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: CXXVII
"The Universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it."
-Marcus Aurelius
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Thursday, May 19, 2022
The Ascending Smile
We should be careful, lest our focus on the celestial causes us to lose appreciation of the terrestrial, particularly in Mid-May, the time of year when the once barren, frigid ground
erupts into such a bonanza of lush vegetation, floral fragrances and widespread verdancy than even the heavens themselves exult in its luxuriance. And, if you think that statement is a ten-mile taffy-stretch and insist that the heavens are incapable of expressing happiness, well, all we can do is show you the smile:
We know of this "smile" as Corona Borealis, the "Northern Crown." Corona Borealis rises as the same dusk that is currently swallowing Orion dissolves into darkness. One will find Corona Borealis next to the kite-shape Bootes, the Plough-man who pushes the Plough (or Big Dipper) across the firmament. We often describe Corona Borealis as the child's smile next to the kite.
Mythologically, this crown was given to Ariadne by Dinoysus, god of wine and merriment. That lovely tale begins with none other than Theseus, the hot-blooded son of Athenian king Aegeus. Theseus had traveled to Crete in the company of thirteen other Athenian youth who were being delivered to Crete as an annual tribute (sacrifice.) This offering was the price Athens was required to pay to prevent Crete, which had defeated it in war, from laying waste to the city. Hell bent on establishing himself as a warrior-hero as renowned as Heracles, Theseus resolved to accompany the tributes and save them from whatever fate awaited them. As it turned out, these unfortunate youth were destined to be imprisoned in the complex labyrinth that housed the flesh-devouring Minotaur (half-man/half bull). Designed by Daedalus, this labyrinth was so intricate that nobody could escape from it unless, of course, they knew the secret method. Well, Theseus didn't know that method and on arriving in Crete, he stared with some apprehension that the maze's entrance toward which he and the others were being led. Fortunately, Daedalus' daughter Ariadne fell madly in love with Theseus at first sight. She swiftly ran to her father and demanded to know the secret way of escaping the labyrinth. He told her that anyone just needed to attach a skein of thread to the entrance and draw it out while moving through it. One would then be able to follow the thread back toward the entrance and escape. Ariadne grabbed the thread and rushed up to Theseus as he was about to enter the maze. "I will tell you how to leave the labyrinth if you promise to take me with you when you leave Crete." Theseus agreed to her proposal at once. She explained the secret method and handed him the thread. Well, Theseus eventually killed the Minotaur. He then left Crete with the other Athenian youth and Ariadne. As the voyage back to Athens was somewhat long, they decided to spend the night on the island of Naxos. The next morning, poor Ariadne awoke just in time to see Theseus' ship vanishing on the horizon.
Yes, the cad abandoned her. While a defense attorney might argue that he didn't agree to stay with her forever, we can still assert that, yes, he abandoned her. However, the forlorn Ariadne soon caught the attention of the preternaturally cheerful Dionysus who rescued her and, of course, fell passionately in love with her. She soon forgot she ever loved that Minotaur-killing rogue and became devoted to Dionysus. Despite the Olympian propensity for philandering, Dionysus remained loyal to Ariadne. He gifted her with a beautiful crown as a token of his love and devotion. When Ariadne died, Dionysus placed the crown in the heavens and it became the constellation Corona Borealis: the smile.
This smiling constellation is ascending in the eastern sky this evening and will remain in the evening sky until late September, the time when the hiemal warmth fades, the crops wither, the fragrant breezes sharpen into lacerating gusts and the heavens exult no longer.
But, heck, that's not for a long time, yet...let's dance!
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