Delphinus - Revision history

Sushoff at 12:10, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T12:10:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:10, 27 February 2026
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	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation===
	The Dolphin is a Greek constellation. Dolphins were often depicted as attributes of Poseidon and were the subject of numerous folk tales. They were considered helpers and friends of humans because, firstly, unlike most animals, they are not shy; secondly, they help fishermen by herding shoals of fish; and thirdly, they serve as weather messengers for sailors.		<ref>Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>The Dolphin is a Greek constellation. Dolphins were often depicted as attributes of Poseidon and were the subject of numerous folk tales. They were considered helpers and friends of humans because, firstly, unlike most animals, they are not shy; secondly, they help fishermen by herding shoals of fish; and thirdly, they serve as weather messengers for sailors.

	It is not entirely clear which Babylonian constellation is located at this point – in any case, it is not a dolphin. The star group is often identified with the constellation of the corpse. While this is possible, it may also be that the corpse belongs to the bird of prey and is located where Ptolemy places [[Antinous]] (see the constellation [[Aquila]], the Eagle). In this case, the dolphin stars would either still belong to the (then much larger) eagle or to the constellation Pig ([[ŠAḪ]]), which is also located in this region of the sky. The Babylonian constellation Pig is located north and east of the eagle, so it could also lie north of the dolphin – east or west of it.		It is not entirely clear which Babylonian constellation is located at this point – in any case, it is not a dolphin. The star group is often identified with the constellation of the corpse. While this is possible, it may also be that the corpse belongs to the bird of prey and is located where Ptolemy places [[Antinous]] (see the constellation [[Aquila]], the Eagle). In this case, the dolphin stars would either still belong to the (then much larger) eagle or to the constellation Pig ([[ŠAḪ]]), which is also located in this region of the sky. The Babylonian constellation Pig is located north and east of the eagle, so it could also lie north of the dolphin – east or west of it.

Sushoff: /* Mythology */

2026-02-26T18:15:21Z

Mythology

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:15, 26 February 2026
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	The cheerful dolphin was one of these messengers. When he met the girl, he greeted her kindly, took her on his back and brought her to Poseidon. They married. Out of gratitude, Poseidon made the dolphin king of the sea creatures and placed his image in the starry sky.		The cheerful dolphin was one of these messengers. When he met the girl, he greeted her kindly, took her on his back and brought her to Poseidon. They married. Out of gratitude, Poseidon made the dolphin king of the sea creatures and placed his image in the starry sky.

	Ovid, on the other hand, tells the story of the singer Arion of Lesbos, who really lived in the 7th century BC. During a dispute with murderous robbers at sea, the famous musician saved himself by asking to be allowed to play music one last time. His lyre playing and singing attracted dolphins, and when Arion threw himself overboard, they carried him safely to shore. He was then able to accuse his attackers and they were convicted in court. Arion was allegedly on his way back from Sicily to Greece when this happened.		Ovid, on the other hand, tells the story of the singer Arion of Lesbos, who really lived in the 7th century BCE. During a dispute with murderous robbers at sea, the famous musician saved himself by asking to be allowed to play music one last time. His lyre playing and singing attracted dolphins, and when Arion threw himself overboard, they carried him safely to shore. He was then able to accuse his attackers and they were convicted in court. Arion was allegedly on his way back from Sicily to Greece when this happened.

	== IAU WGSN names ==		== IAU WGSN names ==

Sushoff: /* Mythology */

2026-02-26T18:15:06Z

Mythology

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:15, 26 February 2026
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	==Mythology==		==Mythology==
			The story of the dolphin is a story of kindness. Eratosthenes tells us that the water goddess Amphitrite was initially frightened when the sea god Poseidon wanted to marry her. Together with other Nereids, she fled to Atlas and hid. Poseidon therefore sent messengers to search for the girl.

			The cheerful dolphin was one of these messengers. When he met the girl, he greeted her kindly, took her on his back and brought her to Poseidon. They married. Out of gratitude, Poseidon made the dolphin king of the sea creatures and placed his image in the starry sky.

