Editing Corona Australis (section)

== History ==

{{See also|Corona Australis (Chinese astronomy)}}
[[File:47-Corona-Australis.PNG|left|thumb|350px|Corona Australis on The Manuchihr Globe, Adilnor Collection, Sweden.]]

Corona Australis may have been recorded by ancient [[Mesopotamia]]ns in the [[MUL.APIN]], as a constellation called MA.GUR ("The Bark"). However, this constellation, adjacent to SUHUR.MASH ("The Goat-Fish", modern [[Capricornus (constellation)|Capricornus]]), may instead have been modern [[Epsilon Sagittarii]]. As a part of the southern sky, MA.GUR was one of the fifteen "stars of [[Ea (god)|Ea]]".{{sfn|Rogers|1998|p=19}}

In the 3rd century BC, the Greek [[Didacticism|didactic]] poet [[Aratus]] wrote of, but did not name the constellation,{{sfn|Bakich|1995|p=83}} instead calling the two crowns Στεφάνοι (''Stephanoi''). The Greek astronomer [[Ptolemy]] described the constellation in the 2nd century AD, though with the inclusion of [[Alpha Telescopii]], since transferred to Telescopium.{{sfn|Ridpath, ''Star Tales'' Corona Australis}} Ascribing 13 stars to the constellation,{{refn|name=Malin Frew 1995 p218}} he named it Στεφάνος νοτιος ({{Transliteration|grc|Stephanos notios}}), "Southern Wreath", while other authors associated it with either Sagittarius (having fallen off his head) or Centaurus; with the former, it was called ''Corona Sagittarii''.{{sfn|Allen|1963|pp=172–174}} Similarly, the Romans called Corona Australis the "Golden Crown of Sagittarius".{{sfn|Simpson|2012|p=148}} It was known as ''Parvum Coelum'' ("Canopy", "Little Sky") in the 5th century.{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|p=254}} The 18th-century French astronomer [[Jérôme Lalande]] gave it the names ''Sertum Australe'' ("Southern Garland"){{sfn|Allen|1963|pp=172–174}}{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|p=254}} and ''Orbiculus Capitis'', while German poet and author [[Philipp von Zesen|Philippus Caesius]] called it ''Corolla'' ("Little Crown") or ''Spira Australis'' ("Southern Coil"), and linked it with the Crown of Eternal Life from the New Testament. Seventeenth-century celestial cartographer [[Julius Schiller]] linked it to the Diadem of Solomon.{{sfn|Allen|1963|pp=172–174}}<!-- cites previous three sentences --> Sometimes, Corona Australis was not the wreath of Sagittarius but arrows held in his hand.{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|p=254}}
[[File:Corona Australis Atlas Coelestis.jpg|thumb|left|Corona Australis depicted in the ''Uranographia'' of [[Johann Bode]]]]

Corona Australis has been associated with the myth of [[Dionysis|Bacchus]] and [[Semele|Stimula]]. [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] had impregnated Stimula, causing [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] to become jealous. Juno convinced Stimula to ask Jupiter to appear in his full splendor, which the mortal woman could not handle, causing her to burn. After Bacchus, Stimula's unborn child, became an adult and the god of wine, he honored his deceased mother by placing a wreath in the sky.{{sfn|Staal|1988|pp=232–233}}

In [[Chinese astronomy]], the stars of Corona Australis are located within the [[Black Tortoise (Chinese constellation)|Black Tortoise of the North]] (北方玄武, ''Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ'').{{sfn|AEEA|2006}} The constellation itself was known as ''ti'en pieh'' ("Heavenly Turtle") and during the [[Western Zhou]] period, marked the beginning of winter. However, [[Axial precession|precession]] over time has meant that the "Heavenly River" ([[Milky Way]]) became the more accurate marker to the ancient Chinese and hence supplanted the turtle in this role.{{refn|name=Porter 1996 pp35–36}} Arabic names for Corona Australis include ''Al Ķubbah'' "the Tortoise", ''Al Ĥibā'' "the Tent" or ''Al Udḥā al Na'ām'' "the Ostrich Nest".{{sfn|Allen|1963|pp=172–174}}{{sfn|Motz|Nathanson|1988|p=254}} It was later given the name ''Al Iklīl al Janūbiyyah'', which the European authors [[Edmund Chilmead|Chilmead]], [[Giovanni Battista Riccioli|Riccioli]] and Caesius transliterated as Alachil Elgenubi, Elkleil Elgenubi and Aladil Algenubi respectively.{{sfn|Allen|1963|pp=172–174}}

The [[ǀXam language|ǀXam]] speaking [[San people]] of South Africa knew the constellation as ''≠nabbe ta !nu'' "house of branches"—owned originally by the Dassie ([[rock hyrax]]), and the star pattern depicting people sitting in a semicircle around a fire.{{sfn|Lloyd|1873}}

The indigenous [[Wergaia|Boorong]] people of northwestern Victoria saw it as ''Won'', a boomerang thrown by ''Totyarguil'' ([[Altair]]).{{sfn|Hamacher|Frew|2010}} The [[Aranda people]] of Central Australia saw Corona Australis as a [[Coolamon (vessel)|coolamon]] carrying a baby, which was accidentally dropped to earth by a group of sky-women dancing in the Milky Way. The impact of the coolamon created [[Gosses Bluff crater]], 175&nbsp;km west of [[Alice Springs]].{{sfn|Hamacher|28 March 2011}} The [[Torres Strait Islanders]] saw Corona Australis as part of a larger constellation encompassing part of Sagittarius and the tip of [[Scorpius (constellation)|Scorpius]]'s tail; the [[Pleiades]] and [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]] were also associated. This constellation was Tagai's canoe, crewed by the Pleiades, called the ''Usiam'', and Orion, called the ''Seg''. The myth of Tagai says that he was in charge of this canoe, but his crewmen consumed all of the supplies onboard without asking permission. Enraged, Tagai bound the Usiam with a rope and tied them to the side of the boat, then threw them overboard. Scorpius's tail represents a [[Remora|suckerfish]], while [[Eta Sagittarii]] and Theta Corona Australis mark the bottom of the canoe.{{sfn|Staal|1988|pp=223–224}} On the island of [[Futuna (Wallis and Futuna)|Futuna]], the figure of Corona Australis was called ''Tanuma'' and in the [[Tuamotus]], it was called ''Na Kaua-ki-Tonga''.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=281}}

[[File:Regioni_celesti_scelte_-_Osc_A.png|thumb|500x500px|Main dark nebulae of the [[Solar apex]] half of the [[galactic plane]], with the Corona Australis on the right|center]]