The ancient Greeks associated the rising brightness in the nighttime sky of Sirius, the Dog Star, with the arrival of summer heat and humidity. Sirius would become the brightest star in the sky about mid-July normally coinciding with the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer. The Northern Hemisphere’s oppressive summer heat during July/August has come to be known as the dog days of summer which is assumed to refer to dogs (and humans) being less active during periods of severe heat. Its ancient connection to Sirius, the Dog Star has been generally forgotten. Beginning last weekend, the “dog days of summer” have engulfed the U.S. from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the northern border with Canada to the Gulf of Mex...