant (NQ3) as the quadrant's only Hill-invented constellation: Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Patella the Limpet constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.

"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world," stated Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) at the beginning of his dictionary entry on Patella as a repeat of the standard introductory phrase in his dictionary entries for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then finished the sentence with a brief description of the new constellation's celestial location: ". . . and compoſed of a little cluſter of very conſpicuous unformed ſtars, near the right ſhoulder of Ophiucus."

The particular starry cluster appeared to Hill as a depiction of a common limpet, one of the species in the Patella genus of true limpets. "The creature, under the out-lines of whoſe figure theſe are diſpoſed, is the common Limpet, a ſhell-fiſh, frequent about our rocks, and very familiarly known to all who have at all conſidered that part of the animal creation."

Patella the Limpet resides in the neighborhood of Aquila the Eagle, Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer and the Serpens Cauda the Serpent's Tail section of Serpens the Serpent. Yet, the Serpent Bearer qualifies as Patella's only near neighbor, according to Hill's design. "The conſtellations, between which it is ſituated, are Ophiucus, the Serpent, and the Eagle; but it is more diſtant from the two latter, and its ſituation is ſufficiently aſcertained with reſpect to the former only." Patella nears the Serpent Bearer's right shoulder, with "its opening, or broad part, oppoſite to the ſhoulder of Ophiucus."

The Limpet exudes smallness, with its occupancy of small space and with a small number of resident stars. "The Patella is a ſmall conſtellation, and contains only a few ſtars," described Hill.

Hill identified four conspicuous stars in Patella the Limpet constellation. A line of three stars shape the bottom of the celestial Limpet, while one star shines at the top of Patella. "The ſtars of which it is compoſed are eaſily counted, for, they are only four, but they are all large and beautiful ones; three of theſe which are diſpoſed almoſt in a line, mark the bottom of the ſhell, and one which ſtands ſingle over them, the top."

All four of Patella the Limpet's stars are identified by David Harper, once an astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics and positional astronomy but now a genome researcher, and his wife, astronomer L. (Lynne) M. Stockman, in "Patella -- The Limpet," posted on their Obliquity website. The quartet, which shines in Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, comprises 66 Ophiuchi (abbreviated Oph), 67 Oph and 68 Oph as markers of the figure's bottom and 70 Oph as indicator of the top.

Manis resides in the northern celestial hemisphere's third quadrant (NQ3). The celestial Limpet qualifies as the only one of Hill's six northern hemisphere constellations that inhabits this quadrant.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has not accorded official status to Patella the Limpet. The celestial gastropod mollusc, therefore, is absent from the list of 88 IAU-approved constellations. Thus, the Limpet is relegated to the status of an obsolete constellation that also may be referenced synonymously as defunct, extinct, forgotten or former. Despite its unofficial status, Patella the Limpet still offers visibility to those stargazers who focus on the starry quartet near the right shoulder of Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

John Hill equated his Patella the Limpet constellation with Earth's common limpet; depictions (top row) of Striated Limpet, Starry Limpet and Beaked Limpet as examples of three species of limpets in the Patella genus, in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 7, opposite page 139: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50374595528/; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071345

For further information:

Forde, Tanya C. "Cygnus Constellation Guide -- The Graceful, Night-Sky Swan." Love the Night Sky > Astronomy.
Available @ https://lovethenightsky.com/cygnus-constellation-guide/

Harper, David; and L. (Lynne) M. Stockman. "Patella -- The Limpet. Unofficial Abbreviation: Pat. Genitive: Patellae. Origin: John Hill." Obliquity > Sky Eye > The Constellations > Extinct Constellations.
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Man.html

Hill, John. "Patella." Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n414/mode/1up

Hill, John. "Patella." Pages 115-117. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071277#page/143/mode/1up

Hill, John. "Shell Fish Series 1: Patellae Limpets: The Striated Limpet, The Starry Limpet, The Beaked Limpet." Plate 7, opposite page 139. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071345
Available via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50374595528/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Manis the Pangolin Constellation in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023.
Available @

