The coming midsummer dawn sky will reward the early riser. From January 27-29 the planets Mercury and Mars will be a spectacular duo in the twilight, separated by only 0.2° on the 28th. Mercury will be the brighter one, but is speeding sunwards and in a few weeks will be lost in that greater light. Look to the eastern horizon at about 5:45 am.
On February 8 & 9, the almost-New Moon will be next to a striking lineup of Venus, Mars, and Mercury, very low in the east, after about 5:50 am. In the following mornings, brilliant Venus will approach Mars, to be within 1° during Feb 21-24. The alpha-Centaurid meteor shower can be seen between Jan 31 and Feb 20, with a good chance of spotting one falling out of the sky on any of these nights. These meteors are known for their blue or yellow fireballs, with trains that can last up to several minutes. The peak rate, of about 6 falls per hour, will occur on Feb 9. (The Moon, being New at this time, will not be a hindrance to good viewing).
What other sights does the summer night sky offer? The Saucepan asterism is one of the best known and easiest found, and doubles up as the belt and scabbard of Orion the Hunter. In Greek mythology Orion boasted that he could hunt and kill any creature on Earth. This angered Gaia, the Earth Goddess, who sent a scorpion to fight, and eventually overpower him. Zeus rewarded the combatants by placing them in the heavens- but with Scorpius and Orion on different sides of the sky, to prevent any further brawling.
A possibly even older story comes from the Mer (Murray Island) people of Torres Strait. Long ago, Tagai was a great leader, and also a hunter. He set out spearfishing in his canoe with his friend Kareg as steersman, and a crew of twelve rowers, six each side. The day was hot, and the crew drank all the water rations, including Tagai’s and Kareg’s. In his rage at this, Tagai threw the crew out of his canoe, casting each line of rowers far into the skies. Then Tagai himself went up into the sky, taking Kareg with him, and became a mighty and renowned constellation, standing on his canoe with outstretched arms, one of them holding a spear. His right hand is represented by the five bright stars of the Western constellation Corvus, his left hand by the five stars of the Southern Cross, his head and body by the stars of Lupus, Centaurus, and Hydra constellations. His canoe is Scorpius, and Kareg can be seen sitting in the boat, steering, as the bright orange star Antares. The banished crew can be found restrained far away from Tagai in the heavens: six as the star group the Mer people call Usiam, which we know as the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades; and six as the Meriam Constellation Seg- which we call the Saucepan.
By Vlack
The Coburg Meddler 