Betelgeuse is one of the red supergiant stars to have a bow shock: others are Mu Cephei and IRC-10414. Betelgeuse can be seen at the upper left in Orion.
Betelgeuse is also called Alpha Orionis (α Orionis, abbreviated Alpha Ori, α Ori).
Phoenix (mythology)
In English culture, the Phoenix phoenix is ​​a mythical bird, very beautiful and unique in its kind, which, according to legend, lives in the western desert for 500 or 600 years, burns itself on a pile of debris, and from the resulting ashes, he himself once again He emerges with a youthful freshness and begins and passes another round of life. Phoenix in European culture is often an allegory of immortality and eternal life. Phoenix originally entered European culture from ancient Iran. During the eight centuries BC, the Phoenix bird is mentioned in nine references, eight of which have come down to us through quotations from later authors, and only one case by Herodotus, a Greek historian from 484 to 424 BC, is preserved in full. remained. Another Greek, Claudius Aelianus, also known as Aelian, wrote about Phoenix 200 AD: "Phoenix keeps the arithmetic of 500 years correct without the help of arithmetic or finger counting, because he learns everything from nature, which is the whole intellect. Although it seems necessary to know about Phoenix, among the Egyptians - perhaps only a handful of priests - no one knows when 500 years will pass, but at least we need to know where Egypt is and Heliopolis where Phoenix is. "Where is it and what kind of coffin does this bird put its father in and where does it bury it?" According to the English text, this historian calls Phoenix's father a father, but calls Phoenix the neutral form (it). Subsequent authors have often used the feminine form for Phoenix, but since this bird is a unique myth and its offspring did not derive from mating, the discussion of its sex did not seem to be very important. A Roman historian named Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid, is the first Roman to write about Phoenix in Latin. "How many creatures walk on earth today, but in the beginning they were different. There is only one being that will remain forever as it was from the beginning, that is, it will remain unchanged for many years, and finally, after extinction, it will be born again in its original form. This is a bird that the Assyrians, or in some sources probably the Syrians or the Phoenicians, call the phoenix. This bird does not eat ordinary seeds and grass, but eats fruit extracts and rare spices. When he is 500 years old, he builds a nest on a tall palm tree and with his fork makes a bed for himself from the finest materials, from tree bark to cinnamon and other spices and gums, and then he dies and his soul travels far away with fragrant smoke and steam, and the story It goes on to say that a small phoenix then rises from the chest of his lifeless body to live, as they say, another 500 years, and at that time, after his old age, he found the necessary courage to raise his throne and nests where his father is buried. A tall palm tree sets in motion and begins its journey to the city of the sun, where the Phoenix Nest Temple shines brightly in the Temple of the Sun. ”[3] From all that has been said about the phoenix in European culture, two general accounts of the phoenix can be given: First, Phoenix arises from his father's lifeless body and takes his father's body to the city of Heliopolis and burns it on the altar of the Temple of the Sun; And another narration is that the phoenix burns in a pile of fragrant wood and debris, flutters its wings and ignites a flame, burns itself in the fire, and from its ashes another phoenix is ​​born. So, in a nutshell, this myth can be said in European culture: "The phoenix burns in the fire and is born again from its ashes." In this regard, it is common in English to say, "Every fire may contain a phoenix.
During the first century AD, Phoenix was mentioned 21 times by ten authors. From all these sources it appears that the myth of Phoenix originated in ancient Egyptian civilization and was later spoken of in Greek, Roman and Christian civilizations, respectively. Among the Egyptians, the myth of Phoenix was originally the myth of the sun rising again at dawn after each night, and the name of the city of Heliopolis in Herodotus must have been related to this. The Egyptians consider the phoenix a sacred bird, which is very rare. According to the people of Heliopolis, the phoenix appears in Egypt once every 500 years after the death of the previous phoenix. There are only a few pictures of this bird, and as can be seen from its shape and size in these pictures, the wings and jump are red and yellow are golden, and its general size is like an eagle. A strange story is told about the work of this bird, and that is that this bird brings its father's body, which is covered with a kind of fragrant plant gum, all the way from the Arab land to the Temple of the Sun and buries it there. It is said that in order to bring a corpse, first it makes a gum large enough to carry it, then it empties it and puts the corpse in it and closes its mouth with fresh gum, and then the bullet, which is correct. It has regained its original weight, is brought to Egypt, and while the entire surface of the bullet is covered with gum, it is placed inside the Temple of the Sun, as mentioned.
In
Persian mythology, the phoenix means swan, a counterpart to the Indo-European and Chinese word phoenix, and appears to be the result of an arrangement of a pheasant, a Chinese chicken, and a mixture with other mythical birds. In Persian narrations, like in Indo-European narrations, this hen is a rare and lonely hen that is not a mate and as a result, she will not give birth. Phoenix lives a thousand years, and when his life comes to an end, he produces a large pile of firewood, and when he sits on that pile, he sings so much that he rejoices in his song, and by breaking his wings and with the help of his beak, he kindles a fire, and burns in the door. Fire produces a testicle (egg) from him and thus another phoenix is ​​born. [4] In this narrative, Phoenix is ​​the swan counterpart in European literature who ends his life by singing. Basically, in Persian literature, as in Indo-European literature, burning in one's suffering and rising from one's ashes and being born again have their way into the myth of Phoenix.
In Chinese mythological culture, the phoenix is ​​known as Feng Huang or the red bird, which is a genus of fire and is a symbol of summer and the south, which causes drought. For this reason, Phoenix contains the negative and material element of the world, namely yin, and is considered the symbol of the queen. In front of the phoenix is ​​the dragon, which is always considered to be the representative of Khaqan in Chinese mythology. [5] According to Chinese tradition, the phoenix flies less to the surface of the earth, and when it does, all the birds gather around it. According to Koyaji about Phoenix, he does not sit on the ground, but whenever he sits on the ground, he dances on one foot. Some have suggested that the Chinese phoenix is ​​the counterpart of Shang Shang or the rainbird in the Confucian version, while the Shang Shang or rainbird is the bird that symbolizes the yin, but the phoenix is ​​commonly considered the symbol of the yang. [4] Phoenix in Chinese mythology is a symbol of joy and happiness and a sign of heavenly satisfaction. In these myths, the dragon is the spirit of the rain and the symbol of Khaqan, and the phoenix is ​​the symbol of the queen and the south and the helper of the farmers.