Shravana/Thiruvonam Nakshatra captured in Aquila constellation using mobile astro-photography
Shravana is the 22nd nakshatra ari or lunar mansion and it belongs to the constellation Makara or Capricorn zodiac.
- Indian zodiac: 10° — 23°20' Makara
- Western zodiac 3°46–17°06' Aquarius
It is the star mansion of Lord Venkateshwara in Hindu Mythology.
The Venkatachala Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana describes the story of Venkateshwara (the Vishnu deity in Tirupati, AKA Balaji or Srinivasa). This excerpt describes how Brihaspati, guru of the gods, is called by Padmavathi’s father Akasa Raja to fix a date for the marriage of Narayana and Padmavathi:
Saying “So be it” the Lord of men called Brihaspati from the world of Suras asked him about (the hour) for the marriage of the girl and the bridegroom. The king asked: “The native star of the girl is Mrigashirsha; that of The Lord is Shravana. Let the conjunction of these two be considered.” On hearing it [Brihaspati] said “The star Uttaraphalguni suits both of them for the increase of their happiness. It is declared so by the divine astrologers. Let their marriage be celebrated on the Uttaraphalguni day.” He said, “Let it be celebrated duly in the month if Vaishakha.”
Let us have a look at the Nakshatra captured as part of Aquila Constellation.
α Aquilae- Altair — 0.77
β Aquilae-Alshain- 3.87
γ Aquilae- Tarazed — 2.712
are the three stars that constitute this lunar mansion.
Altair designated α Aquilae is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It is currently in the G-cloud — a nearby interstellar cloud, an accumulation of gas and dust. Altair is an A-type main-sequence star with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77 and is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle asterism (the other two vertices are marked by Deneb and Vega).
Let us have a look at Dhanishta in the next post. Until then, have a great day! :-)
