Slytherin Sock Syndicate

  You’ll need a  dark sky   to see Eridanus the River. You won’t see this constellation from the city, or even the suburbs. The River begins near the star   Rigel   in the constellation   Orion the Hunter and wells up in a great loop before ambling back down toward the southern horizon.  Why search for such a faint constellation? Only because it’s beautiful. And seeing Eridanus – understanding its association with a river in the minds of the early stargazers – can give you a kinship with those stargazers from centuries ago. Prompt: 1 round on sock A Using two contrasting blues follow the  chart found here .  For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The dark blue edge stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock.

  Day 23 Canis Minor Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy’s 48 constellations, and it is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for “lesser dog”, in contrast to Canis Major, the “greater dog”; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter. Canis Minor contains only two stars brighter than the fourth magnitude, Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 0.34, and Gomeisa (Beta Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 2.9. The constellation’s dimmer stars were noted by Johann Bayer, who named eight stars including Alpha and Beta, and John Flamsteed, who numbered fourteen. Procyon is the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, as well as one of the closest. Prompt 2 rounds on Sock B Using a dark colour for the back ground and a light colour for the two stars of your choosing , or a ight and...

DAY 22 3 rounds on sock B Sagitta is a  distinctive constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for 'arrow', not to be confused with the significantly larger constellation Sagittarius 'the archer'. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union.  Gamma Sagittae is the constellation's brightest star. Epsilon, Zeta, and Theta Sagittae are each multiple stars whose components can be seen in small telescopes. V Sagittae is a cataclysmic variable—a binary star system composed of a white dwarf accreting mass of a donor star that is expected to go nova and briefly become the most luminous star in the Milky Way and one of the brightest stars in our sky around the year 2083. Two star systems in Sagitta are known to have Jupiter-like planets, while a third—15 Sagittae—has a brown dwarf companion. The ancient Greeks called Sagit...

*Day 21 - 4 rows on Sock A Today, I present the Scorpius constellation for my final day of this year's sock.  Lying in the southern sky, this constellation can best be viewed in mid-July around 21:00.  According to Constellation Guide ,  "In Greek mythology, the constellation Scorpius was identified with the scorpion that stung Orion, the mythical hunter. The two constellations lie opposite each other in the sky, and Orion is said to be fleeing from the scorpion as it sets just as Scorpius rises." Prompt Knit day 21 of this CHART in two colors of your choosing.  For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock.

Horologium is one of the 14 constellations named by  French astronomer   Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille . He surveyed the sky in the 1700's.  It ranks 58th in size out of the 88 constellations. Horologium is supposed to represent a pendulum clock, though the dim stars here are not particularly distinctive.  Observers in the Southern Hemisphere can see the constellation best throughout December. Prompt: 5 Rounds on Sock A Today's chart represents clock faces bouncing through the sky. Using sky blue and a dark contrasting color follow the chart found here .  For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock.

  Day 19 Equuleus Equuleus is a faint constellation located just north of the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for “little horse”, a foal. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the second smallest of the modern constellations (after Crux), spanning only 72 square degrees. It is also very faint, having no stars brighter than the fourth magnitude. Prompt 6 rows sock B Using an neutral colour (or your chosen colour) for the horse coat and White to represent the horse shoes. knit the  Chart  linked. For toe up socks , remember to start at the bottom right hand corner and for cuff down socks start at the top left corner. OR using the colours knit your rounds in helical knitting. Size 72, knit the entire chart. Size 68, knit to the one pink coloured lines marked at 34. Size 62, knit from both pink coloured lines marked at 3 to 34.

 DAY 18 Columba - the dove Columba is a constellation designated in the late sixteenth century. Its name is Latin for dove. In 1592 AD, Petrus Plancius first depicted Columba on the small celestial planispheres of his large wall map to differentiate the 'unformed stars' of the large constellation Canis Major. Columba is also shown on his smaller world map of 1594 and on early Dutch celestial globes. Plancius named the constellation Columba Noachi ("Noah's Dove"), referring to the dove that gave Noah the information that the Great Flood was receding. This name is found on early 17th-century celestial globes and star atlases. Prompt 7 rounds on sock B using a dove colour (white, off white or grey) and a contrasting background use the chart found HERE  

  8 rows on Sock A Today, I present the Pegasus constellation.  Now that we're getting down to small row numbers, I had no space to make a grand, winged horse.  Instead, I focused on the thunderbolts Pegasus would carry for Zeus.   Prompt Knit the CHART for Day 17.  Use two colors that make you want to soar as high as Pegasus in the sky.

Triangulum the Triangle is a constellation in northern skies that you can best spot in late autumn or early winter. It lies northeast of the  Great Square of Pegasus  and below Cassiopeia's “W” shape . While there are several dim galaxies in Triangulum, there is only one here that draws the attention of amateur astronomers. It’s one of the brighter galaxies in the sky: the  Triangulum galaxy . It also has the nickname of the Pinwheel galaxy, but that can get confusing because there’s another galaxy with the same name in Ursa Major. Prompt: 9 rounds on sock A Using two contrasting colors of your choice work the chart  found here . For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock.

