Dog Days of Summer

We're into the final stretch of summer, referred to by some as the "Dog Days of Summer." Do you know why this time of year is called the Dog Days of Summer? I think that it's because it's the end of summer and everyone is "dog tired" and hot and ready for the cooler fall air. With a little research (thanks Wikipedia!) I uncovered a little history behind this phrase...

Tahoe feeling the heat!

The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius is also the brightest star in the night sky. 

Sirius is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January. In the summer, however, Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star. 

The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the “precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt. 

Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.

So... there you have it!
By the way, I think Gus (the bulldog in the video below) has the right idea on how to cope with the heat : )

P.S.: Stay tuned for another "Dog Days" post involving a little swimming and biking and running in the coming week...