Sultry summer nights were common during my childhood in eastern Pennsylvania, and you could usually find me lying on the cool grass, gazing into a star-filled sky.
It was a simpler, more innocent time – a time when neighbors sat on their porches in the evenings, and ice cream and watermelon were all we needed to stay cool. Life seemed just about as good as it could possibly get.
It was on nights like these that I recall watching my favorite star, Antares, its ruddy glow twinkling through the summertime haze that always seemed to hang over the Coursins' house to the south.
Though life has changed much since those seeming halcyon days, Antares remains a wonderful friend. Even now, just seeing this star fills my heart with warm memories – no matter where on the globe I happen to be. That's the power of making friends with the stars.
Antares played a prominent role not only in my life, but also in many early cultures. For example, in about 3000 B.C., Antares was considered one of the four royal stars of ancient Persia; some suggest it may have been the “lance star” referred to in the biblical book of Job. The ancient Egyptians aligned temples with this star to make it part of their ceremonies.
Antares marks the heart of the celestial arachnid we know as Scorpius, the scorpion – one of the most recognizable constellations in the heavens. Look for it low in the southern sky after dark this week. You will have little trouble finding Scorpius; several stars outline claws at its top, and a long, curving stellar arc traces its tail and stinger all along the hazy band of the Milky Way.
Just to the west of Antares lies a faint, fuzzy spot of light that astronomers know as M4, a great globular cluster of hundreds of thousands of stars that is one of the nearest clusters to Earth at only 7,200 light-years away. If you've got a small telescope, aim it in this direction and you will witness one of the most remarkable celestial sights of the season.
Ah, summertime – what a marvelous time of year to leave your mundane worries behind, get out to a dark location at night, lie on the grass and make friends with the stars.
© Creators Syndicate Inc.
