Download Mon Jul 11, 2011 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In the year

Mon Jul 11, 2011
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
In the year 1769 an observatory was built in Philadelphia, just a couple of hundred feet south of Independence Hall. It had
been built so that astronomers could observe a transit of the planet Venus that year. A transit occurs when either Mercury
or Venus passes directly between the earth and the sun; with protective filters, we see those planets as small, dark round
dots against the sun’s face. Transits of Venus are rare; they occur in pairs every hundred and twenty years, and we’re
scheduled for one next year. Seven years after colonial astronomers saw this transit the observatory was still there, and its
balcony made an excellent platform for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, on July 8th, 1776.
During the Revolutionary War, the Philadelphia observatory housed British troops who occupied the city. And not too
many years after the end of the war, the observatory fell into disuse, and sadly, is no longer there.
Tue Jul 12, 2011
MOON IN OPHIUCHUS
This evening the moon, nearly full, can be found in Ophiuchus. This very old constellation takes up a large part of the
southern sky, but it doesn’t have any really bright stars, so not too many folks know it. Ophiuchus is the thirteenth
constellation of the zodiac, which has been in the news over the past year, as a lot of folks who thought their zodiac sign
was Scorpius were suddenly reassigned to this one by astrologers. “Ophiuchus” is an old Greek designation which means,
“serpent bearer”, and the star figure is typically portrayed as a big, bearded fellow holding a very large snake. His actual
name is Asclepius, the same name as that given to the snake-entwined staff that is the symbol of the medical profession.
In mythology, he was a healer of the sick, and the snake’s diluted venom served as a medicine. Doctors and others who
practice medicine take the Hippocratic oath, where they swear by Asclepius to help the sick. Tonight the moon is near the
hands of the healer.
Wed Jul 13, 2011
MOON IN SAGITTARIUS
Tonight the very close-to-full-moon is in the constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer. Trying to imagine these fanciful
mythological creatures can be really hard. With Sagittarius, you’re expected to see a centaur, half-man, half-horse,
complete with bow and arrow aimed at Scorpius. Just below the moon tonight are the stars that mark the bow and arrow.
Below and to the left of the moon are a few more stars which trace out the Archer’s arm. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius
sometimes represents Chiron, a wise old centaur who taught Hercules and other great heroes of antiquity. Most people
give up trying to imagine a centaur in this part of the sky, and instead look for something known as the teapot. The stars
just below the moon outline the lid and the handle of a simple teapot, while the stars below and to the right are the teapot’s
bottom and spout. There’s even a song that goes along with this little teapot, short and stout, but I’m not singing it.
Thu Jul 14, 2011
FULL JULY MOON
The moon is full today. It rises out of the east at sunset, in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. Because thunderstorms
are common in July, this full moon is often called the Thunder moon. According to the Sioux Indians, this is the Moon
When the Wild Cherries Are Ripe. To the Winnebago, it is the Corn-Ripening Moon. To the Omaha Indians, however,
this is the Moon When the Buffalo Bellow. This was also the Hungry Ghost moon of the Chinese, named for departed
souls who had left no descendants, and who according to legend caused drought, famine, fire or other disasters. In
medieval times this was the Hay Moon or the Mead Moon, named for the elixir from the meadows of Briton and Europe.
After this full moon came the first harvests from the fields and the pagan festival of Lughnasaid.(LOO na sa) Lughnasaid
was later adopted by early Christians and became the celebration of Lammas, or “loaf mass,” in thanksgiving for the first
fruits of the farmer’s labor.
Fri Jul 15, 2011
HOWLING COYOTE
An old Navajo story tells how the stars came to be. Long ago, it’s said, there were no stars, and in the dark of night the
people lost their way. So the Great Spirit sent all of the animals down to the river, and had them gather up the bright
shining stones in the stream bed. They carried those stones up into the sky where they became stars. Great Spirit told the
animals to put them in patterns which would show the people which animals had set those stars in place. Now the small
animals could not carry many stars and Great Spirit asked Coyote to take a bag of stones to help them complete their
pictures. But Coyote soon grew tired of his task, and he flung his bag of stones across the sky, scattering them, and
making a jumble of the pictures. Then Coyote was sorry, not because he had made it hard to see the constellations, but
because he had forgotten to put his own picture up in the heavens. And that, say the Navajo, is why the Coyote howls at
night.