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Week of Nov. 29 -- Dec. 5, 2009
With the holiday season racing toward us like an out-of-control train, it won't be long before we begin seeing and hearing ads to have a star named after someone special.
Now, I'm a huge proponent of the free enterprise system, but, much like P.T. …Read more.
Week of Nov. 22-29, 2009
Anyone frequenting singles bars back in the '70s has surely heard the question "What's your sign?" And while most of us know the answer, not many know what it actually means. It's really quite simple.
The sun's annual path through the …Read more.
Week of Nov. 15-21, 2009
There are few sights more beautiful than the glistening stars and planets on a clear, dark rural night. But just where do all those heavenly bodies go during the daytime? And why can't we see them when the sky is bright?
As I'm sure you already know,…Read more.
Week of Nov. 8-14, 2009
Anyone who has ever gazed at a dark sky for more than a few minutes has almost certainly seen a burst of light appearing out of nowhere that disappears just as quickly.
We call such a startling phenomenon romantic names like a "falling …Read more.
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Week of Oct. 18 -- 24, 2009Not all constellations are created equally. Few things illustrate this better than a glance high in the south this week after dark. There you'll spot the grand Summer Triangle, traced by the three bright stars Deneb, Vega and Altair; but nearby, you'll find a few smaller constellations that are often lost in the glare of the triangle's fame. These include such star groupings as Delphinus, Equuleus, Sagitta, Lacerta and Vulpecula — most of which you've probably never encountered. So maybe it's time to check out these often-ignored celestial gems. This week after dark, the moon isn't too bright in the evening sky, and this would be a good time to search for these since many of their stars are tough to find even under dark rural skies. Let's begin with Delphinus — perhaps the easiest of the bunch to spot. Just to the east of the triangle, this group of five stars really does look like a tiny dolphin leaping from the water. In ancient mythology, Delphinus was the dolphin that carried the Greek poet Arion away from his enemies. Just to the east of the dolphin lies another beloved animal: Equuleus, the little horse. Equuleus forms an ancient group whose origins are shrouded in history. On the other side of Delphinus — to its west — lies Sagitta, which has been identified as a stray arrow shot by Sagittarius, the archer, as one shot by Apollo to kill the Cyclops or even as one of Cupid's arrows. This is the smallest of all constellations in the heavens and has no stars bright enough to see from under city or suburban lights. The remaining two star groupings are relatively new, created by the 17th-century astronomer Johannes Hevelius. He created Lacerta, the lizard, to enclose the stars of such a tiny area of the sky that no other constellation would fit it, and Vulpecula, the fox, which originally had a stellar companion: a goose. Oddly, the fox remains, but the goose no longer seems to appear on modern star charts. Hmmmm... To find out more about Dennis Mammana and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM 
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