Dog Days of Summer

SEELEY LAKE - When July and August temperatures soar into the high 90s and above, people start using the phrase the "dog days of summer." While it is true that dogs, especially those wearing thick fur coats, are less inclined to run and more likely to lie around panting on hot summer days, the phrase's origin actually comes from astrological rather than canine behavior.

One of the most familiar constellations in the night sky is Orion the giant hunter, easily recognizable by the three stars in his belt. Orion is accompanied on his nightly hunt by his two dogs, Canis Minor (the smaller dog) and Canis Major (the larger dog). Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, lies in Canis Major and consequently acquired the name the Dog Star. In depictions of constellations Sirius is sometimes shown as the dog's nose, other times as caught in the dog's jaws or adorning his collar. Sirius perpetually chases Lepus, the rabbit constellation.

The ancient Greeks equated the star's brightness with heat, which is why they gave it the name "seirios" meaning "searing or scorching." Part of the year Sirius is behind and obscured by the sun. Its sudden appearance as it moves out of the sun's shadow just before sunrise in late summer prompted the Greeks to assume it contributed to the sun's heat and made the summer days even hotter.

Virgil wrote in the "Georgics," "...the torrid Dog Star cracks the fields."

Marcus Manilius wrote in "Astronomica," Sirius "barks forth flame and doubles the burning heat of the sun."

Though science now verifies that the star is much too far away – 8.6 light years – for any heat it produces to affect the earth, the timing of its appearance in the summer sky keeps the phrase "dog days of summer" alive.

Fun Factoid: Fans of Harry Potter will find it imminently logical that Sirius Black's animagus (animal form) was that of a black dog.