Astroprof’s Page

In the evening skies, rising to the west and southwest about this time of year, are a set of constellations that are part of the Orion story.  Where is Orion?  It sets at or just before sunset.  So what gives?  What are these constellations doing on the far side of the sky from Orion?

Well, let’s go back to Orion.  Orion is a hunter.  You see Orion best in the late fall and winter skies here in the northern hemisphere.  Orion if facing Taurus the bull, with the red giant star Aldebbaran as the gleaming red eye of the bull.  Directly south (underneath for us in the northern hemisphere) is Lepus, a rabbit.  Likely Orion is hunting the rabbit, since hunting a bull is silly.  Down and left of Orion is Canis Major, the big dog.  Up and to the left is Canis Minor, the small dog (all directions in this post will be for the northern hemisphere observers.  Those of you in the southern hemisphere, interchange up and down, and left and right.).  Are these dogs hunting with Orion?  They are certainly with him in the sky.  Oddly, though, there is another constellation, Canes Venatici, which is the hunting dogs, but it is nowhere near Orion or any of the other characters in the story. 

Well, all of these constellations are best seen in the fall and winter skies.  They are pretty much gone, now.  But, rising about sunset this time of year is another set of constellations that belong to the same story.  There is Scorpius, the scorpion.  It actually looks kind of like a scorpion if you get away from the city.  I am having trouble with photos here, so I don’t have any to show, :(.    Anyway, according to the story, Scorpius stung Orion on the heal.  Well, I should point out that Scorpius is a poison scorpion.  Right at the heart of the scorpion is Antares.  The star is sometimes called Cor Scorpii.  Antares is a reddish star.  In fact, Antares is about the same color and brightness that you often find Mars to be.  The name itself means “rival of Ares”, and Ares is the Greek equivalent to Mars.  Anyway, Orion was doomed to die from this poison, were it not for the heroic efforts of Ophiuchus, the physician.  Standing on top of Scorpius in the sky is Ophiuchus.  This is a sort of dimmish constellation, with no star much above third magnitude, so it is hard to see from the city.  Stretching on either side of Ophichus is Serpens, the snake.  Serpens is dividing into two parts:  Serpens Caput (the snake’s head) and Serpens Cauda (the snake’s tail).  Both, together make up the constellation.  Ophiuchus is holding Serpens, which is why the constellation exists on either side of Ophiuchus.  According to mythology, Ophiuchus distilled the venom of the snake into some sort of medicine that counteracted the poison of Scorpius, thus saving Orion’s life.  Incidentally, this story from mythology is why physicians are symbolized by a staff and snake. 

But why is this part of the Orion story so far removed from Orion itself?  Well, you can see where Orion would not be well disposed to be around Scorpius any more after being stung.  So, Orion and Scorpius are almost diametreically opposed to one aonother in the sky.  One sets just as the other is rising, so Orion won’t have to be in the sky at the same time as Scorpius.

Anyway, these constellations are now in the evening sky, as Orion is just setting at sunset, and that is the rest of the story.

-Astroprof

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