Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 45
Stories in the Stars by Stephen James O'Meara
The Tragic Tale of Thisbe's Veil
G
A mist of delicate starlight lends an air of mystique to the June night sky.
Indeed, few constellations have as
o out on any clear, moonless night
in June and look high overhead
for Coma Berenices, the constellation
of Berenice's Hair. Don't be fooled by
the paucity of Coma stars plotted on
our Northern Hemisphere star chart on
pages 42-43. In addition to the three
dots shown, under dark, rural skies
your eyes will be greeted by a 5°-wide
maze of glittering starlight. The collection's
most conspicuous stars form
a pattern resembling the Greek letter
lambda, λ. With averted vision, numerous
fainter suns flow down from it like
long tresses.
The constellation glitters like dew
on a moonlit cobweb blown by a breeze.
In his 1888 book Astronomy with an
Opera-glass, Garrett P. Serviss wrote of
the starlit haze that " One might think
the old woman of the nursery rhyme
who went to sweep the cobwebs out of
the sky had skipped this corner . . . "
many guises as Coma Berenices. Its
stars were recognized by the earliest
skygazers, including those of ancient
Mesopotamia, who recorded " the dusky
stars which stand in the tail of the
Lion. " German cartographer Caspar
Vopel then humanized the group by
including the stars on his 1536 celestial
globe as Coma Berenices.
The constellation honors Queen
Berenice II of Egypt, whose amber
tresses, say the classical poets, flowed in
an erotic state of disarray to the wonder
of all. When the Queen honored a vow
to cut off her hair and sacrifice it to the
temple of Venus upon her husband's safe
return from war, it miraculously reappeared
as a constellation in the heavens.
But these stars have not always
belonged to Queen Berenice. An old
Babylonian love story, related by
another Roman poet, Ovid, offers a
different, tragic take. The tale centers
around two star-crossed lovers, Pyramus
and Thisbe, who decide to meet in
secret one evening in a forest. First to
arrive, Thisbe hears the roar of a lioness
and flees. In her haste, she drops
her veil. The lioness, whose jaws are
dripping with the blood of a recent kill,
attacks the veil, ripping it to shreds,
before disappearing into the woods.
When Pyramus arrives, he finds only
Thisbe's bloody veil and the mauled
carcass. Fearing the worst, he draws his
knife and stabs himself. When Thisbe
returns to the scene and sees Pyramus
mortally wounded, she takes her own
life. To honor the pair for their devotion,
Jupiter puts Thisbe's veil among
the stars, where, as Julius D. W. Staal so
eloquently writes in his 1988 book, The
New Patterns in the Sky, it still " flutters
today in the stars of Coma Berenices,
wafted by an eternal cosmic breeze. "
British astronomer Philibert J.
Melotte identified the stars streaming
south from Gamma (γ) Comae
Berenices as a star cluster, listing it as
the 111th object in his 1915 catalog of
star clusters. Now popularly known as
Melotte 111, the Coma Berenices star
cluster is extraordinarily close, at a
distance of 280 light-years. In fact, next
to the Hyades star cluster in Taurus, the
Bull, the Coma star cluster is the nearest
major star cluster to our Sun.
On the next clear evening, try to
piece together the legend of Pyramus
and Thisbe using several of the season's
main constellations. You can see Coma
Berenices as Thisbe's blood-stained
veil; Leo as the lion that stained it and
frightened Thisbe away; Virgo as the
fallen Thisbe; and Boötes performing
the role of the aggrieved Pyramus.
pWRITTEN IN THE STARS This 1606 etching by Italian artist Antonio Tempesta shows Thisbe
taking her own life. Note the lioness in the background and Thisbe's veil in the foreground.
¢ Contributing Editor STEPHEN JAMES
O'MEARA has been studying the stars
and their lore for more than 50 years.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * JUNE 2024 45
THE ELISHA WHITTELSEY COLLECTION / THE ELISHA WHITTELSEY FUND, 1951 / THE MET / PUBLIC DOMAIN
http://skyandtelescope.org
Sky & Telescope - June 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - June 2024
Contents
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 1
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 3
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 4
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 5
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 6
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 7
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 8
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 9
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 10
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 11
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 12
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 13
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 14
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 15
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 16
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 17
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 18
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 19
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 20
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 21
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 22
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 23
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 24
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 25
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 26
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 27
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 28
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 29
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 30
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 31
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 32
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 33
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 34
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 35
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 36
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 37
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 38
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 39
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 40
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 41
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 42
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 43
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 44
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 45
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 46
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 47
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 48
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 49
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 50
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 51
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 52
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 53
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 54
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 55
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 56
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 57
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 58
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 59
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 60
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 61
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 62
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 63
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 64
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 65
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 66
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 67
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 68
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 69
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 70
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 71
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 72
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 73
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 74
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 75
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 76
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 77
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 78
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 79
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 80
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 81
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 82
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 83
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - 84
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - June 2024 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202404_qr
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202401_aus
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202312_aus
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202304_qr
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/skywatch_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_mars
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201001
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com