History
The stars that form Grus were originally considered part of Piscis Austrinus (the southern fish). The Arabic name of Gamma Gruis (al-dhanab, "the tail") reflects this origins.
The stars were first defined as a separate constellation by Petrus Plancius, who created twelve new constellations based on the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. Grus first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius with Jodocus Hondius. Its first depiction in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.
An alternative name for the constellation, Phoenicopterus (Latin for flamingo), was used briefly during the early 17th century.
Grus represents a crane, though it is sometimes seen as a flamingo. There are no ancient myths associated with Grus.
Read more about this topic: Grus (constellation)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In front of these sinister facts, the first lesson of history is the good of evil. Good is a good doctor, but Bad is sometimes a better.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“All history is a record of the power of minorities, and of minorities of one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The history of all countries shows that the working class exclusively by its own effort is able to develop only trade-union consciousness.”
—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)