Profile / Characteristics
| English translation | Latin declination and pronunciations | Size/ °² | # stars (visible) |
| the Northern Crown | Corona Borealis – cuh-ROE-nuh bor-ee-AL-iss3 Coronae Borealis – cuh-ROE-nee bor-ee-AL-iss3 | 179 | 38 |
Main Star (brightest one):
| Designation | HIP number | name in IAU-CSN | brightness |
| α CrB | HIP 76267 | Alphecca | 2.24 mag (V) |
Our (modern) Explanation
Corona Borealis is a small constellation that was used by all ancient Greek astronomers as a wreath crowning a princess or bride. It goes back to the Babylonian “Constellation of Dignity”, an insignum of the god of agriculture.
Ancient Globes
Farnese Globe
Kugel Globe
Mainz Globe
Ancient Lore & Meaning
Aratus
[71] Here too that Crown [Corona], which glorious Dionysus set to be memorial of the dead Ariadne, wheels beneath the back of the toil-spent Phantom. [74] To the Phantom’s back the Crown is near, but by his head mark near at hand the head of Ophiuchus [88] Toward the Crown leans the Serpent’s jaw, [570?] The Corwn sets and the Southern Fish as far as its back. Half the setting Crown is visible in the sky but half already sinks beneath the verge. [620?] Half the Crown and the tip of the Centaur’s tail are upraised with the rising Claws [660?] but other signs in the East the vault of heaven brings from below, the remaining half of the Crown and the tail of the Hydra,
Reference:
English translation by Douglas Kidd (1997).
Aratus: Phaenomena, Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 34
Pseudo-Eratosthenes
it’s Ariadne’s bridal wreath. From Crete: it was made by Hephaistos from fire red gold and jewels from India which made it so bright that Theseus was guided by its shine.
References:
French translation by:
Jordi Pàmias i Massana and Arnaud Zucker (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène – Catastérismes, Les Belles Lettres, Paris
English version in:
Robin Hard (2015): Eratosthenes and Hyginus Constellation Myths with Aratus’s Phaenomena, Oxford World’s Classics
Modern and Mediaeval Depiction
Depiction in Stellarium (by Fabien Chéreau, since 2000 CE)
depiction in the Leiden Aratea (9th century CE)
Early Modern Interpretation
Contemporary
As one of their first tasks in the 1920s, the newly founded International Astronomical Union (IAU) established constellation standards. The Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte was assigned to the task to define borders of constellations parallel to lines of declination and right ascension. They were accepted by the General Assembly in 1928. The standardized names and abbreviations had already been accepted in 1922 and 1925.
