THE FISH HOOK AND THE SCORPION!

DEAN:
WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS.

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

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

SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA.

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SUMMER TIME CONSTELLATIONS
IS VISIBLE ABOVE THE SOUTHERN HORIZON AFTER

SUNSET THIS MONTH AND IT HAS QUITE A STORY.

DEAN:
THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES!

SCORPIUS THE SCORPION IS GRACING THE SOUTHERN
SKY THIS MONTH, BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT SCORPIUS

HAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT IDENTITY THAT HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH SCORPIONS?

JAMES:
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

LET'S SHOW YOU!

JAMES:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKY SET FOR ABOUT AN HOUR

AFTER SUNSET, ANY NIGHT THIS WEEK, FACING
SOUTH.

IT IS HERE THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE
FAMILIAR J-SHAPED PATTERN OF STARS THAT MAKE

THE CONSTELLATION SCORPIUS THE SCORPION.

DEAN:
ACCORDING TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY, SCORPIUS WAS

SENT BY GAIA, THE GODDESS OF THE EARTH TO
PUNISH ORION FOR BOASTING THAT HE WAS THE

GREATEST HUNTER TO EVER LIVE.

SO WHILE HE WAS HUNTING, THE SCORPION ATTACKED
ORION, STINGING HIM WITH ITS POISONOUS STINGER.

THE SCORPION WAS THEN PLACED IN THE SKY TO
MARK GAIA'S VICTORY.

JAMES:
THAT HOWEVER IS NOT THE ONLY STORY ABOUT THIS

BRIGHT PATTERN
OF SUMMER STARS.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MANY PEOPLE SEE THIS
J-SHAPED PATTERN AS THE GIANT FISHHOOK OF

THE DEMIGOD MAUI.

IN POLYNESIAN FOLK LORE, MAUI AND HIS BROTHERS
DECIDED TO GO FISHING.

HE BROUGHT HIS MAGIC FISHHOOK WITH HIM AND
INSTRUCTED HIS BROTHERS THAT ONCE HE TOSSED

THE FISHHOOK IN THE WATER,
NO MATTER WHAT THEY CAUGHT, KEEP PADDLING

AND DO NOT LOOK BACK.

DEAN:
ALMOST INSTANTLY, MAUI'S FISHHOOK BEGAN TO

PULL UP LARGE OBJECTS FROM THE OCEAN.

EXCITED, MAUI'S BROTHERS PADDLED FASTER, AND
MAUI PULLED HARDER AND HARDER.

MANY HOURS PASSED AND THE BROTHERS WERE EXHAUSTED
FROM ALL THE ROWING.

AGAINST MAUI'S INSTRUCTIONS, THEY DECIDED
TO LOOK BACK AT WHAT MAUI CAUGHT, AND BOY

WERE THEY SURPRISED.

JAMES:
INDEED, ONE OF THE BROTHERS EXCLAIMED, "MAUI

CAUGHT LAND!"

MAUI WAS FURIOUS, EXCLAIMING, "HAD YOU NOT
LOOKED BACK, WE COULD HAVE RAISED A GREATER

LAND!"

WE NOW KNOW THESE SMALL PIECES OF LAND
AS THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

DEAN:
IN ADDITION TO THAT, MAUI TOSSED HIS FISH

HOOK INTO THE HEAVENS TO SLOW DOWN THE SUN
SO THAT THE SUMMER MONTHS WOULD HAVE MORE

HOURS OF DAYLIGHT.

TO THIS DAY, WE CAN SEE MAUI'S FISH HOOK IN
THE SKY EVERY SUMMER.

DEAN:
THE STARS OF MAUI'S FISH HOOK (AKA SCORPIUS

THE SCORPION) HAVE INTRIGUING NAMES.

STARTING FROM THE WEST AND WORKING OUR WAY
EAST WE HAVE THE THREE STARS MARKING THE CLAWS

OF THE SCORPION.

GRAFFIAS, DSCHUBBA AND PI SCORPII.

JAMES:
DOWN AND TO THE LEFT OF THOSE THREE STARS

YOU HAVE AL NIYAT, ANTARES AND ALNIYAT.

YES, SCORPIUS HAS TWO STARS WITH THE SAME
NAME.

THE FIRST AL NIYAT IS SIGMA SCORPII.

IT'S A BINARY STAR SYSTEM OVER 500 LIGHT YEARS
AWAY.

DEAN:
THE SECOND ALNIYAT IS TAU SCORPII.

IT'S A BLUE-WHITE STAR OVER 400 LIGHT YEARS
AWAY FROM US AND OVER 18,000 TIMES AS BRIGHT

AS OUR SUN.

BETWEEN SIGMA AND TAU SCORPII LIES ANTARES,
THE FAMED RIVAL OF MARS.

JAMES:
ANTARES IS SO LARGE THAT IF YOU WERE TO PLACE

IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, MERCURY VENUS, EARTH
AND MARS WOULD ALL BE ORBITING INSIDE ANTARES.

JAMES:
LASTLY, LETS SHOW YOU THE TAIL.

MOVING AWAY FROM TAU SCORPII,
WE HAVE EPSILON SCORPII, MU, ZETA AND NU SCORPII,

SARGAS, IOTA AND KAPPA SCORPII AND SHAULA
AND LESATH (WHICH MARK THE STINGER).

DEAN:
SHAULA AND LESATH ARE SOMETIMES CALLED THE

CAT'S EYES BECAUSE THEY SEEM TO GLOW MYSTERIOUSLY
LIKE THE EYES OF A CAT.

SHAULA IS OVER 36,000 TIMES THE BRIGHTNESS
OF OUR SUN AND IS APPROXIMATELY 570 LIGHT

YEARS AWAY.

JAMES:
MEANWHILE, LESATH (WHICH MEANS "BITE OF THE

POISONOUS ONE")
IS ALSO CLOSE TO 580 LIGHT YEARS FROM US AND

OVER 12,000 TIMES THE BRIGHTNESS OF
OUR SUN.

JAMES:
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.

ONE CONSTELLATION WITH TWO INSPIRING PIECES
OF FOLKLORE.

AS THE NIGHT PASSES, YOU CAN WATCH MAUI'S
FISH HOOK DESCENDING TOWARD THE HORIZON.

DEAN:
OR YOU CAN IMAGINE IT BEING A MENACING SCORPION,

DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND ORION THE HUNTER.

JAMES:
AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, IT'S BEING FOLLOWED

BY A BRIGHT, NON-TWINKLING LIGHT.

THAT LIGHT IS JUPITER.

BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!