That was just 50 years ago. Many of us remember where we were and whom we were with as we scanned the night sky for a glimpse of Sputnik.
This is a good week to look for the dimmer constellations because our moon is rising later and is reflecting less sunlight in the process.
It comes as no surprise to find a dolphin in our sky because they have been a favorite since antiquity. Arion, a Greek poet and harp player from Corinth, decided to seek a wider audience by booking concerts in Italy. While returning home from a wildly successful tour, his ship’s crew conspired against him. They plotted to throw Arion overboard and to divide his riches.
When confronted by his crew, Arion asked he be allowed to play one last tune on his harp. The sound was so beautiful it attracted a dolphin and, when Arion was thrown overboard, the dolphin carried him safely to shore to play for more sold-out concerts. To show their appreciation for Arion’s rescue, the gods placed the dolphin, Delphinus (del-FINE-us), in our night sky on the eastern edge of the Milky Way, swimming northward.
Not far from the Dolphin is another small but equally famous constellation, Sagitta (sah-JIT-ah), the Arrow. The Titan Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to the mortals. Zeus, king of the gods, was very angry and punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock where Aquila, the Eagle, ate his liver every day. Prometheus was immortal, so his liver grew back every night; thus, the Eagle returned every day to eat his liver again.
Hercules, another Greek character, was given 12 labors to accomplish. In performing one of these labors, he shot an arrow that killed Aquila, and then Hercules freed Prometheus from his chains.
We find Hercules’ famous arrow, Sagitta, just to the north of Aquila.
Capricornus (CAP-rih-CORN-us), the Sea Goat, is not a bright and conspicuous constellation in our sky but its name will be forever preserved on our globes, maps and atlases as the Tropic of Capricorn. About 2,000 years ago, our sun was in Capricornus as it reached its most southern point in our sky on the first day of winter — our Winter Solstice. The Tropic of Capricorn refers to an imaginary line drawn around our Earth at latitude 23.5 degrees south, the most southerly latitude at which our sun is ever directly overhead.
In the present era, our sun is in the next constellation to the west, Sagittarius, on the first day of winter. There has been no talk of changing the name of the 23.5-degree line to the Tropic of Sagittarius. This apparent movement of our Winter Solstice is due to a very subtle motion of our Earth, called precession. In another 24,000 years our Winter Solstice will be back in Capricornus.
Aquarius (a-QUAIR-ee-us), the Water-Bearer, is found in a region of the sky that has been identified with water, rivers and seas from the most ancient of times and across many cultures. It is difficult to imagine a man pouring water from an urn in this faint and straggly group of stars.
In our era, Aquarius was made famous in a song of the 1960s. It announced it as the dawning of a new age — the Age of Aquarius. It was a bit premature. An astrological age is identified by the name of the constellation in which the Vernal Equinox (where our sun is on the first day of spring) is located. The Vernal Equinox is in Pisces and precession will carry it into Aquarius in another few hundred years.
Clear skies.
Dan Pope of Tiffin writes a syndicated column on astronomy.
