Rátatǫskr

Authors: Youla Azkarrula

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Rátatǫskr, painting by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.

Rátatǫskr, the squirrel, is a Norse constellation mentioned in the Rímtǫl glosses, which dates back to the 11th century CE and is an Old Norse calendar of 52 weeks (364 days).

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

Rátatǫskr is the squirrel that scurries along the World Tree, carrying messages between Nidhögg, the serpent, and the eagle (Sturluson 2017, p. 30). Cassiopeia lies on the Milky Way between the constellations representing the eagle and the serpent.

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

nothing known

Rökstenen, rune stone near Ödeshög in south Sweden (CC BY Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON)

Weblinks

• Norse Constellations by Digitalis Solutions
• Valkyria.com Norse Calendar

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Rátatǫskr (CC BY Jakob Eyermann).

References

• References (general)