Gary Smith, age 14, of Cogan Station, Penna., for his questions

How did the dog days get their name?

The dog days are named for Sirius the Dog Star. This seems strange because Sirius is a star of winter nights and the dog days occur during the heat of the summer. But where is Sirius in the sky at this time of the year? This most brilliant of all stars is right up there in the daytime sky, traveling over the heavens with the sun.

In ancient times, Sirius was supposed to add its heat to that of the sun during this time of the year. The muggy heat of this season was blamed on this fact. Now we know that this is not so. Sirius rides with the sun from early July to early September, but it adds no heat to the summer sun. The so called dog days ,just happen to be the sultry season because the earths axis is tilted as it goes around its orbit.