Night Sky

Cygnus - The Swan, AgainSource: Wikipedia.com

While sitting outside my apartment in Downieville a couple of hours after sunset earlier this week, the air above me was cool and free of clouds. Looking straight up in the sky, again, the way I recommended to readers here last week, the shape of Cygnus was easy to spot. Deneb at the base of the Swan and Sadr wedged between Al Fawaris and Glenah, the brightest marks of the bird’s “wings,” all jumped out to form a splendid celestial triangle for me. The stars felt like old and trusted friends.

But, best of all, despite the light streaming out from a streetlight on Main Street and from a light high up on the south side of the school’s gymnasium, when my eyes were fully adjusted to the darkness, it was possible to observe the Milky Way lying dimly behind Cygnus. In a world where fewer and fewer people have ever seen our galaxy due to higher and higher levels of urban light pollution, I felt very, very lucky to be living here.

There are several ancient myths associated with this constellation. Next week, we’ll provide readers with a sampling of stories where Cygnus involves the Greeks Zeus, Leda, Casto, Pollux, Orpheus, the constellation Lyra, and Phaeton. There’s also the Chinese “magpie bridge” myth to recount…