  Day 15 Crux Crux is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way’s visible band. The name Crux is Latin for cross. Even though it is the smallest of all 88 modern constellations, Crux is among the most easily distinguished as its four main stars each have an apparent visual magnitude brighter than +2.8. It has attained a high level of cultural significance in many Southern Hemisphere states and nations. Crux contains four Cepheid variables, each visible to the naked eye under optimum conditions. Crux also contains the bright and colourful open cluster known as the Jewel Box (NGC 4755) on its eastern border. Nearby to the southeast is a large dark nebula spanning 7° by 5° known as the Coalsack Nebula, portions of which are mapped in the neighbouring constellations of Centaurus and Musca. Prompt 10 rounds on sock B Using an red (or your chosen co...

  DAY 14 11 rounds on Sock B Lyra (Latin for ‘lyre’) is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star maps as a vulture or an eagle carrying a lyre, and hence is sometimes referred to as Vultur Cadens or Aquila Cadens (“Falling Vulture”3 or “Falling Eagle”), respectively. Beginning at the north, Lyra is bordered by Draco, Hercules, Vulpecula, and Cygnus. In Greek mythology, Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus. Orpheus’s music was said to be so great that even inanimate objects such as rocks could be charmed. Joining Jason and the Argonauts, his music was able to quell the voices of the dangerous Sirens, who sang tempting songs to the Argonauts. At one point, Orpheus married Eurydice, a nymph. While fleeing from an attack by Aristaeus, she stepped on a snake that bit her, killing her. To reclaim her, Orpheus entered the U...

  12 rows on Sock A Today, we visit another of Ptolemy's constellations - Hydra.  It is the largest of the 88 modern constellations and is often depicted as a water snake.   While reading about Hydra, I found the following on Wiki: " In Hindu Mythology the star that equivalents Hydra is  Ashlesha . [5]  In  Chinese astronomy , the stars that correspond to Hydra are located within the  Vermilion Bird  and the  Azure Dragon . The head of Hydra was collectively known as "Min al Az'al," meaning "belonging to the uninhabited spot" in  Arabic . [6] " PROMPT: Knit according to the day 13 CHART .  Feel free to use any colors you'd like!

Aries the Ram ranks 11th smallest out of the 12 zodiac constellations. December is a great month to spot it. In Greek mythology, Aries represents the supernatural Ram that was sent by Zeus to rescue the children of Athamus, the King of Thebes, from political intrigue. Phrixus and his sister Helle were about to meet their demise, but the flying Ram, which could both speak and reason, took them away in the nick of time. The children held on tight as the Ram flew them away for the safety of Colchis, an ancient kingdom bordering the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Unfortunately, Helle fell into the sea and drowned before reaching their destination. Hellespont – the ancient name for the Dardanelles Strait near Istanbul, Turkey – marks the place of her death, named in her honor. Phrixus survived the long trip to Colchis. He gave thanks by sacrificing the Ram to Zeus, hanging it in a sacred grove where the fleece turned to gold. Later on, Jason and the Argonauts recovered the Golden Fleece. P...

  Day 11 Delphinus Delphinus is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere, close to the celestial equator. Its name is the Latin version for the Greek word for dolphin (δελφίς). It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. It is one of the smaller constellations, ranked 69th in size. Delphinus’ five brightest stars form a distinctive asterism symbolizing a dolphin with four stars representing the body and one the tail. It is bordered (clockwise from north) by Vulpecula, Sagitta, Aquila, Aquarius, Equuleus and Pegasus. According to myth, the first Greek god Poseidon wanted to marry Amphitrite, a beautiful nereid. However, wanting to protect her virginity, she fled to the Atlas mountains. Her suitor then sent out several searchers, among them a certain Delphinus. Delphinus accidentally stumbled upon her and was able to persuade Amphi...

 # **DAY 10**  15 rounds on sock B Pavo - The Peacock   Pavo is a constellation in the southern sky whose name is Latin for ‘peacock’. Pavo first appeared on a 35-cm (14 in) diameter celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius and was depicted in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria of 1603. It is one of 4 constellations that make up the southern birds. “In Greek myth the stars that are now the Peacock were Argos or Argus, builder of the ship Argo. He was changed by the goddess Juno into a peacock and placed in the sky along with his ship.” Indeed, the peacock “symbolized the starry firmament” for the Greeks, and the goddess Hera was believed to drive through the heavens in a chariot drawn by peacocks. The peacock and the “Argus” nomenclature are also prominent in a different myth, in which Io, a beautiful princess of Argos, was lusted after by Zeus. Zeus changed Io into a heifer to deceive his wife Hera and couple with her....

