"DELPHINUS THE DOLPHIN"
DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!
I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINATTI OBSERVATORY.
JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA
SILVA PLA PLANETAR-IUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.
NOW THAT WE'RE WELL INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS, THIS IS A WONDERFUL TIME TO GET OUTSIDE WITH
THE FAMILY AND GAZE AT THE STARS!
DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES!
WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE OUR FELLOW STAR GAZERS TO ENJOY THE NIGHT SKY TOGETHER WITH THEIR
FAMILIES.
YOU CAN MAKE IT A TRADITION, AND THE SUMMER SKY
IS RICH WITH STAR PATTERNS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE.
JAMES: WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE BIG CONSTELLATIONS
LIKE CYGNUS, AQUILA AND LYRA.
HOWEVER, THERE'S A TINY LITTLE CONSTELLATION IN THIS SAME PART OF THE SKY THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY
ALWAYS SEEN, BUT NEVER KNEW ITS NAME OR ITS STORY.
DEAN: THAT CONSTELLATION IS DELPHINUS THE DOLPHIN.
LET'S SHOW YOU!
DEAN: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER
SUNSET FACING EAST.
HIGH IN THE SKY YOU CAN SEE THE FAMILIAR PATTERN OF THE SUM-MER TRIANGLE.
THE BRIGHTEST STAR OF THE GROUP IS VEGA, AND ITS NEAR THE TOP OF THE TRIANGLE.
JAMES: THEN, DOWN AND TO THE RIGHT OF VEGA IS THE
BRIGHT STAR AL-TAIR, AND DOWN AND TO THE LEFT OF VEGA IS DENEB.
THESE THREE STARS WILL HELP YOU FIND DELPHINUS THE DOLPHIN.
DEAN: IF YOU DRAW A LINE BETWEEN DENEB AND ALTAIR,
BELOW IT ALMOST HALF WAY BETWEEN THE TWO STARS IS A SMALL DIAMOND SHAPED
CON-STELLATION MADE UP OF FIVE STARS.
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE SEEING IT AT FIRST, YOU CAN USE A TECHNIQUE KNOWN AS AVERTED VISION.
SIMPLY LOOK AT ALTAIR, AND IN YOUR PERIPHERAL VISION,
YOU CAN SEE THE SMALL GROUPING OF STARS THAT MAKE UP DELPHINUS.
JAMES: MY FAVORITE STORY OF DELPHINUS INVOLVES A
SINGER AND POET NAMED ARION.
HE WAS SO SKILLED AT PLAYING THE HARP AND HAD SUCH AN AMAZING SINGING VOICE
THAT IT MADE HIM VERY POPULAR DURING THE 7TH CENTURY BC.
DEAN: ARION WAS SO POPULAR THAT HE HAD CONCERTS
THROUGH-OUT THE MEDITERRANEAN.
HOWEVER, ONE DAY, ON HIS WAY HOME TO GREECE AFTER A GIG
IN SOUTHERN ITALY, THE SAILORS ON HIS SHIP CON-SPIRED AGAINST
HIM.
THEY PLOTTED TO KILL HIM AND TAKE THE MONEY HE'D EARNED.
JAMES: THAT'S NOT VERY NICE.
DEAN: NO IT WASN'T.
FINDING HIMSELF SURROUNDED, ARION BEGGED THE SAILORS TO ALLOW HIM TO SING
ONE LAST SONG.
FORTUNATELY FOR ARION, THE SAILORS ALLOWED THIS AND HE PERFORMED ONE OF THE BEST SONGS
OF HIS LIFE.
JAMES: WHILE ARION PLAYED HIS HARP AND SANG,
HIS MUSIC ATTRACTED SEVERAL DOLPHINS TO THE SHIP.
THEY SWAM ALONG SIDE THE SHIP AS ARI-ON PERFORMED, AND IN A DARING LEAP OF FAITH, ARION THREW
HIMSELF OVERBOARD.
DEAN: ONE OF THE DOLPHINS RESCUED ARION AND CARRIED
HIM ALL THE WAY BACK TO GREECE, SAVING HIS LIFE.
IN GRATITUDE TO THE DOLPHIN, APOLLO, THE GOD OF MUSIC AND POETRY PLACED AN IMAGE
OF THE DOL-PHIN IN THE SKY AMONG THE STARS OF THE MILKY WAY AND ALSO PLACED AN IMAGE
OF ARIONS HARP, LYRA IN THE SAME REGION.
JAMES: ALRIGHT, LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE STARS
THAT MAKE UP DELPHINUS.
JAMES: OK, WE AGAIN HAVE OUR SKY SET UP FOR ANY NIGHT
THIS WEEK JUST AFTER SUNSET.
AS WE ZOOM IN ON DELPHINUS, YOU CAN SEE FIVE STARS THAT MAKE UP THE BODY
AND TAIL OF THE DOLPHIN.
THE FOUR STARS MAKING THE BODY OF THE DOLPHIN ARE ALSO KNOWN AS JOBS COF-FIN.
THE STAR ON THE FAR LEFT IS AL SALIB (ALSO KNOWN AS GAMMA DEL-PHINI).
ITS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 101 LIGHT YEARS FROM US.
DEAN: TRAVELING CLOCKWISE, WE HAVE ALPHA AND
BETA DELPHINI.
THESE STARS ALSO HAVE THE NAMES SUALOCIN AND ROTANEV;
WHICH ARE NICO-LAUS AND VENATOR SPELLED BACKWARDS.
THESE ARE THE LATINIZED NAMES IN HONOR OF THE 19TH CENTURY DIRECTOR OF THE PALERMO
OBSERVATORY, WHO SNUCK HIS NAME ONTO THESE STARS.
CRAFTY!
JAMES: SUALOCIN IS 240 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND ROTANEV
IS 97 LIGHT YEARS DISTANT.
THE LAST STAR IN THE BODY OF DELPHINUS IS AL UKUD (ALSO KNOWN AS DELTA DELPHINI) AND
ITS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 223 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.
DEAN: AND LASTLY WE HAVE EPSILON DELPHINI MARKING
DELPHINUS TAIL.
THIS STAR IS APPROPRIATELY CALLED DENEB DULFIM; DENEB MEANING TAIL AND DULFIM MEANING DOLPHIN.
ITS A SOLITARY BLUE-WHITE GIANT STAR, 330 LIGHT YEARS AWAY
AND OVER 670 TIMES AS BRIGHT AS OUR SUN.
JAMES: SO, THERE YOU HAVE IT,
A DARING AND DAZZLING DOLPHIN TO GRACE YOUR SUMMER NIGHTS.
DEAN: IT'S DEFINITELY A REASON TO…
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!