Sassarini, Iacopo. "66 Ophiuchi." The Sky Live > Constellations > Ophiuchus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/66-ophiuchi-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "67 Ophiuchi." The Sky Live > Constellations > Ophiuchus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/67-ophiuchi-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "68 Ophiuchi." The Sky Live > Constellations > Ophiuchus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/68-ophiuchi-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "70 Ophiuchi." The Sky Live > Constellations > Ophiuchus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/70-ophiuchi-star

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Naturalist John Hill Named Manis the Pangolin Constellation in 1754

Summary: English Naturalist John Hill named Manis the Pangolin constellation in his 1754 astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens.

John Hill's Manis the Pangolin constellation (lower left) inhabits the northern hemisphere's fourth quadrant (NQ4) and shares the quadrant with one other Hill-invented constellations, Gryphites the Shellfish (upper right): Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Manis the Pangolin constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.

"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world," stated Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) at the beginning of his dictionary entry on Manis as a repetition of the standard introductory phrase for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then completed the sentence with a brief description of the new constellation's celestial location: ". . . and compoſed of a ſeries of very conſpicuous unformed ſtars near the conſtellation Cepheus."

The particular stars patterned as one of the species in the Manis genus of pangolin, a mammal also known inaccurately as a scaly anteater or a scaly lizard, for Hill. "The creature, under the out-lines of whoſe figure theſe are arranged in this new-made conſtellation, is one of the moſt ſingular in the world. It is preſerved in ſome of the moſt curious muſeums, and has been mentioned by ſome of the later writers under the name of the ſcaly lizard, but it is not at all of the lizard kind, although it, in ſome degree, reſemble them in figure. The antients were unacquainted with it, and but few writers, who have ſpoken of it, have done this with any degree of accuracy."

Manis the Pangolin neighbors with Cassiopeia the Seated Queen, Cepheus the King, Cygnus the Swan and Lacerta the Lizard. "It is placed between Caſſiopeia, Cepheus, the Swan, and the Lizard. There is a great extent of the heavens left vacant between theſe, and all the conſiderable ſtars in that ſpace are comprehended in this conſtellation."

Cassiopeia's upper body lies near Manis. The Pangolin's head and extended tongue point toward the Seated Queen's right arm and palm branch-holding left arm, respectively. The figure's body is located between Lacerta the Lizard and the scepter held in Cepheus the King's left hand. The Pangolin's tail trails between the heads of Cepheus and the Lizard and nears Cygnus the Swan's tail.

The great expanse of the area in which Hill situated his new, extensive constellation allowed him to portray the unusually "usual" prone position assumed by Earth's pangolins. "The creature is repreſented in this conſtellation in its uſual poſition of ſquatting down upon the ground with its legs ſpread out, its tail a little bent, and its long tongue extended. It is in this manner that in the woods it watches for its prey; it is of the colour of withered leaves, and its ſcales ſomewhat of their ſhape, ſo that it is unobſerved, and its tongue is thruſt out that flies and ants may fix upon it, and it feeds on theſe by drawing it in again."

Manis the Pangolin's extensive spread encompasses a large number of stars, according to Hill's design. "The conſtellation is of conſiderable extent in the heavens, and comprehends a great many ſtars; ſome of theſe are very conſiderable, and were very ill counted before under the name of this, or that conſtellation."

Hill counted 21 "conſpicuous ſtars" in Manis the Pangolin constellation. Some of the "conſpicuous ſtars . . . are of very conſiderable magnitudes; they follow one another in a crooked ſeries, and are very happily comprehended within and upon the out-lines of this figure."

The head contains three stars. All are noticeable, with "a conſiderable one at the tip of the noſe, and another much larger at the eye; and there is a third alſo, a conſpicuous and beautiful ſtar, at the extremity of the tongue."

The fore feet each contain a star while five stars sequence along the length of the figure's back. Two large stars conspicuously mark each hind leg, with the left hind leg's star occurring "very near the head of the Lizard."

