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The Dog Days of Summer

We often hear the expression, "the dog days of summer" and most of us generallyassume these to be the hottest and most humid days the summer season inevitably brings. But how did this expression come to pass?We have to look up in the night sky for the answer. In ancient times, people wouldlook up at the heavens and connect the stars much like a child would "connect thedots" and develop a picture of various characters and images. Owing to culturaldifferences, various groups saw different things but these images were to be calledconstellations. Today's named constellations are based on European ancestors, andwere truly the starting block to the development of the field of astronomy.One of the major constellations recognized is Canis Major, otherwise known as "the big dog." The brightest star within this constellation is Sirius. During the period knowas "conjunction," which is a fancy term referring to how two constellations are alignedas seen from the Earth, Sirius and the sun are perfectly aligned. The period of 20 days before and 20 days after this conjunction is referred to as "the dog days of summer"and this translates roughly to a timeframe of July 3 to August 11, though this can vary.Without getting too technical, over many, many years the alignment of stars andconstellations has shifted formation and this process, known as the "precession of theequinoxes," accounts for the discrepancy of the exact days of this phenomenon. SinceSirius is an extremely bright star, (in fact it is twice the size of the sun and 20 times asluminous) ancient follower's thought that its heat combined with the sun was causingthis extra warm condition. Thus, the term "dog days of summer" was born.The night sky tells stories about our history, and if you believe in the Zodiac andastrology, our future as well. Has your agency held astronomy courses for kids to learnwhat the night sky holds? A good storyteller, with a basic understanding of astronomy,could entertain kids for hours on end. A great way to encourage and explore a child'screativity is to let them find, draw, and name their own constellation, and invent astory behind its origin. Even as an adult this would be a fun exercise.So if you're looking for an idea to enhance your offering at one of your parks, why notconsider a little nighttime foray into the heavens? You might even find Canis Major and Sirius. And best of all, this dog will never bark, bite or leave a mess in your park to cleanup.COPYRIGHT 2001 National Recreation and Park AssociationCOPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group

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