I’ve been procrastinating all summer, but as autumn begins I want to feature the small but fairly distinct constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.

As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would say, this little constellation just doesn’t get any respect.

In fact, there’s a nickname for it among amateur astronomers. A lot of them call it “cor bore” because there just isn’t all that much to it, and within its borders there aren’t any telescope treasures to be found like galaxies and such.

I am not included in that group. I have a fondness for the Northern Crown.

The diminutive but distinct constellation Corona Borealis has been out all summer long and is now making its final curtain call in our evening sky for this year. After this month, we won’t see Corona Borealis in the early evening sky again until early next spring when it reappears in the east.

Like most constellations, Corona Borealis migrates west from night to night as our Earth orbits the sun. Eventually, we “lose” constellations in the western sky as they start the evening below the western horizon.

Corona Borealis is Latin for “The Northern Crown,” and you can certainly make the case for how the Greeks and Romans saw it as a crown of shining jewels in the sky. To me, it looks much more like a cereal bowl although it doesn’t have a lot of snap, crackle and pop.

Australians refer to it as a boom-erang. It’s easy to see how the constellation got that name Down Under.

According to the Shawnee Indian legend, these stars are the homes of maidens that occasionally danced in the fields on the earth.Early in the evening, look for the cereal bowl in the northwestern Butler sky, just to the upper left of the constellation Bootes the Hunting Farmer. Bootes looks more like a giant kite than a hunter, with the bright star Arcturus at the tail.Arcturus is easy to find by using the Big Dipper’s handle. Just extend the curve of the handle down to the lower left and you’ll run right into Arcturus. It’s extra easy because Arcturus is the brightest star in that part of the sky early this evening.The brightest star in Corona Borealis is Alphecca, a hot bluish-white star about 75 light-years away. The light that we see from Alphecca tonight left that star in 1936 when FDR was our president and America was continuing to come out of the Great Depression.If you like a nice glass or two of wine in the late afternoon and evening, you might want to tip your glass in the direction of Corona Borealis in the western sky.The Greek mythology story goes like this. Princess Ariadne was the daughter of the evil and sadistic king of Crete. Every spring, for sick entertainment, the king sacrificed seven young men and seven young women to a horrible monster, the Minotaur, in the town square. This beast had the body of a bull and an incredibly ugly human head. Warm and fuzzy it was not!One spring as the men and women were led on their death march to the Minotaur, Theseus, one of the men being led to slaughter, caught the yearning eyes of Princess Ariadne and poof! It was love at first sight.Ariadne couldn’t let her Prince Charming become involved with the digestive system of the Minotaur and secretly slipped Theseus a sword.When it was his turn to be eye-to-eye with the beast, the handsome young man with cat-like reflexes turned the Minotaur into Swiss cheese and got the heck out of the square before the stunned palace guards could catch up to him. Ariadne was waiting for him at the seashore, and the happy, relieved couple quickly dashed off in a boat and stopped overnight on the island of Naxos.No one really knows what happened. Maybe Theseus got cold feet, or maybe it was the Princess’ snoring, but whatever the reason, Theseus ditched Ariadne, leaving her sobbing uncontrollably on a beach at Naxos.The island of Naxos was run by the aging but distinguished Bacchus, the god of wine. The wine-sipping god fell head over heels in love with Ariadne, even though she was almost young enough to be his granddaughter. Can you say trophy wife?Fortunately for Bacchus, Ariadne was taken in by the wine god’s charm but was probably rebounding a bit as well. Bacchus and Ariadne had a sudden and steaming courtship and were eventually married.He gave her a very extravagant honeymoon gift. He took off his own wine bottle crown and threw it into the air so high that it sprouted stars, symbolizing his everlasting love for the princess. That’s how Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, became part of our night sky.So no matter what kind of wine you’re sipping, make a toast to Corona Borealis in the northwest sky this evening and don’t forget sweet old Bacchus!Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of the book, “Pennsylvania Starwatch,” available at bookstores and at his website www.lynchandthestars.com.