AURIGA THE CHARIOTEER

One Greek legend refers to the constellation Auriga as Erichthonius, the son of Vulcan and Minerva. Erich (for short), was born deformed and could not walk well. To remedy his situation, Erich invented the four-horse chariot to get him around the kingdom. He was so respected for his invention that he became the fourth king of Athens. Also Erich had a soft spot for crippled or injured animals, his favorite being a little she-goat (Capella). In the sky we are supposed to see Erich holding little Capella and two other goats as they race around the heavens.

Capella is one of the brightest stars in the sky and easy way to find Auriga. When low in the sky it twinkles red, white, and blue. The Arabs called it, "The Driver," "The Singer," and "The Guardian of the Pleiades." It was, "The Heart of Brahma" in India. And in South America this star was one of the favorites among shepherds who called it "Colca." Astronomers have figured out that Capella is actually a four-star system with two big yellow suns and two little red ones. 

Look for Auriga almost straight overhead in the February evenings.  Its stars form a squished-pentagon shape. Capella will be your guide and you can use it to find  "the kids" on the next clear night.

Canis Major and Canis Minor, Orion's Sky Dogs

Sirius A and B

The winter southern sky is ablaze with the brightest stars in the sky.  8 of the top 20 brightest stars can be found there awaiting your wishes.  The brightest of them all is Sirius, the nose of Orion's bigger hunting dog, Canis Major.  Sirius is about 23 times brighter than the North Star and scorches the winter sky with a stark white light.  Sirius definitely isn't the biggest star up there - it's just one of the closest.  At about 8.6 light years away, it's really two stars - a faint white dwarf star called Sirius B orbits the main star every 50 years.


Creepy Lookin' Dogs

Up higher and not quite as bright is the little dog star, Procyon.  Procyon weighs in as the eighth brightest star in the sky becuase it's a close one too.  In fact Procyon bears a lot of similarities with Sirius.  At about 11 light years away, this white sub-giant star has a white dwarf star orbiting it as well.




Canis Major, is easy to find.  Use Orion’s belt as a guide.  Connect the dots of the three belt stars and continue the line down and to the left and you will run smack into Sirius.  With a little imagination you can use the semi-bright stars around Sirius to picture the big dog, but with the little dog… it only has two stars in it.  That’s right, it’s a real hot dog! 
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Orion Myth Part I

Orion the Mighty Hunter is one of the most beloved and easiest to recognize constellations in the night sky. Cold, crisp winter nights are the best time to observe the "belted one" in the southern sky. Over the course of the next few weeks I'll share some Greek myths that show Orion does not stand alone in the winter sky.  If you use your ancient Greek imagination when looking at the stars, you may see him surrounded by a bull with seven women on its back, while two hunting dogs chase unicorn and a bunny rabbit down by the river... SAY WHAT!

Let's start with Orion. According to Greek myths he was a big, strong, tough guy. One day he was out hunting. When he took a break on this hilltop, he beheld a sight that took his breath away. There were seven women dancing in a clearing while a huge crowd cheered them on. These were the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades. Orion fell in love... with all of them.

Now, Orion was very brave in battle but not very courageous when it came to talking to women. So he needed to work up all his courage just to even speak to the sisters. One day he finally met them and asked for their 14 hands in marriage. The sisters were so outraged that they rejected him and strode away. Orion didn't know much about dating, but he heard somewhere that women respond well to a man who is persistent. So he kept meeting the sisters at awkward times and asking them again and again to marry him. After a week of this, the sisters couldn't take it anymore. They asked for divine intervention. The gods listened and promptly turned the Pleiades into doves. They immediately flew away from Orion - as fast as they could - and headed higher and higher into the sky. Eventually they decided to stay in the heavens and became stars.

You can find the Pleiades high in the south after sunset. We'll learn more the rest of the story in Part II. So tune in!

 

Pegasus the Flying Horse

One of the great fall constellations is Pegasus the Flying horse. He's easy to find in the sky if you're prepared to imagine him flying upside-down. Look for a big square or diamond shape of dim stars almost straight overhead. As an added clue there are very few stars within the square. This is Pegasus' body. His head and mane are to the right from the square.

Pegasus has one of the grossest origin stories I've ever read. He was born during the epic battle between Perseus the Hero and the dreaded Sea Monster. Remember the Sea Monster had just risen from the briny deep to devour poor, helpless Princess Andromeda - when Perseus flew up. And luckily Perseus had just the weapon to fight the horrible beast. Earlier in the day Perseus decapitated Medusa - the snaky-haired gorgon whose look turned all living souls to stone. Perseus closed his eyes and took Medusa's bloody head out of a bag and showed it to the Sea Monster. At first glance the monster turned to stone, cracked of its own weight and fell to the bottom of the sea.

But where did Pegasus come from? I'm getting to it.

During the battle, Medusa's head was still a little juicy. I mean Perseus just killed her that morning after all. When Perseus held out Medusa's head to the Sea Monster some blood dripped out of her neck. When the blood hit the sea water below a magical thing happened. Through some sort of foamy, jello process the Gorgon's blood mixed with the water to form into... Pegasus the Flying Horse. This was a common theme in Greek mythology - when a monster or god bled, something always sprang from it. But it's hard to imagine a lovely winged horse coming from such a gruesome beginning. Those Greeks sure had imaginations!

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Leo the Lion

Spring has sprung in Cincinnati and we can finally focus on the constellations of spring.

The first of the major spring constellations, Leo is recognizable by the six stars which form his head shaped like a backwards question mark - also called the sickle or fishhook. The bright star Regulus is the dot in the question mark and designates this King of the Beasts. The back end of Leo is marked by a triangle of stars - the farthest east being his tail, Denebola.

In Greek mythology, Leo may represent the Nemean Lion which ravaged the Mediterranean countryside long ago. The boldest, bravest hunters were sent out to kill Leo but faced a nearly immortal enemy. Leo had an impenetrable hide. When the hunters shot arrows at the lion, they just bounced off. When they tried stabbing him with the sharpest swords, no cuts could be made.

Hercules comes on the scene to kill the lion as the first of his twelve labors. This is where he shows that he has some brains (unlike the dimmer Orion). Hercules stalks after the killer beast and, at the most opportune moment, leaps onto Leo’s back wrestling him about the neck. Using his mighty muscles, Hercules squeezes and squeezes until Leo the Lion is strangled to death.

But Hercules isn’t all muscles. If you ever see pictures drawn of Hercules, you may notice his un-stylish clothing. After killing the lion, Hercules decided to keep Leo’s hide as a bullet proof jacket. Now he could walk down the street - and people would be shooting arrows at him or throwing knives - without fear. It was grrrrrr-reat.

Question from a smart second grader in the planetarium: “If Leo’s hide could not be cut, how did Hercules make it into a suit?”

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