The Sting: Part II The 13th Zodiac Constellation

8/7/05 – 8/13/05

By C. Zaitz

Last week we began the story of Orion and the Scorpion. We learned that the goddess of the earth Gaia had punished Orion for his boastful nature. She sent the lowly but deadly scorpion to sting Orion and stop him from boasting for all time. We left Orion stung by the Scorpion, helpless as the paralyzing potion began to make its way through Orion’s veins. But was there no one to help? Can no one save our great giant hunter? Enter, the 13th constellation of the zodiac, the healer known as Ophiuchus. (O-fee-YOU-cuss.)

Ophiuchus is a little known constellation. He never reached the fame of Orion or even the Scorpion, but he takes up a rather large chunk of the sky. The sun actually passes in front of the stars of Ophiuchus during the year, making the constellation one of the 13 of the zodiac. Astronomers know this, but Astrologers fail to account for this in their arts, so his popularity has suffered. None of the stars in Ophiuchus are very bright, however, and perhaps that is why his fame is limited. He stands firmly in the heavens just above the scorpion, holding a snake in his fists. Ophiuchus was known as a snake charmer and healer. Though he might have been known as Aesculapius the healer to the ancient Greeks, his snakes have found their way intertwined around a staff in the caduceus, the symbol of the medical profession to this day. It is said that Aesculapius was ancestor to the great healer Hippocrates, whose influence is still present in the Hippocratic oath.

In our story, Ophiuchus the healer arrived in time to save Orion. He gave him an antidote for the poison left by the scorpion’s sting. Then he crushed the scorpion under his heel so that he would sting no more. You can see Ophiuchus and the scorpion in the sky this summer. The scorpion is in the sky under the feet of Ophiuchus as if he were still grinding the scorpion into the ground. Astrologers call the constellation Scorpio, but in Astronomy the constellation is properly named Scorpius.

Do not expect to find Orion in the sky tonight. As Ophiuchus replays the killing of Scorpius night after night, Orion is below the horizon, already having been stung and chased from the sky by the scorpion. In the morning, the revived Orion rises just before the sun as Scorpius and Ophiuchus have set in the west. The story plays out night after night, and as the seasons move from summer to fall, Orion will rise earlier and the scorpion sets earlier until it is chased from the sky by the sun. But he will be back again next summer, and for the rest of the summers that come. So our story, as old as it is, will never end, until the very stars themselves burn out.

In other sky news, the Perseid meteor shower will peak on Thursday this week. The view won’t get good until the first quarter moon sets, a little before midnight. You need a nice dark sky to get the full effect of a pretty meteor shower, but the brightest of the “falling stars” can be seen even from the Metro Detroit light-polluted skies.

Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view!