Saturday: Many
bands have summer tours, including a full summer schedule at the Gorge
Amphitheatre. This week, the moon is having a sky tour of its own. Just like
Bruno Mars is coming to the Gorge on August 9, “Moon Near Mars” is coming to
your sky tonight. Mars is less than a half a fist held at arm’s length to the
upper right of the moon at 10 p.m. tonight.
Sunday: Spica,
the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, is one of the hottest stars in
the sky at 47,000 degrees Fahrenheit. (The Sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.)
These are much higher temperatures than a campfire, which is about 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit. But none of these are culturally as hot as indie rock band
Arcade Fire which plays at the Gorge August 8. While you are waiting to see
Arcade Fire, see hotter-than-fire Spica less than a half a fist to the right of
the moon at 10 p.m.
Monday: Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers are coming to the Gorge on August 15. If you are
expecting a ring from someone and don’t get one, that can be a real
heartbreaker of its own. So find your own ring in the sky: one of Saturn’s
rings. Saturn is less than a fist to the left of the moon at 10 p.m.
Tuesday: When
it is sitting low in the western sky, many people mistake the star Capella for
a planet. It is bright. It has a slight yellow color. But, Capella is
compelling on its own. It is the fourth brightest star we can see in
Ellensburg. It is the most northerly bright star. It is a binary star
consisting of two yellow giant stars that orbit each other every 100 days. At
10 p.m., Capella is two fists above the northwest horizon. If you miss it
tonight, don’t worry. Capella is the brightest circumpolar star meaning it is
the brightest star that never goes below the horizon from our point of view in
Ellensburg.
Wednesday:
Jupiter is one fist above the west-northwest horizon at 10 p.m.
Thursday: Tonight’s
full moon is in the constellation Ophiuchus the serpent bearer. This month,
Ophiuchus may be thinking of bearing some strawberries instead. Some Native
American tribes call the June full moon the strawberry moon to honor (or
remember) the short strawberry harvesting season. A more descriptive name is
the Short Moon because the full moon is above the horizon for the least amount
of time in June – only eight hours. Summer full moons are always above the
horizon less than winter full moons. Since the full moon is on the complete
opposite side of the Earth as the Sun, the full moon is going to be in the sky
whenever the Sun is not in the sky, namely the entire night. During the summer,
the nights are shorter so the full moons time above the horizon will also be shorter.
Friday: Summer
is nearly here. How do I know? Because kids are getting out of school. Because
I read the fine astronomy column in the Daily Record. (How’s that for an odd
self reference.) Also, because the Summer Triangle is fairly high in the eastern
sky at 10:30 p.m. Vega, the third brightest star visible from Ellensburg, is
about five fists above the east horizon. Deneb, at the tail of Cygnus the swan
is about three and a half fists above the northeast horizon. The third star in
the triangle, Altair, in Aquila the eagle is two fists above the east horizon.
If you
want to put somebody off, tell her or him to wait until Deneb sets. At
Ellensburg’s latitude of 47 degrees, Deneb is a circumpolar star meaning it
never goes below the horizon.
The
positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically
accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky,
go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
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