Saturday: We are just a few days away from the earliest sunsets of the year in Ellensburg, meaning it is getting dark as early as possible. (No, the earliest sunsets are not on the first day of winter.) Thus, it is a good time to learn how to quantify the darkness of the sky. First find the Great Square, the main part of the constellation Pegasus. It is six fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 7:30 p.m. Find the dimmest star that you can see inside or near the square. Then compare that star to the chart at https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/how-dark-is-your-night-sky/. The larger the magnitude number, the dimmer the star. When the sky is exceptionally dark, you can see more stars and more interesting deep-sky objects such as star clusters and nebulae.
Sunday: Mercury is less than a half a fist above the
southwest horizon and Venus is about a fist above the south-southwestern
horizon at 4:45 p.m.
Monday: “Hey baby! What’s your sign?”
“Ophiuchus, of course”
The Sun is in the same part of the sky as the stars of
Ophiuchus from this week to mid-December. This is what astrologers mean when
they say the Sun is “in” a constellation. Thus, if you were born between these
dates, you should be an Ophiuchus. The fact that the horoscopes never list
Ophiuchus is a major flaw of astrology. Astrology says that some of our
characteristics are based on the location of the Sun at our birth. How can
astrologers leave out three weeks from their system? That is like a scientist
saying she can explain the results of her experiment every month of the year
except early December. Ophiuchus was a mythical healer who was a forerunner to
Hippocrates. According to myth, he could raise people from the dead. Maybe that
is why he is ignored by astrology. Raising people from the dead is much less
impressive than giving spot-on advice such as “Today is a good day to watch
your finances.”
The bright stars of Ophiuchus rise just before the Sun.
Rasalhague (pronounced Ras’-al-hay’-gwee), the brightest star, is just above
the east-northeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Tuesday: Deneb Kaitos, Arabic for whale’s tail, is two and a
half fists above due south at 8:30 p.m. This is the brightest star in the
constellation Cetus the sea monster. Or, if you are less prone to hyperbole,
Cetus the whale.
Wednesday: Spica is right above the waning Moon crescent
moon, two fists above the southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m. This is a good
opportunity to convince yourself that you can see stars other than the Sun
during the day. Note the relative orientation of Spica compared to the Moon.
Then, right after sunrise, look at the Moon with binoculars. You will see Spica
in that same location compared to the Moon.
Thursday: Some of us have a lot to be thankful for on
Thanksgiving. But, probably not as much as Andromeda had to be thankful for.
According to Greek mythology, the beautiful princess Andromeda was chained to a
rock next to the ocean. Cetus the sea monster was about to devour her to punish
her family. Her mother Queen Cassiopeia and her father King Cepheus didn’t know
what to do. It seemed that all was lost. But along came Andromeda’s boyfriend,
the great warrior Perseus. Even though Perseus’ standing as the son of King
Zeus and the slayer of Medusa was probably enough to win Andromeda under normal
circumstances, Andromeda’s impending death-by-sea-monster was not a normal
circumstance. So, Perseus drove his sword into the sea monster’s neck and
killed it. This was the first time in recorded history that a set of parents
actually welcomed an uninvited Thanksgiving visit from the boyfriend. Perseus
is about five fists above the east-northeastern horizon and Andromeda is about
seven fists above the east-southeastern horizon at 7:00 p.m.
Friday: Lacerta, the faint lizard constellation, is straight
overhead at 6:00 p.m. It was named by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius
in 1687 to fill the space between the much brighter and well-defined
constellations Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Cygnus going
clockwise from the constellation just south of Lacerta.
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.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
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