FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Re: Why Is M44 The Beehive?

["Stanley A. Gorodenski" <stanlep@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From Star Names their Lore and Meaning is the following:
"With us is the well-known BeeHive, but its history as such I have not been able
to learn, although it undoubtedly is a recent designation, for nowhere is it
Apiarium."
The next paragraph follows which I am guessing still refers to the BeeHive:
"Scientifically it was the [greek word is here], or little cloud, of Hipparchos;
the [greek word], or Little Mist, of Aratos; the [greek word], Cloudy One,
[greek word], Whirling Cloud, and Nubilum, literally a Cloudy Sky, of Bayer; but
the Almagests and astronomers generally of the 16th and 17th centuries referred
to it as the Nebula, and Nebulosa, in pectore Cancri, for before the invention
of the telescope this was the only universally recognized nebula, its components
not being separately distiguishable by ordinary vision. But it seems to have
been strangely regarded as three nebulous objects. Galileo, of course, was the
first to resolve it, and  wrote in the Nuncius Sidereus: The nebula called
Praesepe, which is not one star, only, but a mas of more than forty small
stars."

jack.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Per my prev post, Burnham's was no help. But it is a good imagining of a
> beehive in there (or even a tree) isn't it?. I have never seen a
> stereotypical conical-type beehive as in cartoons, only white-painted square
> supers that me and ol grandpa used to rob for honey. Museum of Natural
> History maybe?
>
> Jack
>
> >
> > Personally, I always see a connect the dots drawing of a
> > tree, But then my
> > sanity has been questioned before.
> >
> > Not having my copy at work, has anyone checked Burnhams CH?
> >
> > Rick Tejera
> --
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