The Weekly Watch
Submitted by Lookout on Sun, 07/26/2026 - 6:19am
Dog Days of Summer

You might have heard the hottest days of summer referred to as the dog days of summer … but where did this term come from? It turns out they come from an ancient belief about a star – the brightest star in the sky – Sirius in the constellation Canis Major. Sirius is also called the Dog Star. And the ancient Egyptians believed that when Sirius rose at the same time as the sun, the double whammy of Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather. Voila. Dog days!
According to the National Weather Service:
The “dog days of summer” is a phrase used to describe the hot and humid days of summer. It can be traced back thousands of years to the days of the Roman Empire. It refers to the dates from July 3 through August 11, which is 20 days prior and 20 days after the star Sirius rises and falls in conjunction [sharing the same spot in our sky] with the sun. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star,” because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).

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