Cancer - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Rising (Lib III Cap III §1) */

2026-02-27T18:14:28Z

Rising (Lib III Cap III §1)

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:14, 27 February 2026
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	\|}		\|}

	====== Setting (Lib II Cap ~~VI §10~~) ======		====== Setting (Lib III Cap IV §1) ======
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
	!		!
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Gem 26 1/2
	\|		\|Cnc 19 1/2
	\|		\|Lib 17
	\|		\|Sco 12
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the bright one in the southern leg of The Crab which is lying on a straight line with the those West of the nebular patch in the crab
	\|		\|the one at the end of the northern claw of the crab
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|~~2 2~~/3 hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|1 3/5 hours = 96 min = 24°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff at 17:23, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T17:23:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:23, 27 February 2026
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

	====== Rising (Lib II Cap ~~V §10~~) ======		====== Rising (Lib III Cap III §1) ======
	<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>		<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Gem 23
	\|		\|Cnc 18
	\|		\|Psc 5
	\|		\|Ari 1/2
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the one at the end of the northern claw
	\|		\|the one at the end of the southern claw
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7/8~~ degree		\| colspan="4" \|1 2/3 hours = 100 min = 25 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff at 11:49, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T11:49:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:49, 27 February 2026
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	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation===
	Cancer is documented as a constellation as early as the -2nd millennium, although there are only faint stars in this region of the sky and it was and is difficult to imagine an animal in it. An eye-catching open star cluster glitters conspicuously on moonless nights. It is called Praesepe (Latin for the manger), and the names of the two little stars next to the star cluster also fit this image: ‘northern’ and ‘southern donkey’.		<ref>Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>Cancer is documented as a constellation as early as the -2nd millennium, although there are only faint stars in this region of the sky and it was and is difficult to imagine an animal in it. An eye-catching open star cluster glitters conspicuously on moonless nights. It is called Praesepe (Latin for the manger), and the names of the two little stars next to the star cluster also fit this image: ‘northern’ and ‘southern donkey’.

	Both the name for the star cluster and the names of the stars bordering it are already documented in antiquity. Ptolemy mentions these names in the Almagest star catalogue, Aratos mentions them, and Eratosthenes presents two completely different, somewhat far-fetched stories for them. Since we know that the constellation of Cancer was adopted from Babylon and, therefore, a Greek tale had to be invented for it, the star legends could indicate a deliberate merging of the Babylonian image with that of another subculture in Alexander's empire to form a new Greek image. However, it could also be that the name ‘donkey’ is derived from a double meaning of the cuneiform symbol: Over time, the original cuneiform characters were increasingly simplified and in late Babylonian times (i.e. in Greek times), the sign for ‘crab’ can also be read as ‘10’ and ‘foot’, whereby the sign for foot also had the secondary meaning of mule. This ambiguity of the symbol could have inspired Babylonian scholars to play with words or led to a Greek misunderstanding. If this celestial region, without a distinctive pattern, is described as a footprint, this fits humorously with the Greek myth that Heracles is said to have crushed the crab. The secondary meaning ‘mule’ of the cuneiform symbol may explain why the constellation is understood by some as a crab and by others as a (muzzled) donkey. However, in cuneiform script one would read either ‘the crab’ or ‘ten mules’, which is why the designation of the two stars is a later attribution.		Both the name for the star cluster and the names of the stars bordering it are already documented in antiquity. Ptolemy mentions these names in the Almagest star catalogue, Aratos mentions them, and Eratosthenes presents two completely different, somewhat far-fetched stories for them. Since we know that the constellation of Cancer was adopted from Babylon and, therefore, a Greek tale had to be invented for it, the star legends could indicate a deliberate merging of the Babylonian image with that of another subculture in Alexander's empire to form a new Greek image. However, it could also be that the name ‘donkey’ is derived from a double meaning of the cuneiform symbol: Over time, the original cuneiform characters were increasingly simplified and in late Babylonian times (i.e. in Greek times), the sign for ‘crab’ can also be read as ‘10’ and ‘foot’, whereby the sign for foot also had the secondary meaning of mule. This ambiguity of the symbol could have inspired Babylonian scholars to play with words or led to a Greek misunderstanding. If this celestial region, without a distinctive pattern, is described as a footprint, this fits humorously with the Greek myth that Heracles is said to have crushed the crab. The secondary meaning ‘mule’ of the cuneiform symbol may explain why the constellation is understood by some as a crab and by others as a (muzzled) donkey. However, in cuneiform script one would read either ‘the crab’ or ‘ten mules’, which is why the designation of the two stars is a later attribution.

