Preamble:
Stars are the most beautiful existence in the sky. In ancient Chinese legends, the stars carry countless beautiful love stories, such as the day of the Qixi Festival, we can see the scene of the meeting of the Cowherd and Vega in the sky, and their love is eternally frozen in this moment, touching countless people.
In the ancient poems and songs, the description of the stars is even more incisive, thus leaving countless classic masterpieces. Among them, the great poets of the Tang Dynasty and the great writers of the Song Dynasty also mentioned the three stars in the starry sky in their poems, they are the Cowherd Star, the Vega Star and the Sirius Star, and what kind of story do these three stars have? Today, let us unveil this mysterious veil together, walk into this legendary ancient love story together, and feel the profound meaning contained in it.
1. The myths and legends of the Cowherd, Vega and Sirius:
The Cowherd is the α star of the constellation Oxherd, while Vega is the α planet of Lyra, and Sirius is the α planet of Canis Major. In traditional Chinese mythology, according to legend, the Cowherd and Vega were originally a loving couple, and the two of them got acquainted because they lost the loom, so they fell in love and became husband and wife.
However, Chang'e's departure separated the loving couple into the sky and the earth, and Sirius, Chang'e's husband, is the cowherd who guards near Sirius and is always ready to receive Chang'e.
Helplessly, the love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl touched the emperor in the sky, so the emperor ordered the two of them to meet on the day of the Qixi Festival every year, and also gave them a galaxy, so that they could meet together along the galaxy.
2. Three stars in the starry sky:
In fact, in real life, we can also find these three stars in the starry sky, which are actually the well-known Cowherd, Vega and Sirius.
In the constellations, they belong to the constellation Niuherd, Lyra, and Canis Major, and these three stars happen to form the summer triangle and the winter triangle, and the summer triangle is composed of morning glory Vega and Tianjin four, and the winter triangle is composed of Betelgeuse in Orion, Nanhe III in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major.
Therefore, we can actually determine the season and time by observing these stars, and at the same time, we can more accurately grasp the passage of time. Among these three stars, the Cowherd and Vega are loved by countless people, because they carry a beautiful love story, and this love story has also become a source of inspiration in ancient poetry and songs, leaving one classic after another.
3. The Interesting Thing About Cowherd and Vega:
In fact, in our lives, we can clearly see these two stars through telescopes, and in real life, these two stars have many interesting places.
First of all, in terms of their size and brightness, we all know that Sirius is a brighter star, while Vega is a little darker, but did you know that Vega is actually much brighter than Sirius, but it is farther away from us, so the brightness observed on Earth is smaller.
And there is also a very interesting point about these two stars, that is, if their positions are reversed, then Vega will become brighter, and Sirius will become darker, so it can be seen that when we observe the stars, we also need to take into account the effect of their actual positions on brightness.
4. The lifespan of Vega and Sirius:
In fact, among the stars we are familiar with, Vega and Sirius, in fact, are relatively young stars, and their shapes are also different, Vega is larger, and the speed of rotation is also relatively fast, the shape is ellipsoidal, and Sirius is relatively small, but the brightness is very high, so in our impression, it always gives people a very dazzling feeling.
But even though they look radiant now, they don't have a very long lifespan, because they are all massive, so their core fuel runs out relatively quickly, and once the nuclear fuel is depleted, they expand rapidly, and then gradually cool, and finally become a very small star, which is what we call a white dwarf.
According to scientists' research, the lifespan of Vega and Sirius may only be about 1 billion years, compared to our sun, which is much longer than them, about 10 billion years, so we are really lucky to be able to see them in the starry sky now.
Epilogue:
Through today's article, I believe you should have a deeper understanding of the Cowherd, Vega and Sirius, right? In fact, around us, there are many natural landscapes, all of which contain some very profound meanings, and these natural landscapes are also the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancients, through them, we can better understand the ancients' understanding and perception of life, and can also better understand the mysteries of this world.
So in the future life, you might as well look up at the starry sky, maybe you can find some beauty that others can't see, and at the same time you can feel the good blessings of the ancients, let us together, with a heart of awe, to appreciate and protect everything around you.