THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249      www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street     Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N                   70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
Julian date:  2457764.16
             "Keeping a Watchful Eye on a Complex Sky"

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Thursday, January 12, 2017
 Antares in Twilight

Today, we seek solstice in Scorpius, the ominous summer constellation.
 You understand that we have been consigned to the frigid depths since
Caesar's last haircut and have grown ever so weary of this interminable
thermal deficiency.     Consequently, we'll turn our attentions to that
dreaded claw-snapper as it will both remind us of the sultry summers we've
experienced and herald the inevitable return of the next one.
Scorpius the Scorpion lurks low in the southeastern pre-dawn twilight.
After having been obscured by the Sun since November, this southern summer
star pattern slowly emerges back onto the early morning stage.      One
will have to venture out in the ultra wee hours to find it.   Antares, the
brightest star representing the Scorpion's heart, peeks above the horizon
at 5:00 a.m. and, as though impeded by winter's lethargy, trudges up
slowly, barely ascending twenty degrees before it dissolves in the
brightening twilight.

Despite its poor reputation, Scorpius is one of our favorite constellations
as it actually resembles the creature it's supposed to represent.     An
arc of stars forms a head and claws, while another larger curling arc marks
a body and lethal stinger.


​*Scorpius the Scorpion*

Scorpius actually owes its reputation to its appearance, for it has assumed
the form of a scorpion or comparably loathsome monster since the ancient
Egyptian period when it slew Horus, son of Isis and Osiris.*    Perhaps the
best known tale of Scorpius relates to its slaughter of Orion the Hunter.
 When Orion, who presides high in our winter evening sky, once declared
that he could kill any beast, Diana, goddess of the moon and protector of
wild animals, conjured Scorpius and cast him onto the world.   The Scorpion
readily found and then promptly slew Orion with a quick ankle bite.**

Both Orion and Scorpius were placed in the sky and adorned with bright
stars.   Curiously, they occupy opposite parts of the firmament, so when
one is visible, the other is not, at least at this latitude.    This
separation was deemed necessary to prevent them from ever fighting again.

Curiously, both Orion and Scorpius are each known for possessing a
brilliant red super giant star: Betelgeuse in Orion and Antares in
Scorpius. Betelgeuse is Orion's eastern shoulder.  Antares is the
Scorpion's heart.    Both of these stars are so enormous one could fit
millions of Suns inside each one.   They also exhibit a distinct reddish
color, resulting from their relatively cool effective temperatures (2300 -
3000 degrees along their photosphere.)   That's quite a definition of the
word  "cool."
So, by the time we see Scorpius and its red supergiant heart star, Antares,
Orion and therefore Betelgeuse, will have already set.    And, though the
world is a maelstrom of lacerating winds passing over iron-hard ground, the
return of Antares in our early morning sky gives us hope that humane
weather will soon return.


*An important side note:  Fortunately, Isis resurrected her son with a
magical elixir prepared by Thoth, Egyptian god of astronomy.  So
Dumbledore, you dim wit, magic can raise the dead.
**And, to reflect the Egyptian legend, Ophiuchus the Serpent charmer,
revived Orion just as Thoth brought back Horus.   Unfortunately, Zeus
struck Orion back down and, for good measure, sent a killing bolt onto
Ophiuchus for his impertinence.    It is said that Zeus killed Ophiuchus
reluctantly, for he admired the serpent charmer's skill, but realized that
a mortal gifted with such powers would be nothing but trouble to the
murderous Olympians.