Seeing Stars: Sirius - the brightest star in our sky
Keith Wilson has had a life-long interest in the night sky and has written for space and astronomy publications in the UK and USA. He lives under the dark night skies of the Isle of Gigha.
This month is a perfect time to view the brightest star in Kintyre’s night sky, Sirius.
It’s part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. That’s how Sirius gets its nickname of the Dog Star.
From Kintyre, Sirius travels across in the southern sky and can’t be missed as it is very bright. You can use the three belt stars of Orion to locate the star. Just draw an imaginary line downwards through the three belt stars and it will lead you to Sirius.
Some people call Sirius the ‘rainbow star’ as it often twinkles and flickers in many colours. These are easy to notice when Sirius is low in the night sky soon after rising. This happens because a bright star such as Sirius shines through our planet’s thick and turbulent atmosphere.
Have you heard the term "dog days of summer"? As seen from Earth, Sirius, the Dog Star, is behind the Sun during the summer and ancient stargazers thought that Sirius and the Sun together caused the hot weather which they called "dog days".
Actually, the name Sirius comes from the Greek word "seirios" which means "scorcher". In Ancient Egypt the appearance of Sirius was important as it occurred at the same time as the flooding of the River Nile bringing water and rich new soil to the dry land where they would plant their crops.
Sirius is one of the nearest stars to us after the Sun and it has a small, faint companion star, nicknamed "The Pup", which you need a telescope to see.
The star is also one of the three stars of the "winter triangle". Sirius is located at the southernmost tip of the triangle with Betelgeuse in Orion and Procyon in Canis Minor completing the triangle.
Check the star out in the evening and be amazed by its unusual flickering effect.
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