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Uncharted Constellations

Star Lore Polophylax The Guardian of the Pole

Polophylax a now obsolete constellation in the southern hemisphere, created in 1592 by Petrus Plancius.

The only documents showing this constellation are two world maps created by Petrus Plancius in 1592 and 1594. The maps contained two small planispheres of the celestial hemispheres, meant mainly as decoration. Plancius conceived the concept of the Guardian before he had accurate reports of the stars near the south pole, which is why there have never been any actual stars assigned to this constellation. Plancius intended to create a constellation similar to Boötes, which in the northern hemisphere follows the bears around the pole. Similarely, the Guardian of the South Pole was supposed to circle the south celestial pole Its name was formed from the Greek πόλος, meaning pole as in the extreme of an axis, and φύλαξ which could mean watcher, guardian, keeper or protector. In his map, Plancius spelled the constellation Polophilax and depicted it as a blue-robed figure near the celestial south pole.

Southern celestial hemisphere in Plancius' worls map Sources: Ian Ridpath, Wikipedia,

In 1597, after the First Dutch Fleet returned from the Indian Ocean and Plancius received the reports of Dutch navigators Keyser and de Houtman, he discarded the concept of Polophylax. On his 1598 globe, the constellations Hydrus, Phoenix and Tucana took the place of the imaginary Guardian. In 1922, all three constellations were accepted by the IAU as part of the 88 modern constellations,. Sources: Wikipedia, Ian Ridpath, John C. Barentine: Uncharted Constellations

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