Corona Borealis will be in evening sky for the rest of the summer.
It’s definitely one of the smaller constellations we see in the Northwest. Its name, Latin for “northern crown,” shows how the Greeks and Romans saw it as a crown of shining jewels.
Australians refer to it as a boomer
ang, in China it’s known as a cord, and according to Shawnee Indian legend, these stars are the homes of maidens that occasionally dance in the fields on Earth.
Early in the evening look for Corona Borealis, high in the southeastern sky, just to the upper left of the much bigger and brighter constellation Bootes the Hunting Farmer, which also looks like a giant kite.
Bootes’ brightest star is the orange-tinged Arcturus at the tail of the kite. Find the Big Dipper nearly upside down high in the northwest sky and extend beyond the end of the curved handle down to the lower left and you’ll run right into Arcturus.
The brightest star in Corona Borealis is Alphecca(pronounced al-feck-ah), a hot bluish white star about 75 light-years or about 435 trillion miles away. According to Greek mythology, Corona Borealis is the crown of Ariadne.
Ariadne was the daughter of the evil king of Crete who got his jollies every year by sacrificing seven young men and seven young women to the horrible monster, the Minotaur.
This beast had the body of a bull and an incredibly ugly human head.
One year as the men and women were being led to their doom, Ariadne saw one of the men, Theseus, and it was love at first sight.
She secretly armed Theseus with a sword and he slaughtered the Minotaur.
As Theseus ran from the slaughter, Ariadne was waiting for him. The couple quickly dashed off in a boat and stopped overnight on the island of Naxos.
No one really knows what happened but Theseus ditched Ariadne, leaving her sobbing uncontrollably on the beach.
The island of Naxos was run by Bacchus, the aging silver-haired god of wine. Bacchus fell in love with Ariadne.
She returned his love despite the fact that he was old enough to be her grandfather.
When the pair married, Bacchus ripped the crown off his own head and heaved it into the heavens so high that it sprouted stars, symbolizing his everlasting love for the princess.
Ariadne has long since left our world, but her crown shines high in the southeast sky tonight.
Celestial hugging: Tonight in the early evening western sky look for the new crescent moon, just to the left of the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini the Twins.
Mike Lynch is an astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of the book, “Washington Starwatch,” available at bookstores. Check his website, www.lynchandthestars.com.
The Everett Astronomical Society: www.everettastro.org/.
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