Nine stars define the tail. "At the beginning of the tail there is a ſmall ſtar on the left ſide, and a little lower, on the ſame ſide, there is another at a conſiderable diſtance." Below the left side's second tail star, two stars oppositely mark both sides, with their placement near Cepheus the King's right hand. Next "a ſingle and very conſpicuous ſtar . . . on the right ſide of the tail toward the end . . . is very near the little ſtar at the extremity of the tail of Cygnus." The remaining four of the Pangolin's 21 "conſpicuous ſtars" shape the end of the figure's tail, with the middle shaped by ". . . one . . . and beyond this . . . two near together." The last of the four tail stars anchors the tip as ". . . not an inconſiderable one, though "ſmaller than many of the others."

Six of Manis the Pangolin's stars are identified by David Harper, once an astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics and positional astronomy but now a genome researcher, and his wife, astronomer L. (Lynne) M. Stockman, in "Manis -- The Pangolin," posted on their Obliquity website. Andromeda the Chained Maiden contributes one star, Lambda Andromedae (λ Andromedae; abbreviated Lambda And, λ And). Three stars reside in Cygnus the Swan: Pi1 Cygni (π1 Cygni; abbreviated Pi1 Cyg, π1 Cyg), Pi2 Cyg (π2 Cyg), Rho Cyg (ρ Cyg). Lacerta the Lizard provides two stars: Alpha Lacertae (α Lacertae; abbreviated Alpha Lac, α Lac), Beta Lac (β Lac).

Manis resides in the northern hemisphere's fourth quadrant (NQ4). The celestial Pangolin shares the quadrant with another Hill-invented constellation, Gryphites the Shellfish.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has not recognized Manis the Pangolin as an official constellation. Its unofficial status places Manis the Pangolin in the category of an obsolete constellation, which also may be referenced synonymously as defunct, extinct, forgotten or former. Despite its unofficial status, Manis the Pangolin remains visible to those stargazers who examine the space between the IAU-recognized constellations of Cassiopeia the Seated Queen, Cepheus the King, Cygnus the Swan and Lacerta the Lizard.

Hill concluded his dictionary entry on Manis with an explanation of his purpose in devising new constellations. "This and twelve others are the conſtellations, added to thoſe already formed, in this work. There appeared a deficiency of ſome figure in thoſe places where they are ſituated, and theſe figures very happily fill them."

Hill expressed a balanced view on the reception of his newly devised constellations. "If they are accepted by thoſe who profeſs aſtronomy, I shall be glad to have added ſomething, be it ever ſo little, to the ſcience; if they are neglected, there is only a little trouble loſt."

John Hill equated his Limax the Slug constellation with Earth's black naked snail, described as a frequenter of "gardens and damp places"; depictions of Amber Snail (top row), Black Naked Snail (second row left) and Red Naked Snail (second row right) as examples of three snail species, in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 5, opposite page 91: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

John Hill's Manis the Pangolin constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space framed by Cassiopeia the Seated Queen, Cepheus the King, Cygnus the Swan and Lacerta the Lizard; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between first and second of three pages on "Celestial Circles": Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urania_or_a_compleat_view_of_the_Heavens/n_ReAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1; Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manis_Constellation.jpg

John Hill equated his Manis the Pangolin constellation with Earth's black naked snail, described as a frequenter of "gardens and damp places"; depiction of Manis the Pangolin, also known as the Scaly Lizard (top), in John Hill, An History of Animals (1752), Plate 26, opposite page 543: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50374598963/; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071787

For further information:

Forde, Tanya C. "Cygnus Constellation Guide -- The Graceful, Night-Sky Swan." Love the Night Sky > Astronomy.
Available @ https://lovethenightsky.com/cygnus-constellation-guide/

Harper, David; and L. (Lynne) M. Stockman. "Manis -- The Pangolin. Unofficial Abbreviation: Man. Genitive: Manis. Origin: John Hill." Obliquity > Sky Eye > The Constellations > Extinct Constellations.
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Man.html

