"DELPHINUS THE DOLPHIN"

DEAN:
WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!

I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINATTI
OBSERVATORY.

JAMES:
AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA

SILVA PLA PLANETAR-IUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.

NOW THAT WE'RE WELL INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS,
THIS IS A WONDERFUL TIME TO GET OUTSIDE WITH

THE FAMILY AND GAZE AT THE STARS!

DEAN:
THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES!

WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE OUR FELLOW STAR GAZERS
TO ENJOY THE NIGHT SKY TOGETHER WITH THEIR

FAMILIES.

YOU CAN MAKE IT A TRADITION,
AND THE SUMMER SKY

IS RICH WITH
STAR PATTERNS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE.

JAMES:
WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE BIG CONSTELLATIONS

LIKE CYGNUS,
AQUILA AND LYRA.

HOWEVER, THERE'S A TINY LITTLE CONSTELLATION
IN THIS SAME PART OF THE SKY THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY

ALWAYS SEEN, BUT NEVER KNEW ITS NAME OR ITS
STORY.

DEAN:
THAT CONSTELLATION IS DELPHINUS THE DOLPHIN.

LET'S SHOW YOU!

DEAN:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER

SUNSET FACING EAST.

HIGH IN THE SKY YOU CAN SEE THE FAMILIAR PATTERN
OF THE SUM-MER TRIANGLE.

THE BRIGHTEST STAR OF THE GROUP IS VEGA,
AND ITS NEAR THE TOP OF THE TRIANGLE.

JAMES:
THEN, DOWN AND TO THE RIGHT OF VEGA IS THE

BRIGHT STAR AL-TAIR,
AND DOWN AND TO THE LEFT OF VEGA IS DENEB.

THESE THREE STARS WILL HELP YOU FIND DELPHINUS
THE DOLPHIN.

DEAN:
IF YOU DRAW A LINE BETWEEN DENEB AND ALTAIR,

BELOW IT ALMOST HALF WAY BETWEEN THE TWO STARS
IS A SMALL DIAMOND SHAPED

CON-STELLATION MADE UP OF FIVE STARS.

IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE SEEING IT AT FIRST,
YOU CAN USE A TECHNIQUE KNOWN AS AVERTED VISION.

SIMPLY LOOK AT ALTAIR, AND IN YOUR PERIPHERAL
VISION,

YOU CAN SEE THE SMALL GROUPING OF STARS THAT
MAKE UP DELPHINUS.

JAMES:
MY FAVORITE STORY OF DELPHINUS INVOLVES A

SINGER AND POET
NAMED ARION.

HE WAS SO SKILLED AT PLAYING THE HARP AND
HAD SUCH AN AMAZING SINGING VOICE

THAT IT MADE HIM VERY POPULAR DURING THE 7TH
CENTURY BC.

DEAN:
ARION WAS SO POPULAR THAT HE HAD CONCERTS

THROUGH-OUT THE MEDITERRANEAN.

HOWEVER, ONE DAY,
ON HIS WAY HOME TO GREECE AFTER A GIG

IN SOUTHERN ITALY,
THE SAILORS ON HIS SHIP CON-SPIRED AGAINST

HIM.

THEY PLOTTED TO KILL HIM AND TAKE THE MONEY
HE'D EARNED.

JAMES:
THAT'S NOT VERY NICE.

DEAN:
NO IT WASN'T.

FINDING HIMSELF SURROUNDED,
ARION BEGGED THE SAILORS TO ALLOW HIM TO SING

ONE LAST SONG.

FORTUNATELY FOR ARION, THE SAILORS ALLOWED
THIS AND HE PERFORMED ONE OF THE BEST SONGS

OF HIS LIFE.

JAMES:
WHILE ARION PLAYED HIS HARP AND SANG,

HIS MUSIC ATTRACTED SEVERAL DOLPHINS TO THE
SHIP.

THEY SWAM ALONG SIDE THE SHIP AS ARI-ON PERFORMED,
AND IN A DARING LEAP OF FAITH, ARION THREW

HIMSELF OVERBOARD.

DEAN:
ONE OF THE DOLPHINS RESCUED ARION AND CARRIED

HIM ALL THE WAY BACK TO GREECE,
SAVING HIS LIFE.

IN GRATITUDE TO THE DOLPHIN, APOLLO,
THE GOD OF MUSIC AND POETRY PLACED AN IMAGE

OF THE DOL-PHIN IN THE SKY AMONG THE STARS
OF THE MILKY WAY AND ALSO PLACED AN IMAGE

OF ARIONS HARP,
LYRA IN THE SAME REGION.

JAMES:
ALRIGHT, LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE STARS

THAT MAKE UP DELPHINUS.

JAMES:
OK, WE AGAIN HAVE OUR SKY SET UP FOR ANY NIGHT

THIS WEEK JUST AFTER SUNSET.

AS WE ZOOM IN ON DELPHINUS,
YOU CAN SEE FIVE STARS THAT MAKE UP THE BODY

AND TAIL OF THE DOLPHIN.

THE FOUR STARS MAKING THE BODY OF THE DOLPHIN
ARE ALSO KNOWN AS JOBS COF-FIN.

THE STAR ON THE FAR LEFT IS AL SALIB
(ALSO KNOWN AS GAMMA DEL-PHINI).

ITS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 101 LIGHT YEARS FROM
US.

DEAN:
TRAVELING CLOCKWISE, WE HAVE ALPHA AND

BETA DELPHINI.

THESE STARS ALSO HAVE THE NAMES SUALOCIN AND
ROTANEV;

WHICH ARE NICO-LAUS AND VENATOR SPELLED BACKWARDS.

THESE ARE THE LATINIZED NAMES IN HONOR OF
THE 19TH CENTURY DIRECTOR OF THE PALERMO

OBSERVATORY, WHO SNUCK HIS NAME ONTO THESE
STARS.

CRAFTY!

JAMES:
SUALOCIN IS 240 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND ROTANEV

IS 97 LIGHT YEARS DISTANT.

THE LAST STAR IN THE BODY OF DELPHINUS IS
AL UKUD (ALSO KNOWN AS DELTA DELPHINI) AND

ITS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 223 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

DEAN:
AND LASTLY WE HAVE EPSILON DELPHINI MARKING

DELPHINUS TAIL.

THIS STAR IS APPROPRIATELY CALLED DENEB DULFIM;
DENEB MEANING TAIL AND DULFIM MEANING DOLPHIN.

ITS A SOLITARY
BLUE-WHITE GIANT STAR, 330 LIGHT YEARS AWAY

AND OVER 670 TIMES AS BRIGHT AS OUR SUN.

JAMES:
SO, THERE YOU HAVE IT,

A DARING AND DAZZLING DOLPHIN TO GRACE YOUR
SUMMER NIGHTS.

DEAN:
IT'S DEFINITELY A REASON TO

BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!