Ara (constellation) - Illustrations

Illustrations

In illustrations, Ara is usually depicted as an altar with its smoke 'rising' southward. However, depictions of Ara often vary in their details. Johann Bayer in 1603 depicted Ara as an altar with burning incense; the flames rise southward as in most atlases. Hyginus also depicted Ara as an altar with burning incense, though his Ara featured devils on either side of the flames. However, Willem Blaeu, a Dutch uranographer active in the 16th and 17th centuries, drew Ara as an altar designed for sacrifice, with a burning animal offering. Unlike most depictions, the smoke from Blaeu's Ara rises northward, represented by Alpha Arae. A more unusual depiction of Ara comes from Aratus, a Greek uranographer, in 270 BCE. He drew Ara as a lighthouse, where Alpha. Beta, Epsilon, and Zeta Arae represent the base, and Eta Arae represents the flames at the lighthouse's light.