"Why did not somebody teach me the constellations,
and make me at home in the starry heavens,
which are always overhead,
and which I don't know to this day?"
- Thomas Carlyle
"What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing,
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me."
- The Muppet Movie, Kermit the Frog
"Man hath weaved out a net,
and this net throwne upon the Heavens,
and now they are his own."
- John Donne (1572-1631)
Visit the Sandburg Sky Poetry Web
page, including CSMS student-authored sky poems.
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Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness
A Fairfax County Public Schools Planetarium
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Constellation of the Month (CoM)
August
Printer-friendly version of August
CoM
FCPS
Starfinder - August
Medium Size
Southern Sky (69K,
628 x 870 pixels)
Northern Sky (41K,
630 x 872 pixels)
Full Size
Southern Sky (333K, 1250
x 1736 pixels)
Northern Sky (178K, 1250
x 1736 pixels)
Summer Triangle
Located high overhead during warm Summer evenings, the asterism known as the Summer
Triangle is a distinctive geometric shape formed by the brightest stars of
three constellations: Deneb, Vega, and Altair (Deneb, FCPS Starfinder, Southern Sky, Letter
"L," Cygnus; Vega,
Letter "C," Lyra; and Altair, Letter "G," Aquila).
For more information, read the transcript of Summer Triangle Rising, the 02 June 2001
StarDate, the daily astronomy-related radio program produced by the
McDonald Observatory, University of Texas.
Associated Mythology - (no associated mythology)
Ursa Minor, the Little Bear (the Little
Dipper)
Ursa Minor (UR-sah
MY-ner), the Little Bear simply does not look like a bear! It
looks more like a poorly-shaped dipper (note the handle bends up). The
Little Dipper (FCPS Starfinder, No. 2, Northern Sky) is rarely seen in the
light-polluted skies of urban areas.
A line extending from the "Pointer Stars" (Merak, Letter "C" and Dubhe,
Letter "B") of the Big Dipper (No. 1) leads to Polaris, the Pole Star
(Letter "D"), the moderately bright star at the end of the handle of the
Little Dipper. For more informaton about this star-hopping trick, read the
transcript of Polar Pointers, the 12 February 2001
StarDate program.
Associated Mythology - Refer to the mythology associated with Ursa
Major (May CoM). There is
also the story of an Indian hunting party that became lost in the forest
and prayed to their gods to point out the way home. In answer to their
prayers, a little girl appeared saying that she was the spirit of the Pole
Star sent to guide them home. They followed her and reached home safely.
Ever since, the Indians have referred to the Pole Star as "the guide star
that never moves."
Aquarius, the Water Bearer
The 11th constellation of the Zodiac for birthdates from 20 January to 18
February. This very dim constellation does not resemble a man
pouring water from a jar. A line from the northwest to southeast corner of
Pegasus will, if extended downward, run near the head of Aquarius
(ah-KWARE-ee-us).
The Aquarids meteor showers (4 May and 5 August) appear to radiate from
this region of the sky.
In the "Age of Aquarius" (600 years from the present), the Spring Equinox
will be located in this constellation.
Associated Mythology - The Greeks identify Aquarius to the ancient
legend of Ganymede, who was the cup bearer to Jove (Zeus or Jupiter). It
was Aquila, the Flying Eagle that carried Ganymede aloft to his place in
the sky with Zeus.
In Egypt, the rainy season began when the Sun rose at the same time as the
stars of Aquarius.
Credits: CoM entries excerpted from Your Guide to
the Constellations, by Lowell L. Koontz, former Planetarium Teacher at
Edison High School, Fairfax County Public Schools.
Geoscience-Related Information Servers | Geosystems in FCPS
American
Meteorological Society DataStreme Project
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