Seaworld’s got nothing on the night sky

Published 5:28 pm Friday, September 14, 2007

Of the 88 constellations that can be seen from Earth, Delphinus the Dolphin is the 69th largest. In other words Delphinus is a tiny constellation, but as they say good things come in small packages.

Delphinus is one of my favorite constellations because it’s one of the few constellations that looks like what it’s supposed to be. I love showing it to folks at my stargazing parties.

It’s definitely one you can easily remember. Delphinus is made up of a small but distinct sideways diamond of stars that outline the torso and head of the little dolphin, and a single star just to the lower right of the diamond that marks the tail.

Currently Delphinus is swimming high in the southeastern skies as evening begins.

The best way to find Delphinus is by using the famous “Summer Triangle.”

Despite the fact that we’re moving into autumn the Summer Triangle is nearly overhead at the end of evening twilight.

It’s very easy to see. Just look for the three brightest stars that you can see overhead in the early evening this time of year and that’s the Summer Triangle.

This trio of bright stars is made up of stars from three separate constellations, each being the brightest star in their respective constellation.

If you face toward the southeast and then crane your neck to see the top of the sky you’ll see Vega, the highest and brightest star in the Summer Triangle and the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp.

On the lower left corner of the triangle is Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.

On the lower right corner is Altair, the brightest luminary in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. It’s from Altair that you start your quick search for the diminutive dolphin.

Just gaze about two fist-widths at arm’s length to the left, or east, of Altair for that little diamond that makes up the body of the cute little dolphin in our celestial sea.

Heavenly looks can be deceiving!

Even though the five main stars that outline the body and tail of Delphinus the Dolphin are fairly faint, each one of them is much larger and produces much more light and energy than the sun, our closest star. Their faintness in our night sky is simply because these stars being a heck of a long way away. They range in distance from 95 light-years to more than 360 light-years away. Just one light-year, the distance that a beam of light travels in one year’s time, is almost six trillion miles away!

Throughout the ages, people have used constellations to tell stories tied to the local religion or mythology. That’s certainly the case with Delpinus. Many early Hebrew towns saw Delphinus as a whale, reminding them of the Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale. Early Christian settlements saw the little diamond of stars as the Cross of Jesus.

I love many of the Greek mythology tales. One story regarding Delphinus involves Poseidon, the god of the sea.

As with all of the Greek gods, Poseidon was quite a playboy who really got around. This is a family column so I’ll just leave it at that.

Anyway, when he finally decided to settle down and get married he set his sights on Amphitrite, one of the many nereids that occupied his domain.

Nereids, or sea nymphs, were like mermaids according to legend, in that they provided safety and protection for sailors and fisherman. The male mariners also found them easy on the eyes.

Despite Poseidon’s charm and all his wooing, Amphitrite was not impressed and distanced herself as much as she could from the god of the sea. Poseidon did not give up easily though, and as any self-respecting god did in those days, he kidnapped Amphitrite.

What a nice guy!

Anyway, Amphitrite managed to escape and swam off as far as she could. Even after that happened, Poseidon refused to go through life without his favorite sea nymph. He sent Delphinus, his faithful dolphin, to search for Amphitrite.

Delphinus wasn’t just any dolphin though, because he was a talking dolphin. He managed to find Amphitrite and persuaded her to give Poseidon a chance.

So she climbed on Delphinus’s back and rode back to the god of the sea.

They were happily married and as a reward, Poseidon placed his faithful dolphin in the heavens as the constellation we still see thousands of years later!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is the author of the book, “Washington Starwatch,” available at bookstores and at his Web site, www.lynchandthestars.com