Is it offically the Dog Days of summer yet?

[Jade Fox]

I'm tired of being hot, hot, hot. Last night I could not get cool enough to
sleep. This morning, although the relatively cool morning air is still
around, I can't get my house to cool off even with all the windows open
and fans going.

And just how much liquid can one person drink? :beer:

[yewberry]

1. Technically, they're over.

They ended around 8/11, if you're following the strict definition (relative to the dog star & conjunction with the sun.)

Keep drinking lots of liquids, though, because astronomical data mean nada once the temps are over 90. Maybe a cool shower, too.

[Jade Fox]

4. Wow, I never knew they were offically calculated....

So, its when the Sun and Sirius are conjunct-cool.

[RebelOne]

2. OMG! You don't have air conditioning?

That must be brutal. I couldn't live without air. I guess it's because I am in the South.

[Jade Fox]

3. I live in the Northwest.....

where our usually temperate summers (global warming, anyone?) do not
warrent having air conditioning.

I've lived in the South, though. (Atlanta-loved it. Miami-hated it.). I know
how essential air-conditioning is there!

[Reciprocity]

5. What I have learned from Harry Potter.

It's all in the stars...

In ancient Greece during the hottest time of the summer, the brightest star in the night sky was Sirius. Sirius is called the "Dog Star" and is the brightest of a set of stars which makes up the constellation Canis Major, "The Big Dog".

In addition, Sirius would rise and set in conjunction with our sun during what generally turned out to be the most sultry period of the summer (for that part of the world at least).

So because of the brightest star rising and setting as the sun did, the people of the time concluded that the dog star, Sirius, was heating our atmosphere on top of the radiation from our sun. Although this is not the reason for hot summer days, it sure sounds good, eh?

So, the 40 day period where Sirius and the sun were just about in phase with each other was referred to as "The Dog Days of Summer" Popularly, the term is just used loosely, as different parts of the world experience their dog days during different times of the year.

In fact, Sirius no longer rises during the summer. Thousands of years later, the dog star is in a different part of the sky relative to our view, and doesn't rise until fall/winter (northern hemisphere).

[Jade Fox]

6. You learned that from Harry Potter?

Interesting.

But I'm thinking they should start banning the Potter books from schools.
The next thing you know, kids will be learning science! And liking it!