放大圖片
「人生不相見,動如參與商。」這是杜甫《贈衛八處士》的首句。當中的「參」和「商」是我國古星宿;按照國際的星座劃分,「參」是獵戶座,「商」是天蠍座。在春末日落後,可見「參」開始沒入西面的地平,再過約一小時,「商」便從東南方升起。兩個星宿此升彼沒,永不相遇,原來在東、西方也各有它們的故事。
《左傳》記載高辛氏王的兩個兒子很合不來,每天都動干戈,高辛氏遂把大兒子調去商丘(「商」星管的地方),幼子則遣往夏(「參」星管的地方)。從此兩人再沒有見面和動武的機會。
古希臘傳說中的奧瑞恩精於狩獵,並誇下海口說能獵殺地上任何猛獸。大地之母聞之大為憤怒,導致陸地崩裂,一隻大蠍子從罅隙爬到奧瑞恩腳下,咬了他一口,奧瑞恩最終毒發身亡。宙斯遂把奧瑞恩帶往天上成為獵戶座,又把蠍子拋到天空的另一邊,令牠再不能傷害奧瑞恩。
Orion and Scorpion
In late spring, Orion, the hunter, can be seen sinking towards the western horizon after sunset, and not long after that emerges Scorpius, the scorpion, from the southeastern horizon. The two constellations never appear in the sky at the same time.
The Chinese legend says Emperor Ku had two sons who were always fighting. So the emperor sent the elder son to Shang, the Heart Mansion in the sky(the brightest stars of Scorpius). Then he sent the younger son to Xia, the Three Stars Mansion(the belt of Orion). The two never met again.
In ancient Greece, Orion boasted that he could kill all the beasts. Mother Earth was furious. She sent a scorpion to sting and poison him. Zesus put both Orion and the scorpion in the sky. But he took care to put the scorpion so far away that it could never hurt Orion again. ■圖片、文:甄枝強 資深天文愛好者
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