ece the constellation of the Big Dipper was called also as the Chariot what the Homere in "Odysseus" mentions.
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Fig.2. Constellations of the Big Dipper, Volopasa and Hounds of Dogs. p> In Ancient Russia the same constellation had different names - the Cart, the Chariot, the Pan, the Ladle; the people occupying territory of Ukraine, named its Cart; in Zavolzhe it was called the Big Ladle, and in Siberia - the Elk. And till now in some areas of our country these names have remained.
By analogy other group of seven, but weaker stars located near to the Big Dipper and also reminding outline of a ladle, ancient Greeks named constellation of the Small She-bear. The same group of stars has been named by Siberians the Small Ladle, and the people occupying coast Ledovitogo of ocean, saw in it a polar bear with the head lifted up upwards on which to a nose North star located at the very end of the handle of a ladle (fig.3 flaunted).
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Fig.3. Constellation of the Small She-bear in the form of a polar bear.
The name of these two constellations at the people occupying territory of the present Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic is rather original. Observing the star sky, they, as well as other people, have paid attention to an immovability of North star which invariably occupies at any time the same position over horizon. It is quite natural that these people, the basic which source of existence were herds of horses, named North star "An iron nail" ("Temir-Kazyk") hammered into the sky, and in other stars of the Small She-bear saw adhered to this nail "the lasso which has been put on a neck of the Horse (constellation of the Big Dipper). Within days the Horse ran all over the way around "nail" (fig.4). Thus, ancient Kazakhs united constellations of the Big and Small She-bear in one.
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Fig.4. The constellations of the Big and Small She-bear united in constellation of the Horse. br/>
If an average star of a tail of the Big Dipper mentally to connect a straight line to North star and to prolong this line further we will see constellation of Kassiopei which outline reminds the turned and a little stretched letter "M" (or Latin "W"). This constellation ancient Greeks has been named in honour of mythical tsarina Kassiopei: in outlines of this constellation they saw a throne with the tsarina sitting on it (fig.5). The Belarus people saw in this constellation of two people mowing a grass (fig.6).
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Fig.5. Constellation of Kassionei in representation of ancient Greeks.
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Fig.6. Constellation of Kassiopei in representation of Byelorussians.
Winter evenings over a horizon South side pack up the most effective constellation of the sky - constellation of Orion, desert by the seven bright stars from which the arrangement of four reminds the huge letter X, and three other, extended abreast, cross out this letter in the middle. To the right of the top bright stars, and also more to the left and above them two arches from the weak stars, turned by concavity to bright stars are visible. Ancient Greeks named this constellation a name of a mythical giant, the hunter of Orion (fig.7), and represented its covered board from a lion's skin, (the right arch of weak stars) and raising a cudgel (the left top arch of weak stars), on the Bull (Taurus) running to it on the right. Three average bright stars represented the hunting belt to which the sword - a number of the weak stars located from top to bottom from a belt is hung up. The modern astronomy too often uses these terms - a belt and a sword of Orion.
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Fig.7. Constellations of Orion and a Taurus in representation of ancient Greeks.
In III century to pashas of an era the Greek (Alexandria) astronomers have reduced names of constellations in uniform system which was borrowed subsequently by the European science and has kept it up to now, in particular names of constellations of northern hemisphere of the sky. In the southern hemisphere which studying by Europeans has begun, in essence, only in XVIII and XIX centuries, constellation have received more modern names: the Telescope, Hours, the Pump and others.
Now by constellations mean not allocated groups of stars, and sites of the star sky so all stars (both bright, and weak) are ranked as constellations. Modern borders and names of constellations are confirmed in 1922 at I congress of the International astronomical union (MAC). All sky is divided into 88 constellations from which 31 is in northern heavenly hemisphere, and 48 - in southern. The others 9 constellations (Fishes, the Whale, Orion, the Unicorn, the Sextant, the Maiden, the Snake, Zmeenosets and the Eagle) are located in both heavenly hemispheres, on either side of from the big circle imagined in the sky named heavenly equator that in Latin language means "equalizer" as it divides all sky into two equal on-lusharija.
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