Photo/Illutration The black hole shadow and the ring-like flow of gas surrounding the black hole in the M87 galaxy (Provided by a team of scientists from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and other institutes)

Compared to the clear winter night sky, which shows myriads of twinkling stars, the nocturnal sky in spring has the reputation of being less spectacular.

In fact, however, it is easier to see distant galaxies in the spring night sky as there are fewer visible stars. It is called a “window of the universe.”

In a planetarium show, the narrator stressed that spring was “the best season to peek into outer space.”

One spring four years ago, M87, a giant galaxy about 55 million light years from Earth, made headlines across the world. Back then, the first direct image of a black hole in that galaxy had been released.

Last week, an image showing a disk-like flow of gas around the black hole was also released.

M87 is a galaxy in the constellation Virgo that is visible in the spring in the southern sky. In Greek mythology, Virgo was the daughter of the goddess of the harvest and was taken to the underworld, where she had to spend four months each year.

When the heartbroken goddess of the harvest disappears, winter comes. When the daughter comes back and the goddess appears, spring arrives.

Spica, a star in Virgo, is called “Shinjuboshi” (Pearl star) in Japanese. The Big Dipper asterism is known as “Hishakuboshi” (Dipper star). Hoei Nojiri (1885-1977), a Japanese scholar of English literature, collected the Japanese names of stars and authored many books.

Unlike constellations in Greek myths, Japanese star names have unique connotations to them as they are often rooted in the lives of farmers and fishermen.

In his book about some 700 names of stars titled “Nihon no Hoshi” (Japanese star names), Nojiri recorded the Japanese name of “Mugiboshi” (Wheat star) for Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes.

Arcturus shines in the middle of “Haru no Dai-kyokusen” (Big curve of spring), a group of stars spanning from the Big Dipper to Spica. The name wheat star is quite suitable for Arcturus, which shines in bright gold in the northeastern sky around May when ears of wheat turn gold, he wrote.

Though farmers no longer use stars to know when to plant seeds and sailors no longer need them for navigation at sea, a starry sky still captures the imagination of many people.

As we connect the bright dots in the sky, we start feeling that our daily problems are nothing but trivial matters.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 30

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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