Capricornus
The Sun， Moon， and planets pass through Capricornus as they travel around the sky， making it a constellation of the zodiac. Capricornus is best visible in the early autumn.
A sea-goat， also called a goat-fish， is an odd creature you will not find at the zoo. It is a goat with a fish’s tail. In Sumerian times about 5，000 years ago， the Sumerians created imaginary new animals by combining familiar animals in strange ways. Sagittarius， half-man and half-horse， and Pegasus， a horse with wings， are two other examples. Capricornus has no bright stars.
Pisces
Pisces is a large zodiacal constellation of mostly faint stars in the autumn and winter sky. It is two fish swimming in different directions with their tails tied together.
While there are ancient myths about the fish and their adventures， little information exists that tell us why these stars were originally named fish. In one Greek myth， the fishes’ tails were tied together so they would not be separated. We still see them this way today.
Aquarius
Before indoor plumbing， water was delivered door to door by water carriers like Aquarius. On antique star charts， Aquarius is shown as a man on his knees pouring from a jug of water. In the sky， Aquarius， is a large but shapeless group of faint stars that lies south and west of Pegasus.
Aquarius seems to be associated with the “great flood” that we are told once inundated the entire world—a story that had its origin in Sumerian and that later appeared in the Old Testament of the Bible， among other places.
You can see Aquarius in the southern sky from August through October.
Virgo
Virgo is the second largest constellation. This member of the zodiac is in the evening sky in late spring and early summer.
Virgo is a young maiden who is associated with agriculture and especially with planting and with ploughing the first furrow of spring， when a barren field is seeded and becomes fertile.
Sagittarius
The Archer is a prominent and ancient constellation that has many bright stars. You can see Sagittarius in summer and early fall evenings， when it is low in the south.
A constellation of the zodiac， Sagittarius is a centaur. However， some people see Sagittarius as a teapot. When Sagittarius is in the southwest， the pot is tipped and is a pouring tea on the tail of Scorpio.
Many ancient imaginary creatures are made of two or more animals combined into one. One of the strangest was a centaur， half-man and half-horse. A centaur was the ultimate hunter-warrior， combining the skill of men with the speed of horses. Generally armed and dangerous， centaurs were a wild bunch that were best avoided. Sagittarius carries a bow and arrow， and he’s called the Archer. An unarmed centaur named Centaurus is also in the sky.
Gemini
The winter sky is full of bright stars. Two that are equal in brightness and close together have been known as the “twin stars” for thousands of years. They are the heads of Gemini， twin brothers Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. Gemini is a constellation of the zodiac.
Gemini is overhead in winter and early spring. In the middle of May， the Twins stand upright on the northwest horizon around 8：00 p.m.
Gemini looks like two boys standing or lying side by side. It is two strings of stars stretching westward from the bright stars Castor and Pollux. To remember which is which， Castor is nearest to Capella， the brightest star in Auriga， and Pollux is next to Procyon， the brightest star in Canis Minor.
In Greek mythology， these heroic twins were best known for their travels with Jason. Castor was an expert horseman， his twin， Pollux， an expert boxer， and together they had lots of fun battling bad guys. Because they rose before the Sun as winter storms ended and as the sailing season resumed， they were popular with Greek sailors， who also looked to them for protection from pirates.
Ophiuchus
This outline of a man occupies a large area of the summer sky north of Scorpio. Ophiuchus is holding a snake， or serpent， which is the constellation Serpens， in his bare hands. The serpent’s head is to the right of Ophiuchus， his tail to the left， and his body seems to cross in front of Ophiuchus. One constellation cannot be in front of another， so Ophiuchus divides the snake into two parts— the head and the tail. No constellations are more closely connected than the snake handler and his serpent.
Ophiuchus is high in the south in early evening through July and August. With a bit of imagination， it is not hard to see the outline of a giant man， even though he has no especially bright stars. According to modern constellation boundaries， the Sun passes through the southern edge of Ophiuchus， making it a constellation of the zodiac. Ophiuchus is not part of the traditional astrological zodiac of 12 equally spaced signs， but it is the 13th constellation of the astronomical zodiac.
Ophiuchus is a doctor. The Greeks knew him by the name of Aesculapius， and he was a super-physician who possessed the ultimate medical skill—reviving the dead. This alarmed Pluto， god of the underworld， who was afraid he’d received no new visitors.
Pluto protested to the god Zeus， banished Aesculapius to the sky. When physicians take the Hippocratic oath today， they begin by swearing to Aesculapius， or Ophiuchus， to do their duty.
Vocabulary 词汇
zodiac ["z？udi？k] n. 黄道带黄道十二宫、黄道十二宫图
constellation ["k？nst？"lei？？n] n. 星座、一群杰出人物
Aquarius [？"kw？？ri？s] 宝瓶宫、宝瓶（星）座
Aries ["？？ri：z] n. 白羊座、白羊宫
medium ["mi：dj？m] n. 媒介、工具、折中、环境、通灵的人；
adj. 中等的、适中的
Sumerian [su： "mi？ri？n] adj. 苏美尔（人）的
ram [r？m] n. 公羊、撞击工具；
vt. 撞击、猛撞
Pisces ["paisi：z] n. 双鱼座、双鱼宫、出生于双鱼宫时段的人
alignment [？"lainm？nt] n. 排成直线
Cancer ["k？ns？] n. 癌、恶性肿瘤、巨蟹座
faint [feint] adj. 虚弱的、衰弱的、软弱无力的、模糊的、暗淡的
Leo ["li（：）？u] n. 狮子（用于儿童故事寓言等）、（天文）狮子座
Gemini ["d？eminai] n. 双子宫、双子（星）座
mythology [mi"θ？l？d？i] n. 神话学、神话（总称）
crab [kr？b] n. 蟹
squash [skw？？] n. 挤压、南瓜；
vt. 压扁、压制；
vi. 被压扁、挤入；
n. 壁球
scarab ["sk？r？b] n. 圣甲虫、圣甲虫形宝石（雕刻成甲虫形状的宝石）
beetle ["bi：tl] n. 甲虫
turtle ["t？：tl] n. 海龟、甲鱼
lobster ["l？bst？] n. 龙虾、龙虾肉
Libra ["laibr？] 〈拉〉天秤座、天秤宫
Scorpius ["sk？：pi？u？s] n. 天蝎星座
claw [kl？：] vt. & vi. 抓、撕、搔；
n. 爪
astronomer [？s"tr？n？m？] n. 天文学者、天文学家
Taurus ["t？：r？s] n. 金牛座、（占星术中）金牛宫
predator ["pred？t？] n. 食肉动物、奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）
splendor ["splend？] n. 光彩、壮观、杰出
prehistoric ["pri：his"t？rik] adj. 史前的
stubby ["st？bi] adj. 短而粗的
Orion [？"rai？n] n. Diana 所爱的猎人、猎户星座
Sagittarius ["s？d？i"t？？ri？s] n. 〈天〉人马座、人马宫
cluster ["kl？st？] n. （果实、花的）串、簇、（人、物的）群、组；
vt. & vi. （使）集中
