Profile / Characteristics
| English translation | Latin declination and pronunciations | Size/ °² | # stars (visible) |
| the Southern Triangle | Triangulum Australe – try-ANG-gyuh-lum aw-STRAL-ee Trianguli Australis – try-ANG-gyuh-lye aw-STRAL-iss | 110 | 35 |
Main Star (brightest one):
| Designation | HIP number | name in IAU-CSN | brightness |
| α TrA | HIP 82273 | Atria | 1.88 mag (V) |
Our (modern) Explanation
Its origin can be traced back to ancient Greek times, where this triangle of stars was used to inscribe the Greek letter Delta “Δ” into the stars. This brought in the alternative constellation name “Deltoton” in antiquity but its function (according to ancient Greek authors) on ancient celestial globes was the attribution of the celestial sphere to the god (Greek: “dios”, Latin “deus”, always meaning “god”), the god who created or ruled the starry night sky.
Ancient Globes
Farnese Globe
Kugel Globe
Mainz Globe
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Ancient Lore & Meaning
Aratus
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Reference:
English translation by Douglas Kidd (1997).
Aratus: Phaenomena, Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 34
Pseudo-Eratosthenes
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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
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.
