corvus the crow

The constellation Corvus the Crow is certainly not one of those constellations that you stand in your backyard and gaze at in awe. The truth is that it’s really a little constellation and isn’t all that bright, but it’s a distinct one and pretty easy to find.

You can find the celestial crow hanging a little above the Butler southeastern horizon, resembling a lopsided trapezoid in the early evening, low southern sky. That lopsided diamond is supposed to be a crow. It’s one of my favorite little constellations mainly because of its legend.

Crows really get a bad rap, but in truth they’re one of the smartest birds around. In fact, according to Greek and Roman mythology, crows were actually one of the most respected birds on Earth. Back then, crows were highly intelligent, sang a beautiful song and had bright white feathers with gold trim. They served the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus with great distinction, until Corvus screwed it up for all crows forever.

Apollo, the god of the sun, dispatched Corvus the crow on a vital mission to fetch water from a far-off magical fountain. Apollo sent the great bird with one of his favorite chalices to collect the magic water. Corvus didn’t know exactly where the fountain was, but he thought he knew which town to fly to. Corvus flew recon over the entire countryside in search of the magic water. Being less than a humble crow, Corvus told Apollo that he should be back by that evening, no problem.

Finding that magic fountain proved to be a heck of a lot harder than Corvus figured. There were hills, valleys, caverns and many other places where the magic fountain could be hiding. It was also a hot Friday afternoon as Corvus flew around the city and surrounding countryside, searching in vain for his prize. Of course, being a male crow, he was too stubborn to ask for directions. The afternoon got longer and his throat got drier. His wings had had it! He had to take a break. In the distance he could see the flashing neon light of a roughneck bar, and thought he’d catch the end of happy hour.

He swooped right in through the swinging doors, and wouldn’t you know it? One of his childhood crow buddies was sitting at the bar with a giant mug of beer and a pile of pull tabs. It was like old times! Corvus and his old buddy drank and talked for hours. As a joke, he had the bartender pour tap beer into Apollo’s chalice. At closing time, Corvus stumbled out of the “crow-bar” and passed out on a park bench, clutching Apollo’s cup half full of beer.

The next morning a very hungover Corvus dumped the leftover stale beer out of Apollo’s chalice and took to the skies, resuming his search for the elusive magic fountain. After hours and hours of clumsy flying, Corvus gave up. He decided it was time to fly back to Mount Olympus to face the music.

As he got closer to the home of the gods, he swallowed the rest of his breath mints to hide the evidence of his wild night. Corvus could see Apollo standing out on his mountainous decking waiting for him. He could even see Apollo’s angry glare from a half-mile away. All the way home the wayward crow was concocting a story about how a crazed water snake bit him while he was getting a drink of water, making him too woozy to find the fountain.

When Corvus made his landing, he pitched his excuse about the crazed water snake and almost had Apollo convinced until he handed back the chalice. Oops! Corvus forgot to wash it out, and it stunk of rotten beer. Corvus was busted! Apollo went nuclear, and fired Corvus on the spot. He didn’t stop there though. Apollo banned all crows from Mount Olympus, and used his magical godly powers to turn all crows from their beautiful white and gold colors to the jet-black colors we see today. Continuing his temper tantrum, he waved his forefinger in anger once again, and turned every crow’s beautiful singing voice into the caw-caw we hear today.

If only Corvus had stopped at one beer!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.