Sushoff: /* Babylonian */

2026-02-26T20:30:44Z

Babylonian

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:30, 26 February 2026
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	==== Babylonian ====		==== Babylonian ====
			see

			* [[AL.LUL]]
			* ''[[šubtu]]''

	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-22T17:34:30Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:34, 22 February 2026
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

			====== Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) ======
			<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			! colspan="2" \|east
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = 127.5 min = 31 7/8 degree
			\|}

			====== Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			!
			! colspan="2" \|west
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 2/3 hours = 160 min = 40°
			\|}

			====== Stars Mentioned ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			!Greek
			!German
			!English
			!ident.
			!src
			!
			!lam_culm
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, first
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, last
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §2
			\|setting CrB, south, last
			\|Psc 13.5
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §13
			\|setting Aql, south, first
			\|Ari 2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib III Cap I §9
			\|rising Ori, south, last
			\|Psc 13
			\|}

	===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====		===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====

YoulaAzkarrula: /* Almagest Καρκίνος. */

2026-02-06T10:25:48Z

Almagest Καρκίνος.

Show changes

Rolandlaffitte: /* Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation */

2026-02-03T15:51:33Z

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:51, 3 February 2026
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	\|		\|
	\|}		\|}
			[[File:Crab RL2026.png\|thumb\|Laffitte (2025). ''Fig. 29a''. ''Καρκίνος'' / ''Karkinos'' – ''al-Saraṭān,'' « le Crabe » (''ap.'' ms. de St-Pétersbourg)]]

			=== Arabic ===
			Laffitte (2025)<ref>Roland Laffitte (2025). 550 noms hérités des Arabes</ref>

	===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===		===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===
	<gallery>		<gallery>

Sushoff at 13:12, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T13:12:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:12, 20 January 2026
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			Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
			----
	[[File:Cancer IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Cnc star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Cancer IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Cnc star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	[[File:CNC Cancer TF Anu kosmosInv.jpg\|thumb\|Throne of Anu in constellation Cancer, drawing by Kay Elzner (2021)]]		[[File:CNC Cancer TF Anu kosmosInv.jpg\|thumb\|Throne of Anu in constellation Cancer, drawing by Kay Elzner (2021)]]

Sushoff at 13:24, 5 September 2025

2025-09-05T13:24:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:24, 5 September 2025
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	[[Category:Modern]]		[[Category:Modern]]
	[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]		[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]
			[[Category:Zodiac]]
	[[Category:4work]]		[[Category:4work]]

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2025-08-09T05:47:08Z

Eratosthenes

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:47, 9 August 2025
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	===== Eratosthenes =====		===== Eratosthenes =====
			Both variants as reconstructed in Greek by Pamias and Zucker (2013).


	Var. 1 <blockquote>He is said to have been placed among the constellations by Hera, because, while the others were fighting alongside Heracles when he destroyed the Hydra [all alone], the Crab emerged from the marsh and bit the hero on the foot, according to Panyasis in his Heraclea. It seems that Heracles then crushed it furiously under his foot. That is why the Crab obtained the considerable honour of being counted among the twelve signs of the zodiac.		Var. 1 <blockquote>He is said to have been placed among the constellations by Hera, because, while the others were fighting alongside Heracles when he destroyed the Hydra [all alone], the Crab emerged from the marsh and bit the hero on the foot, according to Panyasis in his Heraclea. It seems that Heracles then crushed it furiously under his foot. That is why the Crab obtained the considerable honour of being counted among the twelve signs of the zodiac.