Milky Way - Amanogawa

Japanese: 天の川 - あまのがわ

A faintly glowing band that runs along a great circle (the largest circle that can be drawn on the celestial sphere). In English, it is called the Milky Way. It is the brightest and widest near Sagittarius. It flows between the stars Altair and Vega, and reaches Sagittarius, passing from Cassiopeia to the north of Orion. When viewed through a telescope, it is clear that it is a group of faint stars that make up the Milky Way. The Milky Way is also written as Amanokawa, and is also called Amanotokawa and Amenoyasunokawa. Both are literary names that already exist in the Kojiki and Manyoshu, and the Tanabata legend appears in many works such as the Manyoshu and The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, becoming a popular subject for medieval literature.

[Naoaki Owaki]

"The Milky Way and the Galaxy" by Isaac Asimov, translated by Obara Takahiro (1990, Fukutake Shoten) " ▽ "The Universe and Its Origin: From Galaxy to the Big Bang" by Rudolf Kippenhahn, translated by Sobue Yoshiaki (1991, Asakura Shoten)" ▽ "15 Lectures on Introduction to Cosmology: Exploring the Modern Image of the Universe" by Sakurai Kunitomo (1994, Tokyo Kyogakusha)" ▽ "The Starry Tale of the Beginning of the Universe: Enjoy the Myth of the Beginning of the Universe" by Fujii Akira (1995, Seibundo Shinkosha)" ▽ "What Makes the Universe: From Dark Matter to Quarks" by Richard Fifield, edited and translated by Doi Tsunenari (1997, Maruzen)" ▽ "New Edition of "Invitation to Space" by Fujii Akira (1999, Kawade Shobo Shinsha)" ▽ "Space Exploration: What I Want to Know! by Fujii Akira "The Secrets of the Universe" (2002, Kaiseisha)" ▽ "Haruyuki Okuda, Yoshiaki Sobue, and Katsuji Koyama, "The Truth of the Milky Way: Revealing the Den of Supermassive Black Holes" (2008, Seibundo Shinkosha)" ▽ "Understanding the Milky Way Galaxy" edited by Newton Press (2008, Newton Press)" ▽ "Enjoying the Latest Cosmology and Astronomy -- From the Mysteries of the Solar System to Inflation Theory" edited by Katsuhiko Sato (PHP Bunko)

Milky Way (over Hawaii Island)
The Milky Way photographed from near the summit of Mauna Kea (4,205 m above sea level). Hawaii, Hawaii, USA ©Dr. Hideaki Fujiwara-Subaru Telescope, NAOJ.

Milky Way (over Hawaii Island)

Milky Way (over the Atacama Desert)
The Milky Way photographed near the ALMA observatory, located at an altitude of about 5,000 m. The black areas are dark nebulae. Eastern suburbs of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile ©ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)

Milky Way (over the Atacama Desert)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

天球上を大円（天球面上に描くことのできる最大の円）に沿って淡く光る帯をいう。英語ではミルキー・ウェイMilky Way。いて座付近でもっとも明るく幅も広い。七夕(たなばた)の牽牛(けんぎゅう)星（アルタイル）と織女(しょくじょ)星（ベガ）の間を流れ、カシオペヤ座からオリオン座の北を通り、みなみじゅうじ座に至る。天体望遠鏡で見ると銀河系を構成する微光星の群れであることがわかる。天の川は天の河とも書き、天の戸河(あまのとかわ)、天の安の河(あめのやすのかわ)ともいう。いずれも文学的名称で『古事記』『万葉集』にすでにあり、七夕伝説は『万葉集』『竹取物語』など多くの作品にみられ、中世文学の好題材となった。

［大脇直明］

『アイザック・アシモフ著、小原隆博訳『天の川と銀河系』（1990・福武書店）』▽『ルドルフ・キッペンハーン著、祖父江義明訳『宇宙とその起源――銀河からビッグバンへ』（1991・朝倉書店）』▽『桜井邦朋著『宇宙論入門15講――現代の宇宙像を探る』（1994・東京教学社）』▽『藤井旭著『宇宙の始まりの星ものがたり――宇宙の始まりの神話を楽しもう』（1995・誠文堂新光社）』▽『Richard Fifield著、土井恒成編訳『何が宇宙をつくっているか――暗黒物質からクォークまで』（1997・丸善）』▽『藤井旭著『宇宙への招待』新版（1999・河出書房新社）』▽『藤井旭著『宇宙探検――そこが知りたい！宇宙の秘密』（2002・偕成社）』▽『奥田治之・祖父江義明・小山勝二著『天の川の真実　超巨大ブラックホールの巣窟を暴く』（2008・誠文堂新光社）』▽『ニュートン　プレス編『よくわかる天の川銀河系』（2008・ニュートン　プレス）』▽『佐藤勝彦監修『最新宇宙論と天文学を楽しむ本――太陽系の謎からインフレーション理論まで』（PHP文庫）』