Week of March 26 — April 1, 2023

We in the Earth's Northern Hemisphere have a wonderfully brilliant sky to view during our winter and early spring months, but we tend to forget that we see only half of the celestial sphere. Stargazers south of the equator have constellations that we cannot see because the spherical Earth beneath us blocks them from view. Only by traveling Down Under can one get a complete glimpse of these stars and star groupings and understand the marvelous stories that go along with them.

Well, not entirely. Right now, several such "forgotten" constellations are visible after dark to some of us in the Northern Hemisphere. To find these, look just below the constellation of Orion, the hunter, the brilliant rectangle of stars with three equally bright stars that form a straight line at its center.

Immediately beneath the great hunter's feet lies the figure of Lepus, the hare. Lepus is a faint and ancient constellation that represents the prey of Orion. Some believe that Lepus may be even connected to the legend of the Easter Bunny: When the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring changed a bird into a hare, she took away its ability to fly but, in return, gave it great speed and, once a year, allowed it to lay eggs.

To the right of Lepus, and beginning near the foot of Orion, lies the long, winding constellation of Eridanus, the river. In Greek mythology, Eridanus is the river in which young Phaethon crashed after his failed attempt to fly the Chariot of the Sun. No one knows exactly which river Eridanus represents; some claim it's the Tigris or the Euphrates, others the Nile or the Po.

Even farther south, very close to the horizon for many in middle latitudes, lie several additional constellations. To see them you'll need a very clear and dark sky, with no obstructions on the horizon.

Almost due south after dark lies the tiny star grouping of Caelum, the chisel or engraving tool. This is one of several constellations invented by Abbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who mapped the stars of the Southern Hemisphere from the Cape of Good Hope from 1751 to 1753.

To the east of the chisel, we find Columba, the dove. Columba was probably invented by the 16th century Dutch theologian, cartographer and astronomer Petrus Plancius to represent the dove sent out by Noah in search of dry land after the great flood depicted in the Bible.

Finally, partially hidden beneath the southern horizon from much of the Northern Hemisphere, lies the constellation of Puppis, the deck of a ship, along with Pyxis, the compass by which navigators would guide the ship.

Puppis was originally part of a larger constellation known as Argo Navis that represented the ship of "Jason and the Argonauts" but was eventually divided into three separate constellations that now include Vela (the hull), as well as Carina (the keel). The only part of Carina that lower northern latitude stargazers can see is the bright star Canopus barely above the southern horizon at this time of year.

With a very low southern horizon and a clear, dark sky, how many of these can you find?

Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.