Saturday: This morning, the moon will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun, causing an annular solar eclipse as viewed from part of the United States. In this case, “annual” doesn’t mean it is a yearly occurrence. Annular refers to the ring shape of the Sun. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun. But it will be relatively far from the Earth meaning it will not appear large enough to fully block the Sun, causing a ring of sunlight to shine around the Sun. This is what you’ll see if you are lucky enough to be along a line from the Oregon coast to the Gulf of Mexico. From the point of view of the rest of the United States, the Moon and Sun won’t be perfectly lined up and observers will see a partial solar eclipse. The Moon will appear about 85% blocked at the peak of the eclipse in Ellensburg.
You should NOT look at an annular or partial solar eclipse
without proper eye protection. In Ellensburg, the eclipse starts at about 8:08
a.m. low in the southeastern sky, peaks at 9:17 a.m., and ends at 10:40 a.m.
Weather permitting, I will bring a solar telescope to the Ellensburg Farmers
Market as a guest of The Friends of the Ellensburg Public Library for the
duration of the eclipse. Visit their table and pick up a pair of free safe
solar eclipse glasses. These glasses block about 99.9999% of the Sun’s light.
For more information about the eclipse, go to https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/.
Sunday: Jupiter is exactly two fists held upright and at
arm’s length above due east at 9:00 p.m. That means that Jupiter’s moons can be
seen here, as well. Last year, NASA’s Juno spacecraft sent back some of the
most detailed images of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. For more about the images
and the rest of Juno’s mission, go to https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-juno-gets-highest-resolution-close-up-of-jupiters-moon-europa.
With a small telescope, you will be able to see three of Jupiter’s largest
moons at this time. Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede and Callisto are from one
side of Jupiter, with Callisto being the farthest of all the moons. Europa and
Io are on the other side, with Io being the closest of all the moons.
Monday: Saturn is three fists above due south at 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Rho Cassiopeiae is the most distant star that can
be seen with the naked eye by most people. It is about 8,200 light years away.
That means that the light that reaches your eyes from that star left over 8,000
years ago, before the beginning of time according to the Byzantine calendar.
Rho Cassiopeiae is six fists above the northeastern horizon at 8:00 p.m., just
above the zigzag line that marks the constellation Cassiopeia.
Wednesday: The constellation Vulpecula, the fox, stands six
fists held upright and at arm’s length above due southwest at 9 p.m. It is in
the middle of the Summer Triangle, which is defined by the bright stars Vega,
Deneb, and Altair. The fox is so faint that you need dark skies to see it.
Wednesday: Venus is two and a half fists above the eastern
horizon at 6:00 a.m.
Thursday: Along with the not-so-subtle drug reference in
their name, The Doobie Brothers could have made an astronomy reference in their
song lyrics if they would have written: “Old Earth water, keep on rollin’,
Mississippi moon won’t you keep on shining on me.” Astronomers now think that
some of the water on Earth may be older than the Solar System. The chemical
signature of the water indicates it came from a very cold source, just a few
degrees above absolute zero. The early Solar System was much warmer than this
meaning the water came from a source outside the Solar System. For more
information about the old Earth water, go to http://goo.gl/QsEu5P.
Friday: The bright star Altair is five fists above due south
at 7:00 p.m.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment