Why we call this time of year the ‘dog days’ of summer, its surprising astrological connection, and more fun astrological happenings in August!
Many of us have heard the term the “dog days of summer,” and have made the connection to the way dogs laze around in the heat of the summer. And though this period of time, spanning from July 3 to August 11, is typically the hottest of the year, this common saying has nothing to do with actual dogs. The “dog days” is a reference to the star Sirius, which is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, which means “big dog” in Latin and is said to represent one of Orion’s hunting dogs. The Greeks and Romans, upon seeing Sirius seemingly rise alongside the sun in July and August, deduced that the intense heat from the two stars rising together is what made the days so extremely hot.
The phrase “dog days” was translated from Latin to English about 500 years ago. Since then, the meaning has been reinterpreted to mean many different things. However, the Greeks were wrong on one front: the dog days when Sirius rises are not really the hottest days of the year. July and August are often the hottest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, but the hottest period can vary from year to year. And depending on your latitude, the astronomical dog days can come at different times. In Athens, for instance, Sirius will rise around the middle of August this year. But farther south, it’ll happen earlier in the year; farther north, it’ll happen later. The dog days also don’t correspond neatly with the heat because the stars in Earth’s night sky shift independently of our calendar seasons. According to National Geographic, in about 50-some years, the sky shifts about one degree. This means that the dog days of ancient Greece aren’t the dog days of today. It also means that several millennia from now, this astrological event won’t even occur during the summer. “In 26,000 years, the dog days would completely move all around the sky,” said Schaefer. “Roughly 13,000 years from now, Sirius will be rising with the sun in mid-winter.” You can also check out this family guide to stargazing during the dog days of summer from National Geographic, to see Sirius and Canis Major, as well as many other fascinating happenings in the night sky.
Speaking of the night sky, another fun astrological event occurring in the mid-July to late August dog days is The Perseid Meteor Shower! This Meteor Shower happens every year at this time, and this year is predicted to peak on August 12. The shower is often best just before dawn, so the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13 will be the best times to watch the shower. According to EarthSky, the August Perseid meteors are colorful, and they frequently leave persistent trains. Also, the parent comet responsible for the Perseid meteor shower is a rather large comet called 109P/Swift-Tuttle., which only orbits the sun approximately every 133 years! All of these factors make the Perseid shower perhaps the most beloved meteor shower for the Northern Hemisphere.
The history of this meteor shower also goes back to the Greeks. That is because around the peak mornings, if you traced all the Perseid meteors backward, they seemed to come from the constellation Perseus near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero. In ancient Greek mythology, Perseus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danaë. It was said that the Perseid meteor shower is a celebration of when Zeus visited Danaë in a shower of gold. Of course, because we have now observed the parent comet of the meteor shower, we now know that there’s no real connection between the meteor shower and the constellation Perseus. The stars in Perseus are many light-years distant, while these meteors burn up about 60 miles (100 km) above the Earth’s surface.
If you want to know more about the Perseid Meteor Shower, and even see some meteors for yourself, we would love to have you join us on August 11th from 9pm-12am at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Nature Center for a very special star party! This program is FREE and open to the public, and all participants will need to park in the Overflow Lot across the street from the Visitor Center and walk up the lit path to the event. We encourage you to bring your own blankets and lawn chairs to set up in our parking lot to view the meteor showers! We will have a number of handicap accessible spots at the Visitor Center. The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society will also be here with telescopes galore, with each telescope facing a different celestial body in the night sky. We will also have our café open for snacks and drinks, and city staff on site with an interactive touch table. Bring your kids, your grandparents, and your friends, and come learn about the night sky!
Sources
EarthSky: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower/
National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/150710-dog-days-summer-sirius-star-astronomy-weather-language
Space.com: https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html