#sidney hall

[samsdei]

Logan Lerman

[bartleby-company]

Draco and Ursa Minor  Sidney Hall, ca. 1825

[iridescent-witch-life]

It's capricorn season! Are you a capricorn sun?

[cashcoffeecup]

[s38s73r]

Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, Engraved maps, Sidney Hall, 1830

[willowsfanarts]

I need you to set me free - latest artwork

[galtx]

GALTx eNews: The Dog Days Are Here!

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the dog days of summer officially run from July 3 to August 11 each year. The expression doesn’t have as much to do with dogs as you might think. The Dog Days are the days during which the Sun occupies the same area of the sky as the star, Sirius. Except for the Sun, Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth. It is part of the constellation Canis Major, which means “Greater Dog.” 

Sirius’s appearance near the Sun coincides with the hottest days of the year in the northern hemisphere. The Romans called this time "dies caniculares,” meaning "days of the dog star." They blamed the star for the heat and for the increased incidences of unrest, lethargy and disease that came with it. Ancient writings also mention increased dog attacks during the days of the dog star and suggest feeding dogs chicken manure as the solution. We do not recommend this approach. Egyptians, on the other hand, welcomed the appearance of Sirius near the Sun because it coincided with the flooding of the Nile and a time of plenty for them.

Eventually, we started referring to the days of the dog star as just the “dog days” of summer. For reasons that are not clear, some people formed a belief that, in addition to causing madness in dogs, liquids become poisonous such that bathing, swimming, and consuming water should be avoided during the dog days. Health advisors of the 16th century also advised against purging during the dog days. Fast forwarding several centuries, the pioneers of the American west believed bright, clear dog days brought a happy year end but that rainy dog days led to despair and heartache for the rest of the year. 

In 2009, a study intended to test old myths related to the Dog Days found a statistical increase in the number of infections during that time. Whatever your personal beliefs regarding the dog days, we think you’ll agree that Sidney Hall clearly understood the meaning of Canis Major when he chose a Greyhound for his illustration of the constellation (pictured) for his Urania’s Mirror, which was originally published in the early 1800s.

7/6/23

[wonder-rooms]

Astronomical Chart Illustrations of Constellations (1831) - Sidney Hall