Dolphin, horse tell starry stories

Out of the 88 constellations that can be seen from Earth, Delphinus the Dolphin is the nineteenth smallest and Equuleus the Little Horse is the second smallest. They're cozied up together in southeastern evening skies this month. They also happen to be the smallest mammal constellations, but as they say, good things come in small packages.

Let me start with Delphinus. It's one of those few constellations that looks like what it's supposed to be. I love showing it to folks at my stargazing parties. It's definitely one you can easily remember. Delphinus is made up of a small but distinct sideways diamond of stars that outlines the torso and head of the little dolphin, and a single star just to the lower right of the diamond marks the tail. Currently, Delphinus is swimming high in the southeastern skies as evening begins.

The best way to find Delphinus is by using the famous "Summer Triangle." Despite the fact that we're moving into autumn, the Summer Triangle is nearly overhead at the end of evening twilight. It's very easy to see. Just look for the three brightest stars that you can see in the very high southeastern sky and that's the Summer Triangle.

This trio of bright stars is made up of stars from three separate constellations, each being the brightest star in their respective constellation. If you face toward the southeast and then crane your neck to see the top of the sky, you'll see Vega, the highest and brightest star in the Summer Triangle and the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp. On the lower left corner of the triangle is Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. On the lower right corner is Altair, the brightest luminary in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. It's from Altair that you start your quick search for the diminutive dolphin. Just gaze about two fist-widths at arm's length to the left, or east, of Altair for that little diamond that makes up the body of the cute little dolphin in our celestial sea.

Heavenly looks can be deceiving! Even though the five main stars that outline the body and tail of Delphinus the Dolphin are fairly faint, each one of them is much larger and produces more light and energy than the sun, our closest star. Their faintness in our night sky is simply due to location; these stars are a heck of a long way away. They range in distance from 95 light years to more than 360 light years away. Just one light year, the distance that a beam of light travels in one year's time, is almost six trillion miles away.

Now, for extra credit, see if you can spot Equuleus the Little Horse. This will be a real challenge because it's less than half the size of Delphinus and its stars are just as faint. About all there is to it are four stars that make a tiny and skinny lopsided trapezoid that is allegedly the head of a diminutive horse. Go figure.

Every star has a story

Both Delphinus and Equuleus are two of the original 48 constellations listed by the famous astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, and as with all constellations, different cultures have their own names and mythology associated with them. Equuleus the Little Horse was thought to be the little brother of the famous winged horse Pegasus. That makes sense to me since the constellation Equuleus is right next door in the sky to the constellation Pegasus the Winged Horse. There's also a story among the Greeks about the tremendous battle for power between Poseidon the God of the Sea and Athena the Goddess of Wisdom. When Poseidon struck his trident against a rock, out popped the little horse Equuleus. Strange things happened even way back then!

The Greek mythology tale of Delphinus also involves Poseidon. As with all of the Greek gods, Poseidon was quite a playboy who really got around. This is a family column, so I'll just leave it at that. Anyway, when he finally decided to settle down and get married, he set his sights on Amphitrite, one of the many nereids that occupied his domain. Nereids, or sea nymphs, were like mermaids, according to legend, in that they provided safety and protection for sailors and fisherman. The male mariners also found them easy on the eyes.

Despite Poseidon's charm and all of his wooing, Amphitrite was not impressed and distanced herself as much as she could from the god of the sea. Poseidon did not give up easily though, and as any self-respecting god did in those days, he kidnapped Amphitrite. What a nice guy! Anyway, Amphitrite managed to escape and swam off as far as she could. Even after that happened, Poseidon refused to go through life without his favorite sea nymph. He sent Delphinus, his faithful dolphin, to search for Amphitrite. Delphinus wasn't just any dolphin though, because he was a talking dolphin. He managed to find Amphitrite and persuaded her to give Poseidon a chance. So she climbed on Delphinus's back and rode back to the god of sea. They were happily married and as a reward, Poseidon placed his faithful dolphin in the heavens as the constellation we still see thousands of years later.

There are many yarns about Delphinus. Early Hebrew towns saw Delphinus as a whale, reminding them of the Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale. Early Christian settlements saw the little diamond of stars as the Cross of Jesus.

Enjoy two of the tiniest constellations in the night sky!

(Lynch is an amateur astronomer and author of the book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch.")