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!