05 Aug The Dog Days of Summer
So why the name, Dog Days of Summer? Well, there is actually a scientific reason for this. In our night sky shines our brightest star, Sirius. The star Sirius, which is nicknamed the Dog Star, is actually part of a group of stars called The Great Dog.
During this time of the year (40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11) that very star Sirius rises in sync with the Sun both rising around 6:00am. This happens for 40 days; 20 days before and 20 days after this alignment of Sirius. Throughout history there has been skepticism of the stars presence and even believed by the ancient Romans that Sirius made the sun hotter during this period . Which in turn has given the star a bad rap for all of the hot weather we receive this time of year.
“The Dog Days of Summer” actually happens because the earth is slightly tilted towards the sun, giving it longer, more direct exposure to the sun. If you’d like to view this “dog star”, you are out of luck as it shines invisibly during the day in the summer and best viewed in the middle of winter. But you can get out there and enjoy the last week of the hottest time of year, or stay inside and enjoy that AC.
You can check out this video of the constellation at its brightest, enjoy.