Saturday: At 1:20 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky with respect to the background stars. This point is called the Winter Solstice. During the day that the Sun reaches this point, your noontime shadow is longer than any other day of the year. Also, the Sun spends less time in the sky on the day of the Winter Solstice than any other making this the shortest day of the year. Even though it is the shortest day of the year, it is not the day with the latest sunrise or the earliest sunset. The latest sunrise is during the first week in January and the earliest sunset is during the second week in December. The Sun is at its southernmost point with respect to the background stars on the day of the winter solstice. This means the Sun spends the least amount of time above the horizon on that day. However, the Sun's rise and set times depend on more than its apparent vertical motion. It also depends on where the Sun is on the analemma, that skinny figure-8 you see on globes and world maps. During the second week in December, the Sun is not quite to the bottom of the analemma. But it is on the first part of the analemma to go below the horizon. During the first week in January, it is on the last part of the analemma to rise above the horizon meaning that’s when we have the latest sunrises.
Sunday: Just before Christmas, you look for junk to clean
out of your closets so you can re-gift it. I mean, so you can throw it out or
recycle it. NASA’s Meter Class Autonomous Telescope on Ascension Island is a
key tool in a program tracking about 22,000 pieces of space junk. Some of this
junk is dangerous. The International Space Station occasionally performs debris
avoidance maneuvers to keep its panels and sensitive instruments safe. For more
information about the project, go to http://goo.gl/Kxgihd.
Monday: Venus is one and a half fists above the southwestern
horizon and Saturn is three fists above the south-southwestern horizon at 6:00
p.m.
Tuesday: Mercury is one fist above the southeastern horizon
at 7:00 a.m.
Wednesday: Where is the one who has been born King of the
Jews? We saw Jupiter being eclipsed by the Moon in the east and have come to
worship him” (Matthew 2:2, Bruce Palmquist version, informed by Michael
Molnar). There are many theories as to the physical explanation of the Star of
Bethlehem, the celestial object that guided the wise men to the location of
Jesus. Some people think it was a recurring nova, a star that explodes. Some
think it was a close alignment of bright planets. Some think it was a miracle
that requires no physical explanation. In 1991, astronomer Michael Molnar
bought an ancient Roman Empire coin that depicted a ram looking back at a star.
Aries the ram was a symbol for Judea, the birthplace of Jesus. The Magi, or
“wise men”, who visited the baby Jesus practiced astrology and would have been
looking in that region of the sky for the king prophesied in the Old Testament.
Molnar, a modern-day wise person, used sky simulation software to model the
positions of planets and the Moon in the region of Aries. According to his
model, Jupiter was eclipsed, or blocked, by the Moon on the morning of April
17, 6 BC. A book written by the astrologer of Constantine the Great in 334 AD
supports Molnar’s theory. The book describes an eclipse of Jupiter in Aries and
notes a man of divine nature born during this time. See https://goo.gl/o89A4o for more information.
Libra and Jupiter are visible in the early evening sky
tonight. Aries is five fists above due southeast at 6:00 p.m. Jupiter is three
fists above due east. The moon isn’t visible until tomorrow morning, one and a
half fists above the southeastern horizon at 6:00 a.m.
Thursday: Did you get a telescope or binoculars for
Christmas? The next item on your list should be a sky watching app for your
phone. These apps will help you to get familiar with the constellations and
bright stars. Then you can zoom into an area of interest and learn about
objects that are visible through your telescope. I like SkySafari, a free app
or low-cost iPhones app (depending on their promotions at the time). But there
are many other good ones to choose from for little or no money. Go to https://www.lifewire.com/best-stargazing-apps-5086553
for seven short reviews. One of your first targets should be the Pleiades open
star cluster. It is bright, easy to see with the naked eye and even more
interesting in binoculars. It is six fists above due southeast at 8:00 p.m.
Friday: Aside from the Big Dipper, the northern sky doesn’t
get enough love. Vega, the bright star in the constellation Lyra, is one fist
above due northwest at 8:00 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.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment