Constellations:
Sometimes they loom high.
Sometimes they lurk.
Scorpious the Scorpion is the type of constellation that lurks. Specifically, it lurks low in the southeastern evening sky this time of year. As it is so low, Scorpius does not linger in the sky all night. (It remains above the horizon for about eight hours.) Yet, unlike so many other star patterns, Scorpius truly resembles its namesake. This constellation has a distinct j-shape, the bottom arc of which hovers just above our southern horizon. Its western head and claw pairs are as well defined as its curving underbody.
Conspicuous also is its red super-giant heart star Antares. Marking the upper torso, Antares is a deep crimson star. Its name "Rival to Mars" attests to the similarity between its colour and that of the red planet. While they do have similar hues, they are hardly rivals in size: Mars is smaller than Earth, but Antares is nearly 360 million times larger than our Sun!
Mythologically, this dreaded creature was Orion's nemesis. One story depicts Orion as a boastful, self-impressed hunter. One of Orion's most audacious boasts was that he could slay any animal in any land. Diana, Goddess of the Hunt and Wild Animals, heard this claim and was much chagrined. (It was customary for members of the Olympian jet-set to punish mortals for presuming above their stations.) Diana fashioned Scorpius the Scorpion out of extraneous materials she had lying about her oak grove and set him down onto the world. Scorpius obediently sought and fatally stung Orion. So pleased was Diana at Orion's death that she placed Scorpius in the sky as a tribute. Interestingly, he was placed in the exact opposite part of the sky from Orion, thereby preventing these foes from ever fighting again.
Thus, in July, when Orion is not visible, Scorpius the Scorpion appears in the east.
Venture outside, preferably to a gnome infested estuary, to admire the sights of the Summer Scorpion over the sea.
Special thanks to Edward Gleason at the University of Southern Maine for providing this article.
Current Weather & Moon Phase
| York, ME | Bar Harbor, ME |
| Greenville, ME | Presque Isle,ME |
Bugs are Lighting up the Night
Warm summer evenings, family, friends, and …fireflies! When I was a kid, my sisters, brother and I would head outdoors after supper and catch fireflies. Sometimes we would just carefully hold them in cupped hands and wait for them to flash. Sometimes we would put them in jars, watch them flash then let them go. And sometimes we would squish one and put it on our nose.
In Maine fireflies, or lightning bugs, start showing up in June and can be found through July. They are most often found near woods or streams or ponds; flashing across fields looking for a mate. Seeing as there are lots of woods and streams and ponds, fireflies are pretty easy to find. There are at least 17 different species of fireflies that can be found in Maine.
Fireflies are really adult beetles in the family LAMPyridae. The larvae feed on slugs, snails and earthworms during the summer. These immature fireflies then overwinter in the soil or under bark on trees. In the spring they emerge, continue feeding then pupate and turn into adult beetles. The adults flash their “taillights” to find mates. Each species has different flash pattern and some species can be determined only by their flash patterns as their physical appearance (to us) is so similar.
Most adults are not known to eat anything, although they probably feed on nectar to keep their energy up. There is one species in Maine where the adult females are prey on other fireflies. They mimic the flashes of other species, lure the males in and then eat them. There are also species that do not flash at all and they are active during the day as opposed to the evening like the flashing fireflies.
The light produced by the fireflies is called bioluminescence. It is a chemical reaction between the chemical luciferin, the enzyme luciferinase and oxygen. This cold light is very energy efficient – 100% of the energy in the reaction is turned into light (about 10% of incandescent lights are turned into light, the rest is given off in heat). The flashes are controlled by the amount of oxygen that gets to the cells producing the light.
In many species the females are flightless and look very similar to the larvae. Both these wingless adults and most larvae are also luminescent and are called glowworms.
Special thanks to Charlene Donahue, Forest Entomologist with the Maine Forest Service, for providing this article and pictures.
Family Activities
Are you looking for activities for your family to use in the outdoors? Project Learning Tree has put together a collection of fun and engaging activities to help young people gain an awareness of the world around them.