Cassiopeia and Andromeda -- Two constellations named after mothers from classical mythology.
Mother’s Day is approaching. Have you sent your mother a card? If you do nothing else, send her a card because it’s nice to get a real piece of mail every now and then.
While we’re talking about mothers, have you ever wondered what mother figures are represented up there in the sky? Between the stars and moons, many of them belonging to Jupiter, there are quite a few mothers and mother figures represented. And if you’re looking for something a little more down to Earth, the first mother in space was Anna Lee Fisher.
Many of Jupiter’s moon’s are named for women, goddesses, demi-goddesses and other mythological figures who had various entanglements with the Greek God Zeus – known in Roman mythology as Jupiter. Here is a short summary of some of those moons and how the connection to Jupiter was formed.
- Elara was the mother of Tityus, a giant
- Callisto bore a son named Arkas to Zeus
- Io, an Argive Nymph, bore a son named Epaphos to Zeus
- Himalia, a nymph, bore three sons named Spartaeus, Cronius, and Cytus
- Leda was the mother of Castor and Pollux, both of whom you can find in Gemini
There are more. Jupiter has over 50 moons and other satellites. In mythology, Jupiter’s wife is Juno, after whom one of the solar system’s largest asteroids is named.
If we move on to constellations we at least 2 more moms.
Amalthea, in Greek mythology, was the goat nurse of Zeus. When Zeus was grown, he used her hide as his thunder shield and she was placed in the sky as the constellation Capra. These stars are now a part of what is known as the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. There is now a star called Capella or Alpha Auriga to mark where this constellation was.
There is also a moon of Jupiter by this same name.
The Pleiades, a.k.a. "The Seven Sisters." Formed approximately 100 million years ago, the Pleiades are located about 425 light-years from Earth in the Name A Star Live constellation Taurus. In classical mythology, each of the sisters became mothers.
Cassiopeia was the mother of Andromeda. Cassiopeia was a prideful woman and decided that she was even more beautiful than the Nereids. For this, she was placed in the sky, lying on her back. He daughter Andromeda accompanies her in the sky but she was placed there as a favor not a punishment.
Anna Lee Fisher is a decorated astronaut. Fisher also happens to be the first mother in space when she went up on an STS-51-A. Her honors include NASA Space Flight Medal, Lloyd’s of London Silver Medal for Meritorious Salvage Operations and the Mother of the Year Award 1984. Balancing her professional life, she took a leave of absence from 1989 – 1995 and came back to her post in 1996 as Chief of the Space Station Branch.
Other women who are both mothers and astronauts, past and present, include Karen L. Nyberg, Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, Nicole Passonno Stott, Ellen S. Baker
There are more. There are always so many more and we’d be delighted to hear your Mother’s Day story from this or any year.
For more information visit:
ConstellationsOfWords.com
Theoi.com
JSC.NASA.gov/Bios/
Name a star for your mother this Mother’s Day!
As you’re thinking about what to get your significant other for Valentine’s Day, you might be interested in some of the Valentine’s Day messages Name A Star Live customers have included on their Star Certificates in recent weeks. Below are some of the best messages we’ve received so far. Of course, we’ve changed the names in the messages to protect the privacy of our customers. We hope these examples will give you some ideas about what to write for your loved one. Have a happy Valentine’s Day!