Milky Way (phenomenon)

The visible picture of the Milky Way is a consequence of the perspective when observing from the inside a huge, strongly flattened cluster of stars in our Galaxy by an observer located near the plane of symmetry of this cluster. The Milky Way is also the traditional name of our Galaxy. The brightness of the Milky Way in different places is uneven. The Milky Way strip with a width of about 5-30 ° looks like a cloud structure, due, firstly, to the existence of stellar clouds or condensations in the Galaxy and, secondly, to the uneven distribution of light-absorbing dark dust nebulae forming areas with an apparent deficit of stars due to for absorbing their light.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way passes through the constellations of Eagle , Arrow , Chanterelle , Swan , Cepheus , Cassiopeia , Perseus , Charioteer , Taurus and Gemini . Leaving for the Southern Hemisphere , he captures the constellations of Unicorn , Stern , Sails , Southern Cross , Compass , Southern Triangle , Scorpio and Sagittarius . The Milky Way is especially bright in the constellation Sagittarius , which is the center of our galaxy .

The constellation Sagittarius in the northern latitudes does not rise high above the horizon. Therefore, in this area the Milky Way is not as noticeable as, for example, in the constellation Cygnus , which rises very high in the evenings in the autumn in the evening.

The middle line of the Milky Way is called the galactic equator .

Armenian, Arab, Wallachian, Jewish, Persian, Turkish, Kyrgyz

According to one of the Armenian myths about the Milky Way, the god Vahagn , the ancestor of the Armenians , stole a straw from the ancestor of the Assyrians, Barsham , in harsh winter and hid in the sky. When he walked with his prey through the sky, he dropped straws on his way; from them a light trail was formed in the sky (in Armenian, “The Road of Straw Bales”) ^{[1] [2]} . The myth of spreading straw is also spoken by the Arabic, Jewish, Persian, Turkish and Kyrgyz names ( Kyrgyz. Samanchynyn Zholu - the path of the straw straw) of this phenomenon ^[3] . The inhabitants of Wallachia believed that Venus stole this straw from St. Peter ^[3] .

Buryat

According to Buryat mythology , good forces create the world, modify the universe. So, the Milky Way arose from milk, which Manzan Gurme poured from his chest and splashed out after Abay Geser, who deceived her. According to another version, the Milky Way is a “seam of the sky”, sewn up after the stars spilled out of it; Tengri walk on it, as if on a bridge.

Hungarian

According to Hungarian legend, Attila will descend along the Milky Way if the sekets are in danger; stars are sparks from hooves ^[4] . Milky Way. accordingly, it is called the “road of warriors” ( Hungarian. Hadak Útja ) .

Ancient Greek

The etymology of the word Galaxias (Γαλαξίας) and its relationship with milk (γάλα) reveal two similar ancient Greek myths . One of the legends tells about the mother milk of the goddess Hera spilled across the sky, who was breast-feeding Heracles . When Hera learned that the baby she was breastfeeding was not her own child, but the illegitimate son of Zeus and the earthly woman, she pushed him away, and the spilled milk became the Milky Way ^[3] . Another legend says that the spilled milk is the milk of Rhea , the wife of Kronos , and Zeus himself was a baby. Kronos devoured his children, as it was predicted that he would be overthrown by his own son. Rhea had a plan for saving her sixth child, the newborn Zeus. She wrapped a stone in infant clothes and slipped it to Kronos. Kronos asked her to feed her son again before he swallows it. Milk spilled from Rhea’s chest on a bare stone was later called the Milky Way ^[5] .

Indian

The ancient Indians considered the Milky Way to be the milk of an evening red cow passing through the sky. In the Rigveda, the Milky Way is called the throne road of Aryaman . The Bhagavata Purana contains a version according to which the Milky Way is the stomach of a heavenly dolphin ^[6] .

Inca

The main objects of observation in Incan astronomy (which was reflected in their mythology ) in the sky were the dark sections of the Milky Way - a kind of "constellation" in the terminology of the Andean cultures: Lama, Lama Cub, Shepherd, Condor, Partridge, Toad, Snake, Fox ^[7] ; as well as stars: Southern Cross, Pleiades, Lyra and many others ^[8] .

Ket

In Ket myths , similar to Selkup myths , the Milky Way is described as the road of one of three mythological characters: the Son of Heaven (Yesya), who went to hunt on the western side of the sky and there froze, the hero Albe, who pursued the evil goddess, or the first shaman Doha, who ascended this road to the sun.

Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese

In the mythology of the synosphere, the Milky Way is called and compared with the river (in Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, the name "silver river" is preserved: ( Vietnamese. Ngân Hà , ngan ha) , Chinese trad. 銀河系 , ex. 银河系 , pinyin : Yínhéxì , pall .: yinhexi , ( cor. 우리 은하 , uri ynha) , ( Jap. 天 の 川 , ten no kava) ). The Chinese also sometimes called the Milky Way "Yellow Road", the color of straw ^[3] .

North American Indigenous People

Hidatsa and the Eskimos call the Milky Way "Ashen." Their myths speak of a girl scattering ashes across the sky so that people can find their way home at night ^[3] . The Cheyenne believed that the Milky Way is mud and silt, raised by the belly of a turtle floating in the sky ^[3] . Eskimos from the Bering Strait - that these are traces of the Creator Raven walking in the sky ^[3] . The Cherokee believed that the Milky Way was formed when one hunter stole the wife of another from jealousy, and her dog began to eat unattended cornmeal and scattered it across the sky (the same myth is found among the Khoisan population of Kalahari ^[9] ) ^[10] . Another myth of the same people says that the Milky Way is a trace of a dog dragging something across the sky ^[3] . Ktunakh called the Milky Way "dog tail", black-footed called it "wolf road." The Wyandot myth suggests that the Milky Way is a place where the souls of dead people and dogs come together and dance ^[3] .

Maori

In Maori mythology, the Milky Way is considered the Tama-retreti boat . The nose of the boat is the constellation Orion and Scorpio , the anchor is the Southern Cross , Alpha Centauri and Hadar are the rope. According to legend, once Tama-retrei was sailing in his canoe and saw that it was too late, and he was far from home. There were no stars in the sky, and, fearing that might attack, Tama-retrei began throwing sparkling pebbles into the sky. The heavenly deity Ranginui liked what he was doing, and he placed the Tama-retreti boat in the sky, and turned the pebbles into stars ^[11] .

Finnish, Lithuanian, Estonian, Erzyan, Kazakh

The Finnish name is Fin. Linnunrata - means "Bird's Way"; similar etymology and the Lithuanian name ^[3] . The Estonian myth also connects the Milky ("bird") path with bird flight ^[12] .

Erzyan name - “Cargon Ki” (“Crane Road”).

The Kazakh name is “Құs Zholy” (“Bird's Way”).

• Wintemberg, WJ Myths and Fancies of the Milky Way (English) // Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. - 1908.

• The Milky Way Galaxy , Messier Catalog on SEDS Pages
• Multiwavelength Milky Way
• Milky Way , New Astrological Encyclopedia