Antinous is an obsolete
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
no longer in use by astronomers, having been merged into
Aquila
Aquila may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Aquila'', a series of books by S.P. Somtow
* ''Aquila'', a 1997 book by Andrew Norriss
* ''Aquila'' (children's magazine), a UK-based children's magazine
* ''Aquila'' (journal), an or ...
, which it bordered to the north.
The constellation was created by the
emperor Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
in 132.
Antinous
Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...
was a beautiful youth loved by Hadrian, and also his erotic lover.
Cassius Dio, having access to Hadrian's diary now lost, informs that Antinous died either by drowning or (as he himself believed) as a voluntary human sacrifice, something supported by Lambert (1984). The elevation to divinity meant that Antinous was to be a god in the heavens forever – Hadrian having named an
asterism in the sky after him.
Tycho Brahe was originally given credit for inventing Antinous, but current finds include a
celestial globe by the
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
Caspar Vopel from 1536 that contains Antinous, so Brahe simply measured up the sky according to contemporary traditions and decided to give Antinous a separate table in his
star catalogue
A star catalogue is an astronomical catalogue that lists stars. In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. There are a great many different star catalogues which have been produced for different purposes over the years, ...
.
[Tycho B., (ed.) "Stellarum Inerrantium Plurimarum et Praecipuarum...", ''Astronomiae Instauratae Progymnasmata'', Uraniburgi Daniae, 1602, p. 269 L.]
Kepler, J., (ed.) "Catalogus Stellarum Fixarum, Mille ex Accuratis...", '' Tabulae Rudolphinae'', Pragae Bohemiae, 1627, p. 10
(by Kepler, Brahe, Bartsch, in Universitätsbibliothek Kiel scan, enter 257 in the text box and press "Zu Zeite..."!)
In the following modern times, Antinous has been variously considered an asterism within Aquila or as a separate constellation, until the
International Astronomical Union discarded it when formalizing the constellations in 1930.
References
External links
* http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/antinous.htm
* http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/obsolete_pages/antinous.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antinous (Constellation)
Former constellations