Star Lore

Lilium

The Lilie

Lilium is a now obsolete constellation in the northern hemisphere, created in 1679 by Augustin Royer.
In 1679, French architect Augustin Royer published a star map that included two new creations of his own, both honoring his patron, French King Louis XIV.

The stars used to create Lilium are steeped in the history of now obsolete constellations.

In 1612, Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius created - among other constellations - a constellation called Apes (plural of Apis, which is Latin for bee) out of the faint stars 33, 35, 39 and 41 Arietis in the northern part of the constellation Aries.

In 1624, the formation was renamed Vespa (Latin for wasp) by Jakob Bartsch.

In the star atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, published in 1690, it was named Musca (Latin for fly).

This should not be confused with the southern hemisphere constellation Musca, created in 1603 by Keyser and de Houtman.

For this very reason, in later star maps, the constellation appeared as Musca Borealis (Northern Fly), while the Southern Fly was named Musca Australis.

In 1679, Augustin Royer used the same stars for his creation of Lilium, the Lily, referring to the fleur-de-lis, the symbol of French royalty.

In 1922, when the IAU settled on the 88 modern constellations, the stars of Apes / Vespa / Musca Borealis / Lilium were reunited with those of Aries. The southern constellation Musca Australis became simply Musca.

Sources: Wikipedia, SkyEye, Ian Ridpath Musca Borealis and Aries in Urania's Mirror
Lilium and Triangulum by C Thomas, Frankfurt & Leipzig, 1730
Source:swaen.com

When the IAU settled on the 88 modern constellations, the stars of Musca Borealis / Lilium were reunited with those of Aries and Musca Australis became simply Musca.

As a constellation, Lilium disappeared from the star maps in 1930, but the name remained to this day. In 2016, the name Lilii Borea was adopted by the IAU as the official name for 39 Arietis.

Sources: Wikipedia, SkyEye, Ian Ridpath

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