Saturday: You
probably didn’t know this but several British New Wave bands were really into
astronomy. Take the band “Dead or Alive” (please). The original lyrics to their
song “You Spin my Round (Like a Record) were thought to be: “ You spin me right
round, baby, right round, like the Whirlpool Galaxy, right round, round,
round.” (Well, that’s what I thought them to be.) The Whirlpool Galaxy was the
first galaxy observed to have a spiral shape. Since then, astronomers have
discovered many galaxies, including our own Milky Way Galaxy, have a spiral
shape. Go to http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0506a/
for more information about the Whirlpool Galaxy. Go to your small telescope to
find the Whirlpool Galaxy in the night sky. It is in the constellation Canes
Venatici, the hunting dogs. At 10 p.m., find Alkaid, the end star of the Big
Dipper handle, six fists above the north-northeast horizon. The Whirlpool
Galaxy is two fingers to the upper right of Alkaid.
Sunday: This
afternoon, you can gather evidence that the Moon moves through the sky with
respect to the background stars and you can prove to yourself that some stars,
other than the Sun, are visible during the day. And you can also observe a
stellar occultation. “What? The occult on a Sunday? That’s sacrilege!” No,
that’s one celestial object blocking another. To occult is to block something.
At about 3 p.m., the Moon will pass between the Earth and the bright star
Aldebaran. First, go out at about 2 p.m. and look at the Moon through a small
telescope or even high quality binoculars. You may be able to see a point of light
to the left of the Moon. That’s Aldebaran; the brightest star in the
constellation Taurus the Bull. At about 2:40, the unlit portion of the Moon
will block Aldebaran. Since that part of the Moon is not lit and can’t be
easily seen from Earth, it will look like Aldebaran just disappears. At about
3:35 p.m., Aldebaran will reappear from behind the upper half of the crescent
Moon.
Monday: Poor
Jupiter. Objects from space just keep bombarding it. On March 17, two amateur
astronomers, unbeknownst to each other, had their cameras aimed at Jupiter when
a brief flash of light appeared on the limb. This is the fifth time such an
impact has been observed in the past ten years. For more information, go to http://goo.gl/6eV7ql.
To make you own Jupiter observations, look four and a half fists above the
southwest horizon at 9 p.m.
Tuesday: The
Lyrid meteor shower peaks next week. But there will be increased meteor
activity for the next two weeks in the vicinity of the constellation Lyre. The
meteors appear to come from a point to the right of the bright bluish star Vega
in the constellation Lyra the lyre. This point is about three fists above the
east-northeast horizon at midnight and close to straight overhead near dawn.
Wednesday: Mercury is one fist above the west horizon at 8:30 p.m.
Thursday: Mars
finally makes its way into the evening (sort of) sky. It is less than a half a
fist above the southeast horizon at midnight. Saturn is visible in the same
spot about 30 minutes later.
Friday: Do
you want to inspire people to celebrate the beauty of the night sky? To raise
awareness of the negative effects of light pollution? Then continue to celebrate
International Dark Sky Week by going to http://goo.gl/xc29se and taking action. I
suggest clicking on “Lighting” and then “Residential/Business Lighting” to see
examples of more effective outdoor lighting. The best lighting for observing
the night sky is also the best light for safety because effective yard lights
focus their energy on the ground, where it is needed, and not up into the sky.
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 http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
No comments:
Post a Comment