Home » Astronomy » Dog Days End – A Fish is in the Sky!

Dog Days End – A Fish is in the Sky!

August 11 marks the end of the “Dog Days of Summer.” The phrase “Dog Days of Summer” describes the period of time between July 3 and August 11. Though some people attribute the origin of the phrase to the fact that the hot days cause dogs to go crazy, the name is actually a reference to the fact that, during this time, the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the “dog star.” It was once believed that the star somehow conspired with the Sun to make the days hotter.

August 5, 2009 is when you’ll see a “fish” in the sky.
No it’s not really a fish, but it is the Full Sturgeon Moon. The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.