Summer Stargazing

Follow the Milky Way down toward the southern horizon and the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. Sagittarius is pictured as a centaur—that is, a mythical creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse. Many stargazers today imagine that the stars of Sagittarius form a teapot pattern rather than a centaur. As we gaze toward Sagittarius, our sights are set on the center of our Milky Way galaxy. With dark skies and a pair of binoculars, the entire region explodes in stardust—a magnificent sight to be revisited often!

Most artists draw Sagittarius facing toward the west, his bow and arrow aimed toward the heart of the scorpion, Scorpius. Look for the heart of the scorpion, the bright star Antares, to the west of the Sagittarius teapot. The star's orange-red color should be immediately obvious. Antares is known to be a red supergiant star, nearly 2,000 times larger than our sun, though only about half as hot. The curve of the scorpion's body extends toward the southern horizon and ends at the star Shaula, marking its poisonous stinger.

Both Sagittarius and Scorpius are found along the ecliptic—the path in the sky followed by the sun, moon, and planets. In fact, this is probably how Antares got its name. "Antares" literally translates from Arabic as "rival of Mars," a rivalry probably caused by the star's amazing resemblance to the red planet when seen with the naked eye.

Although there are twelve constellations assigned to the zodiac, the sun actually travels through thirteen each year. That forgotten constellation of the zodiac is Ophiuchus the Serpent-Bearer. Ophiuchus fills most of the large void between Antares and Vega. Our ancestors drew a picture of the ancient world's greatest physician among these faint stars. Legend tells of how Ophiuchus (also known as Aesculapius, the son of Apollo) became such an amazing healer that Pluto, god of the underworld, complained about his lack of new clientele! Finally, to appease Pluto, Jupiter killed Ophiuchus and placed him among the stars as a lasting memorial.

Ophiuchus is shown holding a serpent named Serpens. Serpents and snakes have long been associated with healing for their periodic shedding of their skin, looked upon by our ancestors as a rebirth. In fact, this association of snakes and healing is still evident today on the symbol of the American Medical Association. Serpens is divided into two parts. Its head, shown on the map as Serpens Caput, extends to the west of Ophiuchus, while its tail, Serpens Cauda, lies to the east.

Continuing our tour of the ecliptic, the next constellation encountered east of Sagittarius is Capricornus the Sea-goat. You have never heard of a sea-goat? A sea-goat is a creature with the head and front legs of a goat and the tail of a fish. It's odd that nowhere in classic mythology is such a bizarre animal mentioned. It has been suggested that Capricornus actually represents the mythical prankster Pan, who had the head and legs of a goat but the body of a man. The faint stars of the sea-goat form a large triangle seen in summer's southeastern sky.

Although the sun sets late on summer nights, this season's sky holds many treasures awaiting your watchful eye. Summer nights are made for stargazing.