Tolkien on Astronomy

[Frodo Baggins]

Bear in mind what I am about to say I say not from spite, malice, or cruelty but something hit me while I was walking earlier today that I believe I must share.

I was thinking about stars in their relation to Elves and thus the writing of Tolkien himself. Now, as star-oriented as Elves are, you'd think they would write more about their movements and other behaviours. But astronomy seems to be a weak point for Tolkien. Now I understand that philologists don't go about gaping and the sky late at night, but there are a few things that I think he goofed on when writing about the Heavens. Offhand I can give three examples.

Morwinyon- to us it is called Arcturus. A bright reddish star in the constellation Boötes. Morwinyon means "glint in the dusk", a fitting name for it is one of the first stars to appear after sunset. But, Tolkien's writings which are complied in Lost Tales note that Morwinyon sits in the west. For one thing stars move throughout the night, they are not stationary. Also, most times I have seen Morwinyon/Arcturus appear it has been in the East! Did somebody oops or is Morwinyon NOT Artcurus?

Eärendil- called by us Venus. Jupiter is Alcarinquë "The Glorious" but if anything is called Glorious it should be Venus. So brilliantly silver-white that she outshines all the stars! But if you call it something besides Eärendil you cannot have the story of the mariner who goes to Valinor and then gets told to sail the sky for the rest of time yadda yadda. (you know the tale) Tolkien tells us the the men of Middle-earth followed Earendil to Numenor. Ok good, it's real easy to see, especially right before sunrise and just after sunset, I have even seen it cast faint shadows with its light. The problem is, Venus is only in the western sky for part of the year, then, like right now, it is in the eastern sky. Funny...this time last year it was already in the west..anyway. What would the men of Numenor do if Eärendil suddenly appeared int he east? Turn around and sail back? I have observed Venus taking only a very few days to leave the West entirely for a season and dominate the East.

Finally there is Helluin or Nielluin- My nitpicky issue with this star is mostly of an aesthetic quallity. Sirius is known to the Elves as Nielluin "bee of azure" or in later writings Helluin "Ice blue". Sand outside on a clear, frosty winter night when Orion and Canis Major dominate the sky. They rise about seven p.m. this time of year. Watch Sirius for a few minutes and you will discover something...it is not azure, nor is it ice blue, it is iridescent. Sirius flashes from frosty blue, to bright red, Royal purple, emerald green, silver, and sometimes even gold. This star is a veritable opal of unearthly colours. Azure and Ice blue seem such drab names for something so various and radiant. You would think, if Elves really did exist and name stars, they would see this rainbow and name it for its quality.

[Mithalwen]

I am only a very novice amateur astronomer but I am sure you will find this article as interesting as I did when the link was given to me - I made a reference to Tolkien's attempt for accuracy in this matter (no Orion visible in Scotland in June as in a certain other work... for example).

So taking on board your initial comment - I think you may be being a little harsh

http://www.physics.ccsu.edu/Larsen/a..._of_middle.htm

[Frodo Baggins]

Interesting article, Mithalwen, thank you.

I had forgotten about the sun and moon. If the earth turns around the sun as well as on its axis, how can one explain the behaviours of the sun and moon when they were first made? And how could life, even elves, survive all those hundreds of years without sunlight?

Now granted, it does make sense if the Men of Middle earth goofed when getting the tales from the Numenroeans. And if the Numenoreans goofed when getting the tales from the Elves, that would certainly not help.

[Lotrelf]

Ungoliant reminded me of a black hole, that swallows all including light. An enormous source of darkness.