			Ovid, on the other hand, tells the story of the singer Arion of Lesbos, who really lived in the 7th century BC. During a dispute with murderous robbers at sea, the famous musician saved himself by asking to be allowed to play music one last time. His lyre playing and singing attracted dolphins, and when Arion threw himself overboard, they carried him safely to shore. He was then able to accuse his attackers and they were convicted in court. Arion was allegedly on his way back from Sicily to Greece when this happened.

	== IAU WGSN names ==		== IAU WGSN names ==

Sushoff at 18:14, 26 February 2026

2026-02-26T18:14:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:14, 26 February 2026
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	----		----
	[[File:Delphinus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Del star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Delphinus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Del star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	~~One~~ of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].		Delphinus, The Dolphin, one of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. It is attested since ancient Greek time, probably originating in the Mediterranean culture.
	[[File:KugelGlobe Sge.JPG\|thumb\|Cyg, Lyr, Del, Aql and Sge on the Kugel Globe (1st century BCE), SMH 2024.]]		[[File:KugelGlobe Sge.JPG\|thumb\|Cyg, Lyr, Del, Aql and Sge on the Kugel Globe (1st century BCE), SMH 2024.]]

	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	The Greek constellation ...		===Origin of Constellation===
			The Dolphin is a Greek constellation. Dolphins were often depicted as attributes of Poseidon and were the subject of numerous folk tales. They were considered helpers and friends of humans because, firstly, unlike most animals, they are not shy; secondly, they help fishermen by herding shoals of fish; and thirdly, they serve as weather messengers for sailors.

			It is not entirely clear which Babylonian constellation is located at this point – in any case, it is not a dolphin. The star group is often identified with the constellation of the corpse. While this is possible, it may also be that the corpse belongs to the bird of prey and is located where Ptolemy places [[Antinous]] (see the constellation [[Aquila]], the Eagle). In this case, the dolphin stars would either still belong to the (then much larger) eagle or to the constellation Pig ([[ŠAḪ]]), which is also located in this region of the sky. The Babylonian constellation Pig is located north and east of the eagle, so it could also lie north of the dolphin – east or west of it.

			In ancient times, none of the stars in the constellation had their own names. However, around 1840, a clever Italian successfully immortalised himself by giving the stars α and β Del the names [[Sualocin]] and [[Rotanev]]: read backwards, these spell out the Latinised form of his name: Nicolaus Venator for Niccolo Cacciatore, the successor to the more famous Guiseppe Piazzi at the observatory in Palermo (Sicily).

	~~===Origin of Constellation===~~		In the 19th century, Bode did not call the constellation Delphinus, but ' Meerschwein', literally in German: ‘the guinea pig’, but probably a pun, rather referring to a porpoise than a rodent.

	==== Babylonian ====		==== Babylonian ====
			see

			* [[ŠAḪ]]

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

Sushoff: /* Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) */

2026-02-24T08:14:02Z

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:14, 24 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Aqr 2
	\|		\|Aqr 7 1/2
	\|		\|Ari 19 1/2
	\|		\|Ari 29
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the front one of those in the tail
	\|		\|the northern one of those in the edge of the rhomb
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 ~~2/3~~ hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|1/2 hours = 30 min = 7 1/2°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) */

2026-02-23T16:31:18Z

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:31, 23 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7~~/8 degree		\| colspan="4" \|1/4 hours = 15 min = 3 3/4 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) */

2026-02-23T16:27:16Z

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:27, 23 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Sgr 19 1/2
	\|		\|Sgr 23 1/2
	\|		\|Lib 7 1/2
	\|		\|Lib 13
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the front of the four in the rhomb
	\|		\|the southern of those in the tail
	\|		\|
	\|		\|

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-22T17:43:38Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:43, 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 Δελφὲν */

2026-02-06T10:41:04Z

Almagest Δελφὲν

@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
+|
 |}
 ===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===

Sushoff at 13:20, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T13:20:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:20, 20 January 2026
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			Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
			----
	[[File:Delphinus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Del star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Delphinus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Del star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].