Hill, John. "Manis." Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n310/mode/1upp

Hill, John. "Manis." Page 533. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071776

Hill, John. "Quadrupeds Series 2: Manis: The Manis call'd the Scaly Lizard." Plate 26, opposite page 543. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071787
Available via Flicker @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50374598963/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Naturalist John Hill Named Shellfish Constellation Gryphites in 1754." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sep. 13, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/naturalist-john-hill-named-shellfish.html

Sassarini, Iacopo. "λ Andromedae (lambda Andromedae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Andromeda.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/lambda-andromedae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "Azelfafage -- π1 Cygni (pi1 Cygni)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Cygnus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/azelfafage-pi1-cygni-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "π2 Cygni (pi2 Cygni)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Cygnus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/pi2-cygni-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "ρ Cygni (rho Cygni)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Cygnus.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/rho-cygni-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "α Lacertae (alpha Lacertae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Lacerta.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/alpha-lacertae-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "β Lacertae (beta Lacertae)." The Sky Live > Constellations > Lacerta.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/beta-lacertae-star

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Naturalist John Hill Named Earthworm Constellation Lumbricus in 1754

Summary: Naturalist John Hill named Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation in his 1754 astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens.

John Hill's Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation (upper left) inhabits the northern hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2) and shares the quadrant with one other Hill-invented constellation, Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer Fish (lower center): Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.

"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world," Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) began his dictionary entry on Lumbricus in accordance with the standard introductory phrase for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then segued into a Eighteenth-century English apothecary, naturalist and writer John Hill introduced Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation in his astronomical dictionary, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, published in 1754.

"A conſtellation offered to the aſtronomical world," Hill (1714-Nov. 21, 1775) began his dictionary entry on Lumbricus in accordance with the standard introductory phrase for each of his 14 additional invented constellations. He then segued into a brief description of the new constellation's celestial location: ". . . and compoſed of a ſeries of conſpicuous and unformed ſtars between the ſigns Cancer and Gemini."

The particular stars suggested one of the species of earthworms in the Lumbricus (Latin: lumbrīcus, "earthworm") genus for Hill. "The creature, under the out-line of whoſe figure theſe are arranged, is the common earth-worm, or dew-worm, which we ſee coupled above the ſurface of the ground in damp mornings," Hill interpreted.

The area assigned to Lumbricus the Earthworm deserved to serve as a constellatory portrait, according to Hill's appraisal. "It is a ſmall conſtellation, and it comprehends only a few ſtars, but theſe are in ſo remarkable a place that it is very fit they ſhould be aſcertained within the lineaments of ſome figure. The creature, that is made to anſwer this purpoſe, is drawn in a crawling poſture, a little convoluted, and running up from the Little Dog to Gemini," Hill perceived.

Lumbricus the Earthworm neighbors with Cancer the Crab, Gemini the Twins and Canis Minor the Lesser Dog. The Earthworm's head nears the right shoulder of Gemini's Pollux. Much of its body crawls between Gemini and Cancer the Crab. The Earthworm's lower third stretches above Canis Minor's back, from the canine's upraised tail to the stop, the indentation between forehead and muzzle, on his upraised head. "Theſe are the three conſtellations between which it is placed, its head is very near the ſhoulder of one of the twins, the greater part of its body runs up between that ſign and Cancer, and the lower, or bent part of the body toward the tail, runs over the back of the Little Dog, and that but at a ſmall diſtance."

Hill enumerated nine "conſpicuous ſtars" in Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation. The nonad comprises variously sized, lower magnitude stars, according to Hill's evaluation. "The conſpicuous ſtars, in the conſtellation Lumbricus, are nine, and they are of very different ſizes, though none of them of the larger magnitudes."

