| Date: |
Monday, January 1, 2001
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| Question/Topic: |
Dog days
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| Answer/Pointer: |
Dog Days are the "days of greatest heat and greatest frequency of thunder in the summer," a Florida State University
meterology professor tells us. They last 4 to 6 weeks from mid-July to early September.
Why are they called dog days? The answer's in the stars. Sirius, called the dog star because it's in the
constellation Canis Major (Great Dog), is the brightest star in the sky. In mythology, Sirius is the hunting dog
of Orion and follows the constellation through the skies. The Romans thought Sirius, rising with the sun, caused
the hot "dog days" of summer. The Egyptians thought the rising of Sirius signaled the life-giving flood of the Nile River.
(Tall Demo, 8/78)
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| Librarian: |
LCLCPL
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| Comments: |
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