There are only 3 stars in the pair of 'reddish ones', yet it is clearly expressed that the 'bed' should have 4 'legs'.
I think this might be a Sign. If we should search for the missing star ('leg of the bed'), then Hevelius can help:
He has drawn a great star at the end of the Lion's Tail. This star is out of proportion because 93 Leonis is not very bright, only 4.5 in visual magnitude. Allen: "Its symbol,
has been supposed to portray the animal's mane, but seems more appropriate to the other extremity; the Hyginus of 1488 and the Albumazar of 1489 showing this latter member of extraordinary length, twisting between the hind legs and over the back, the Hyginus properly locating the star Denebola in the end; but the International Dictionary, in a more scholarly way, says that this symbol is a corruption of the initial letter of Λέων." If the latter opinion should be correct, then the Tail of the Lion should imply 'the dark cloth'. The picture of Hevelius suggests 93 Leonis was rising much earlier than Denebola. However, his perspective is misleading because they rose practically simultaneously:
Possibly the structure 3 + 1 forced 93 Leonis 'into the background'. Or maybe the star was not bright enough compared to Denebola.
Anyhow, it seems reasonable to compare the quadrangle at the end of Leo - described as the form of a bed - with the quadrangle at the opposite end of the sky, viz. the Pegasus Square: |