The placement of the stars squirms with the Earthworm's elongated, bent shape. One marks the head while another lies mid-neck. A set of three concerns the end of the upper third and the bending middle third, with two on one side and the third on the opposite side as a marker of the figure's southwest bend toward Canis Minor. Two more stars separately indicate the mid-section's descent toward Canis Minor, with the second situated before the figure's upward bend toward space between Gemini and Canis Minor. The last two of the nine "conſpicuous ſtars" occur, respectively, near the beginning and toward the tip of the tail.

Hill discerned a clear correspondence between the constellation's stars and their depiction. "Theſe ſtars are very well compriſed within the outline of the figure, and there is yet this farther advantage, that there is no conſpicuous ſtar any where about it that is left unformed ſo as to create confusion."

Five of Limax's nine stars are identified by David Harper, once an astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics and positional astronomy but now a genome researcher, and his wife, astronomer L. (Lynne) M. Stockman, in "Lumbricus -- The Earthworm," posted on their Obliquity website. Cancer the Crab contributes two stars, 3 Cancri (abbreviated Cnc) and HR 3125 (also known as HD 65735; HIP 39180). Canis Minor the Lesser Dog provides three stars: 1 Canis Minoris (abbreviated CMi), 6 CMi and 11 CMi.

Lumbricus resides in the northern hemisphere's second quadrant (NQ2). The celestial Earthworm shares the quadrant with another Hill-invented constellation, Uranoscopus the Star-Gazer Fish.

Lumbricus the Earthworm does not number among the 88 constellations officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Its unofficial status places the Earthworm in the category of an obsolete constellation that also may be referenced synonymously as defunct, extinct, forgotten or former. The lack of official status does not obscure Lumbricus the Earthworm from visibility to those stargazers who scan the space between the IAU-recognized constellations of Cancer the Crab, Canis Minor the Lesser Dog and Gemini the Twins for the Hill-devised, wormy constellation.

John John Hill's Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space between Cancer the Crab, Canis Minor the Lesser Dog and Gemini the Twins; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between third and fourth of six pages on Gemini: Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free

Acknowledgment

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

Dedication

John Hill's Lumbricus the Earthworm constellation emerges from unformed stars in the space between Cancer the Crab, Canis Minor the Lesser Dog and Gemini the Twins; John Hill, Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, vol. I (M.DCC.LIV [1754]), between third and fourth of six pages on Gemini: Public Domain, via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Urania_or_a_compleat_view_of_the_Heavens/n_ReAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1; Ultima Thulean, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lumbricus_Constellation.jpg

For further information:

Harper, David; and L. (Lynne) M. Stockman. "Lumbricus -- The Earthworm. Unofficial Abbreviation: Lum. Genitive: Lumbrici. Origin: John Hill." Obliquity > Sky Eye > The Constellations > Extinct Constellations.
Available @ https://www.obliquity.com/skyeye/88const/Lum.html

Hill, John. "Lumbricus." Urania, or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, Containing the Antient and Modern Astronomy, in Form of a Dictionary. London: T. Gardner, M.DCC.LIV [1754].
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/lzigAAAAMAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_lzigAAAAMAAJ/page/n302/mode/1up

Hill, John. "Lumbricus." Page 15. An History of Animals: Containing Descriptions of the Birds, Beasts, Fishes, and Insects, of the Several Parts of the World; and Including Accounts of the Several Classes of Animalcules, Visible Only by the Assistance of Microscopes. London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, M.DCCLII [1752].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56071255

Sassarini, Iacopo. "3 Cancri." The Sky Live > Constellations > Cancer.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/3-cancri-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "1 Canis Minoris." The Sky Live > Constellations > Canis Minor.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/1-canis-minoris-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "6 Canis Minoris." The Sky Live > Constellations > Canis Minor.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/6-canis-minoris-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "11 Canis Minoris." The Sky Live > Constellations > Canis Minor.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/11-canis-minoris-star

Sassarini, Iacopo. "HR3125." The Sky Live > Constellations > Canis Minor.
Available @ https://theskylive.com/sky/stars/hr-3125-star