Wangliang

In Chinese Astronomy, Wangliang (Chinese: zh 魍魎, pinyin: wǎng liǎng) is a Astérisme, in fact made up of five or six star S located in the Constellation of Cassiopée. It symbolizes a aurige and its four horses. A sixth star is sometimes associated with the asterism. It represents the whip held by the aurige.

Source

The Jinshu gives the following description of the asterism:

Wangliang , including/understanding five stars in the north of Kui is in the center of the Milky Way and represents the coachman of the Son of the Sky. Four of these stars form the Tiansi (literally “celestial quadriga”), whereas that on the side is called Wangliang name of a historical character. The isolated star Cexing (literally “the star of the whip”), the whip used by Wang Liang is side of Wangliang .

Stars of the asterism

There does not exist ambiguity on the star représentnat Wang Liang itself. It is about β Cassiopeiae, the star located at the end of famous “W” characteristic of the constellation. The four stars symbolizing the horses are located on the right β Case and roughly at equal distance from this one. Three of them are known with certainty, the fourth being discussed. These stars are:

γ Cassiopeiae (the star of the medium of “W”),
α Cassiopeiae (Schedar, the fourth star of “W”),
η Cassiopeiae (located between the two preceding ones),
ζ Cassiopeiae or υ Cssiopeiae.

First configuration (with ζ Case), proposed by the Astronomer Chinese Side Nai, with the advantage of gathering stars uniform magnitude, but if these stars are aligned, the distance between two consecutive stars of alignment is variable. The second, supported by the specialist in Histoire of astronomy F. Richard Stephenson has the advantage of having a more compact configuration with stars forming a more regular reason. However, υ Case, actually made up of two rather distant stars one of the other (separated from 0,3°) and significantly lumieuse than three other stars.

Although the text describing the asterism indicates that it comprises five stars, it evokes of it a sixth which would be the whip. This whip corresponds without ambiguity to the star κ Cassiopeiae, called Cexing by the Chinese astronomers ( litt. “star of the whip”).

General situation

Other nearby asterisms belong to the same set of themes as Wangliang, in particular Huagai , which represents the overhanging shelter fits with body it imperial

See too

List of asterisms of Chinese astronomy

Reference

, page 109.

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