  16 rounds on Sock A Today's prompt is based on the Ophiuchus constellation.  Some consider Ophiuchus the 13th astrological sign.  Unlike the other signs, the sun and planets orbit through Ophiuchus.  Later, Greek and Roman mythology identified Ophiuchus as Asclepius.  Asclepius became a great healer after witnessing a snake heal another with some herbs.  He was so talented he could raise the dead. Prompt Based on Asclepius' myth, the chart depicts Asclepius with some herbs for healing.  Knit the CHART as indicated.  Colors are suggestions.  Feel free to supplement any colors you'd like.

  Cassiopeia is the largest constellation in the northern sky. It is so large it houses *three* nebulae! One of these is the Heart Nebula and another is the Soul Nebula. These two special formations are the inspiration for today's sock segment.  **Prompt: 17 rounds on sock A** Using red and the contrasting color of your choice work the chart found here . For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock. If you would like to knit the alternative to the colorwork and do helical stripes in the chosen colors please follow the instructions above.

#DAY 7 Andromeda Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy, and one of the 88 modern constellations. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, it is named for Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, in the Greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude; for observers farther south, it lies below the horizon. It is one of the largest constellations, with an area of 722 square degrees. Prompt ** Sock B ~ 18 rows** Using an aqua or blue green (or your chosen colour) and White for the stars and a contrasting dark colour, knit the  CHART  linked. For toe up socks , remember to start at the bottom right hand corner and for cuff down socks start at the ...

  **Day 5** ![serpens.jpg][1] Today, we visit the Serpens constellation.  It's situated in the northern hemisphere.  According to the Chandra X-Ray Observatory: "The story behind the name: Serpens, the Latin word for serpent, is the only constellation divided into 2 parts: Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail). The two parts wind around the figure of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing and medicine. Serpens is the same snake found on the symbol of medicine worldwide." **PROMPT 20 Rows on Sock A** Knit this CHART with your chosen colors according to your size. For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock. The pattern was written with white, black, and green in mind, but it would also look great in many other combinations. Please feel free to change up anything you see and share it with me here. I love seeing everyone’s inte...

 # DAY 6 Aquarius Aquarius is a zodiac constellation  along the equator. the name comes from the Latin for water carrier or cup carrier. it's astrological symbol represents water . It was one of the constellations listed by Ptolomy in the second century. > Aquarius is identified as GU.LA "The Great One" in the Babylonian star catalogues and represents the god Ea himself, who is commonly depicted holding an overflowing vase. The Babylonian star-figure appears on entitlement stones and cylinder seals from the second millennium. It contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age. In Old Babylonian astronomy, Ea was the ruler of the southernmost quarter of the Sun's path, the "Way of Ea", corresponding to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice. Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively connoted. In Ancient Egypt astronomy, Aquarius was associated with the...

Centaurus constellation is the ninth largest of the 88 officially recognized constellations. It can be found in the southern hemisphere.  It represents the centaur, the half-man, half-horse magical creature. We know there are many living in the Forbidden Forest.  Prompt:  21 Rounds on Sock A Use a medium brown to represent the centaur fur and a darker yarn with good contrast knit from this chart . For toe-up socks, remember to start at the bottom right-hand corner, and for cuff-down socks start at the top left corner. OR using the colors knit your rounds in helical knitting. Size 72, knit the entire chart. Size 68, knit to the one pink line marked at 34. Size 62, knit from both pink lines marked at 3 to 34.

 DAY 3 Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac, between Cancer the crab to the west and Virgo the maiden to the east. It is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for lion, and to the ancient Greeks represented the Nemean Lion killed by the mythical Greek hero Heracles as one of his twelve labors. Its old astronomical symbol is ( ︎). One of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, Leo remains one of the 88 modern constellations today, and one of the most easily recognizable due to its many bright stars and a distinctive shape that is reminiscent of the crouching lion it depicts. The lion’s mane and shoulders also form an asterism known as “The Sickle,” which to modern observers may resemble a backwards “question mark.” Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom all are Leo’s Prompt 22 rounds on sock B Using an Orange (or your chosen colour) and White to represent this fire constellation and a contrasting dark col...

 Welcome to day 2 Polaris, also known as the North Star, the Pole Star, the star that sits still, and the nail star, is the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation. It's lies just 1 degree off the celestial north pole making it the closest start to north and is stable so used for navigational means. Visible to the naked eye, Polaris is actually a triple star system including Polaris A/a the largest of the three, a yellow supergiant. Prompt 23 rounds on sock B Using  a yellow to represent the supergiant star and a good dark contrast colour  and knit the CHART linked.  For toe-up socks, start at the bottom right at 1. For cuff-down socks, start at the top left at 1. The gray stitches are omitted for the 68-st sock and included for the 72-st sock.   If you would like to knit the alternative to the colourwork and do helical stripes in the chosen colours please follow the instructions in this POST