Playing with the Stars

Light pollution is my enemy and tonight is no exception. The sky was devoid clouds but yet I could only make out Orion and his nifty belt.

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With a voice more commanding than dare I say Ted Williams (you know the homeless, alcoholic, father of 9, Golden Voice), Sean Connery's classic, Dragon Heart teaches us that the baddest constellation in the sky is Draco. It just so happens that Draco is my favorite constellation and the first time I spotted it was almost as exciting as when I learned that Facebook changed my profile to the "new and improved" one...not.


I just learned that the when the Arabs took to the sky, they didn't see a dragon, instead they saw the ring (Draco's head) as the Mother Camels. You'll notice that the ring of stars, I mean camels are surrounding thus protecting a baby camel from a pack of cackling hyenas. I have to thank the Gods for the Greeks because Draco is so much cooler and could kill the hyenas and camels with a cheese grater.

In my fifth grade astronomy class, we never studied Hydra which surprises me because it's the largest constellation. "One myth associates it with a water snake that a crow served Apollo in a cup when it was sent to fetch water; Apollo saw through the fraud, and angrily cast the crow, cup, and snake, into the sky." -Wiki. The snake, "crater", and "corvus" (crow) all rest close by each other. I love when that happens. Also the Babylonians interpreted Hydra to be a snake as well- talk about staying power. 

Bootes is notably know as the plow man who keeps the heavens spinning due to it's proximity to the polar axis. Although a good explanation, a more entertaining version brought to us by Wikipedia "portrays Boötes as a grape grower called Icarius, who one day invited the Roman god Bacchus/Dionysus, to inspect his vineyards. Bacchus revealed the secret of wine making to Icarius, who was so impressed by this alcoholic beverage that he invited his friends round to sample it. Having never tasted wine before, they all drank too much and woke up the next morning with terrible hangovers; and they made the mistaken assumption that Icarius had tried to poison them. It was decided that Icarius should pay the price with his own life, and he was swiftly murdered in his sleep. Bacchus placed Icarius in the stars to honor him." 


There's nothing like showing your friends a good time and getting rubbed out in return. Talk about a buzz-kill.


Sources: Interactive Sky Maps - Pretty Good
Wikipedia

Watch me: Eat With My Hands ►