The Calendar Star

There are a number of constellations in the sky that are based on stories from mythology. This story is about a constellation that is not as well-known where a calendar was placed into the sky to help indicate the time of year.

The stars in the constellation are in the shape of a rectangle and form a grid. The star that is located at the bottom of the rectangle in the bottom right corner looks brighter and appears to change color throughout the year. In the spring, it looks green. In the summer, it looks yellow. In the fall, it turns orange, and in the winter, it turns red.

As the story goes, there were a group of mortals dependent on the foods that they grew, but the crops were often not fully maximized because they were not harvested at the right time. They tended to pick the fruits and vegetables either too early or too late.

For instance, if the mortals grew apples, they tended to harvest them too quickly. The apples could stay on the trees for a longer period of time before they were picked. If they allowed more time, this could increase the overall yield. Other crops were impacted by early frosts, and they were not taking advantage of the cooler temperatures in the winter to grow other items.

The gods would watch the mortals and exclaim in dismay, “They don’t understand that if they plant those seeds now, they won’t have a chance to grow as the temperatures are getting too cold.”

The gods discussed what they could do to help the mortals and decided on placing a star in the sky that would change color to help them know when it was the right time to plant or harvest a particular crop.

In the winter, the gods turned a star as red as they could to warn about an upcoming frost and made it fall from the sky. They felt a red star might get their attention. One of the mortals noticed it. The following morning when it went to look at the crops that were damaged from an early frost, the mortal wondered if the red star was trying to communicate the cooler than expected temperature.

On another occasion, a green star appeared to fall from the sky for several days in a row. A number of the mortals noticed it and were not sure why it seemed to appear. When the mortals began planting seeds for the spring, one of the mortals thought it was just a coincidence.

Several months later, a yellow star began falling from the sky each evening. By then, the mortals started to think about what the star was trying to communicate. When the mortals were inundated with what they thought was an early crop of summer fruit, they started to wonder if the star was trying to communicate that the fruit was ready to be harvested.

When an orange star began falling, the mortals knew it was time to harvest the corn, pumpkins, squash, and other fall vegetables. From that point on, they looked to the star in the sky to help them know when it was the right time to plant or harvest various crops.

There are a number of astronomers who study the star. They think the star located in the bottom right corner is brighter than the other stars in the constellation because it is located closer to Earth. There are a number of alternative views about why the color appears to change color. They would like to use satellite technology to study the star, but due to budget limitations, the project is often put on hold.

There is also a college that studies the Calendar Star. The college teaches an astronomy course about the constellations, and the Calendar Star is one of the constellations that is studied. Over the years, the course becomes increasingly popular. One of the auditoriums has been turned into a planetarium to help students locate the constellations in the sky.

Once students learn about the Calendar Star, they tend to look for it in the night sky. Due to its changing color throughout the year, interest in the star continues long after the course is completed.

Based on the popularity of the course, the college created a small exhibit in one of the buildings. The exhibit is dedicated to featuring the Calendar Star, and includes a lot of information about the star. There are also a number of telescopes set-up throughout the room where visitors who visit the exhibit in the evening can use to view the star. Both college students and visitors to the school are known to view the exhibit. It is also widely visited by tourists.

While the Calendar Star is not as well-known as other stars, it is well-regarded among those that study or like astronomy. The star is known to be brighter and darker in hue at certain times of the year, and there are often articles in the news to encourage people to view the star. Pictures of the Calendar Star are taken and widely distributed. As a result, the Calendar Star becomes more widely known.

The increasing coverage of the star in the news helps the astronomers by making it easier to provide information about why it should be studied in space. They eventually make a presentation at a conference. The purpose of the conference is to decide which projects should be studied. Given the wide number of projects, the Calendar Star is not selected as there are other projects that are given higher priority. While the astronomers are disappointed, they continue to build a case about why it should be studied.

Several years later, one of the first astronomers to study the star is sitting down for breakfast when the phone rings. The astronomer answers the phone and hears the voice of another astronomer from the original group that studied the star excitedly say, “Did you see today’s paper? It looks like a satellite is going to be used to study the Calendar Star.”

The astronomer picks up the paper from the kitchen table and sees the headline that says, “Satellite to View Calendar Star”.