Hamlet's Mill gives us the opportunity to study where the arrows in the sky are located:
The arrow defined by Altair (α Aquila) and Tarazed (γ Aquila) seems to be aimed at Vega. The brighter star (Altair) is not the point of the arrow but its tail. At first that felt strange: Shouldn't Altair be the point of the arrow? No, after some time for reflection it is obvious: The brightest star must be where the tail feather is - feathers mark light. Alshain - β Aquila - is dimmer (3.9) than Tarazed (2.8) according to SkyGlobe, and Altair has magnitude 0.8. According to Allen Altair is 1.3, Tarazed 3.0 and Alshain 3.9. Either Alshain was brighter earlier or Tarazed dimmer (or both). "These three stars constitute the Family of Aquila, the line joining them being 5o in length." (Allen) The little circle defines where the polar axis is pointed, e.g. at α Draco (Thuban) 5,000 years ago. Vega (α Lyra) was pole star very long ago, was that the time when the arrow in Aquila was created in the minds of people? "I became curious about this star ... called Nuutuittuq [= 'never moves'] ... So, on the lee side of our uquutaq {a snow windbreak} I positioned a harpoon pointing directly at this particular star to see if it would move. In the morning I checked it and discovered that the Tukturjuit {Ursa Major} had changed their position completely but the harpoon still pointed at this star.... I had discovered the stationary star ... " (Abraham Ulayuruluk of Igloolik according to Arctic Sky.) The wooden stave (pole) and the lights in the sky are intimately connected. Metoro often said vero at this type of glyph. |
