dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (10/18/84)
There's an ocean in the autumn sky -- which we'll tell you about -- right after this. October 18 The Ocean in the Autumn Sky If you look toward the south this month, you'll see what looks like an empty sky. The southern sky in autumn has stars -- but they tend to be faint, and so city lights wash them out. True darkness and a star chart reveal that many constellations in this region have something in common. The southern autumn sky represents an ocean, and many of the constellations are named for beings which live under water. In the south, you'll find Capricornus, the Sea Goat -- one of the twelve zodiacal constellations. The Sea Goat is supposed to have the head of a goat and the tail of a fish! You'll also see a regular fish in the south this month -- Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish. It's not to be confused with the other constellation Pisces, the zodiacal constellation. It so happens that the other Pisces is located in this same celestial ocean -- in pretty much this same region Both fish constellations are very faint, although Pisces Austrinus has a single bright star, called Fomalhaut. Moving on from the little fish, we come to a big fish -- the constellation Cetus, the Whale. The whale is supposed to be a monster and figures in a legend about a princess who was almost devoured. But in a dark-enough sky, this constellation can be seen have a funny lop-sided head that makes it look downright friendly. So that's a sea goat, some fish and a whale, all located south this month -- in the ocean in the autumn sky. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin