Sky Watch: An All-Star baseball game

I remember as a kid sitting in the front room next to our small black and white Motorola television set as my dad introduced me to many of the comedy teams of his day. What a treat it was to share laughter with him over such classics as Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang, the Bowery Boys and so many others.

But of all these hilarious acts, there's never been any question about which is my all-time favorite routine: Abbott & Costello's "Who's on First?" You remember how it goes: Who's on first? What's on second? I Don't Know's on third. . . .

Even after all these decades, I can't listen to this brilliant four-and-a-half-minute skit without doubling over from laughter. If you've never heard it -- and even if you have -- you really should check it out here: nocryinginbaseball.com/who.html.

I guess baseball's on my mind right now because the 2012 Major League season is coming to a close in the United States, and a few talented teams are vying for a coveted place in the playoffs.

So what does baseball have to do with stargazing, you might ask?

Plenty. Let me show you.

Midway up in the eastern sky after dark right now, we can see four equally bright stars that form what astronomers know as the Great Square of Pegasus. A baseball fan, of course, might prefer to see it as the Great Celestial Baseball Diamond.

Highest in this square . . . er, diamond . . . we see a star marking home plate. Moving counterclockwise around the diamond, we encounter first, second and third bases. With some imagination, a creative stargazer might even spot the pitcher, catcher, umpires, on-deck batter and base coaches along the way.

Way too many outfielders, though.

Now while you're gazing up at this all-star baseball game, you may be tempted to ask, "who's on first?" Well, the answer is Alpheratz, a name that comes from an Arabic word meaning "navel of the mare." On second base, you'll find Algenib; on third is Markab. Batting at home plate is Scheat, and right behind is the catcher named Matar.

The stars of Pegasus are more classically associated with the front and midsections of the great winged horse of antiquity, who flew to Mount Helicon in Boeotia where the nine Muses lived. Upon landing, one of its hoofs ripped open a spring of gushing water that became known as the Hippocrene, or The Horse's Fountain. It was said that drinking its water conferred on one the gift of verse and, ever since, the figure of Pegasus has been a symbol of poetry and the creative arts.

Fun story from ancient mythology, but trying to trace the outline of a horse among these stars is another matter altogether. Not only is Pegasus supposed to be a flying horse, but it appears upside down. And if that weren't confusing enough, there's only half of an upside-down flying horse in the sky. Any wonder we have trouble making it out?

Nah, I'm a pretty simple guy. Forget the horse and give me a celestial baseball diamond any day, even if I have to repeatedly answer the question "Who's on first?"