THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249 usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded
January 1970
2021-2022: CXXXII
"I am no bird and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an
independent will."
-Charlotte Bronte
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Monday, June 6, 2022
June 2022 Night Sky Calendar Part I: The First of the Summer Stars
Although we're all eager to shrug away the last residues of spring and
embrace summer like a hormone-ravaged teen would hug an unsuspecting love
goddess, we must refrain, at least for now. After all, astronomical summer
will not begin until 5:13 a.m., June 21, 2022, to be precise. For now, we
remain lodged in spring. Perhaps that is all to the good. After all, we
don't want to hasten the warm season's progression by so much as a
nanosecond. Don't we want to savor every scent, sound and sensation
associated with the warm season; from the gaggle of giggling children
congregating around the gelato stand to the sight of the tower-tall pine
presiding sentinel like over the sun-scorched beach sands? Add to that the
remembrances of summers past and giddy anticipation of summers not yet born
and the end result is a life-affirming jubilee of joy and beauty that casts
into umbral shadow that four-day long do in commemoration of her majesty's
seven-decade long reign.
While we'll have to wait to see what the weather gods bestow onto us, we
can at least be assured that the star patterns that adorned past summer
skies will parade across the firmament yet again. Now that the Sun is
sliding slowly through Taurus the Bull, Orion and the menagerie of animals
encircling him have vanished into the dusk. Looming high above them in the
western evening sky are the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux.
[image: 1200px-Gemini_IAU.svg.png]
Castor and Pollux, or Polyduces, were both twin brothers and half brothers:
a most unusual combination. Making twin half brothers requires two
fathers and one rather efficient mother. (The proper term for this
conception is "Heteropaternal superfecundation.") Their mother was the
Ateolian princess Leda who became the Spartan queen when she married
Tyndareus, who was Castor's father. Zeus, however, sired Pollux when
she seduced Leda while assuming the form of a swan. As a result of both
couplings, Leda produced two eggs. One of them contained Castor and his
sister Clytmenstra. (We met her on May 11th.) Out of the other egg
hatched the famous Helen and her brother Pollux. While Helen and her
sister were often estranged, Castor and Pollux were the best of friends
almost from birth and remained devoted to one another throughout. They
matured into fine horsemen and warriors. In fact, the
name Polyduces means "Boxer." These two formidable fighters embarked on
many adventures together, notably the Calydonian boar hunt in which
Atalanta -we met her on May 7th- figured prominently. They joined Jason
and the other Argonauts in their pursuit of the Golden Fleece. They also
angrily pursued Theseus when he kidnapped the young Helen. The
fame-seeking Theseus had heard the prophecy that Helen's abduction would
precipitate the greatest war the world had ever known. Theseus had
hoped to bring that conflict about and then serve heroically in it. Alas,
all he managed to do was incur the wrath of her brothers. They found
Helen at the home of Aethra, Theseus' mother. Theseus decided to keep her
there while he and Pirithous ventured down into the underworld to kidnap
Hades' wife Persephone. We might recall that Hades welcomed them both to
his house and had them sit on chairs of forgetfulness. The god knew full
well their intentions and it amused him to keep them in states of utter
bewilderment. This situation proved to be a blessing for Theseus, for he
was not present when Castor and Pollux arrived to collect Helen. He might
have been a match for one of the Gemini twins, but not both of them. It
was one of the mythological realm's greatest ironies: Theseus' life was
spared by having been imprisoned in the land of the dead*. One day, as
Castor and Pollux were engaged in a battle within Sparta, Castor was slain
by Argive King Lynceus, whom Pollux then promptly killed. As he
embraced his brother's corpse, Pollux, who was immortal by virtue of his
parentage, pleaded with Zeus to kill him, instead, and bestow immortality
on his brother. Although Zeus refused to fulfill this request, he did
allow Pollux to ascend into Olympus with his brother's shade. They
were both then placed in the sky as the Gemini twins, a constellation
prominent in the winter and spring evening sky. Unlike many of the other
disagreeable characters adorning the firmament, the Gemini twins exemplify
the finest human traits: bravery, filial devotion and selflessness.
Resembling conjoined stick figures, the Gemini twins represent the
everlasting love of brothers.
The Sun passes through Gemini from the first full day of summer until late
July, when it moves into the constellation Cancer the Crab. By mid-August,
Sol proceeds into Leo the Lion, where it will remain until mid September.
[image: Leo-the-Lion-1.jpg]
Leo was the Nemean Lion which Heracles was required to slay as part of his
labors. While under the influence of Hera's insanity spell, Heracles
murdered his wife Megara* and their children. When he recovered his
senses, the distraught Heracles consulted the Delphic Oracle to ascertain
how he could atone for such an atrocious crime.l, Apollo, speaking through
the Sybil, instructed Heracles to become a servant of King Eurystheus.
This King commanded him to complete a series of labors. Once completed,
Heracles would both receive absolution for these murders and would also
achieve apotheosis.
The slaying of Leo represented Heracles' first labor. Not only was this
lion ferocious, even by lion standards, it was also covered by a skin that
protected it from all arrows, sword strikes or club assaults. After
expending a quiver of arrows in a vain effort to slay the lion, Heracles
wrestled it to the ground and strangled it to death. He then snapped off
one of the claws and used it to cut away the lion's impenetrable hyde.
Heracles then used that hyde as body armour for the rest of his life.
We see Lion in profile: occupying the same region of the sky where Hera
placed it centuries ago. This elevation was intended as a tribute to a
formidable creature that strove in earnest to kill Heracles: a feat that
Hera, for all her efforts, never managed to accomplish herself.
Leo the lion begins the evening high in the western sky and will set before
midnight.
Look toward the east early this evening and one will see the serpent's head
rising above the horizon. Named "Serpens Caput," literally "Serpent's
Head," this circular star pattern marks the western most section of Serpens
the Serpent, which is draped across the body of Ophiuchus, the serpent
charmer.
[image: Serpens-2.jpg]
Despite its association with the dreaded serpent, Ophiuchus is arguably one
of the kindest of all the constellation characters. Though just a mortal,
Ophiuchus developed healing skills so formidable as to be almost divine.
It was said that Ophiuchus could even heal those unfortunate souls who were
so sick as to be within a hair's breadth of death. Unfortunately, he was
nearby when Scorpius the Scorpion slew Orion the hunter. Ophiuchus
promptly resurrected Orion, much to the chagrin of Hades, god of the
Underworld, who demanded that Zeus contend with the matter. Zeus
reluctantly killed Ophiuchus and then Orion. However, he then placed
them both in the sky to honor them for their respective talents.
Tomorrow, Part II of the June 2022 Night Sky Calendar.
*According to Pseudo-Apollodorous, only the children were slain. However,
the version by Hygius asserts that Heracles killed his wife and children.
Also, Megara was the daughter of Theban king Creon, brother-in-law to
the ill-fated Oedipus.
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