The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of April 26, 2025

Saturday: One hundred five years ago tonight, astronomers Heber Curtis and Harlow Shapley were debating the distances of some of our farthest neighbors: galaxies. Curtis argued that the universe consisted of many galaxies millions of light years away. Shapley thought that the spiral structures seen in telescopes were close by as a part of the Milky Way. They also had different views on the size of the Milky Way. Learn more about their debate, called the Great Debate, at https://youtu.be/0MJCqJPMpeY. Learn more about the Milky Way by watching the center of it rise over the southeastern horizon at about 1:00 a.m.

Sunday: This morning, Venus is at its greatest illuminated extent of this orbital cycle. The lit part of Venus has an area of 309 square arcseconds. This is larger than any other planet in the sky but much smaller than the full moon, which is about three million square arcseconds. (One arcsecond is one three thousand six hundredths of a degree.) Venus is half a fist above the eastern horizon at 5:00 a.m. Saturn is halfway between Venus and the horizon at this time.

Monday: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks just before dawn on May 5 and 6. Since this meteor shower has a fairly broad peak range, you should start looking before dawn every morning this week. The moon is close to the new moon phase near the peak, meaning that the dimmer meteors will be visible then. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. The meteors appear to come from a point in the constellation Aquarius near the star Eta. This point is about one fist above the east horizon at 4:00 a.m. The Eta Aquarid meteors slam into the Earth at about 40 miles per second. They often leave a long trail. The Eta Aquarid meteors are small rocks that have broken off Halley’s Comet. For more information about the Eta Aquarids, go to http://earthsky.org/?p=158833.

Tuesday: Jupiter is two and a half fists above the western horizon at 9:00 p.m. Mars is five and a half fists above the southwestern horizon at this time.

Wednesday: Celebrate the ending of Global Astronomy Month by reading some poems and short stories submitted by astronomy fans at https://my.astronomerswithoutborders.org/programs/astroarts/astropoetry.

Thursday: Some open star clusters are easy to find and see, such as The Pleiades and The Hyades clusters in the constellation Taurus the bull. Some are difficult to see. M35, an open star cluster in the constellation Gemini the Twins, is in the middle. It doesn’t jump out at you, but it is easy to find if you have help. M35 is about three fists above the western horizon at 9:30 p.m., halfway between the moon and the bright planet Jupiter. It is a family of a few thousand stars about 3,000 light years away. Open star clusters are young for stars, this one being about 100 million years old. The cluster is best seen using binoculars or a small telescope.

Friday: Orion stands low in the southwestern sky. At 9:00 p.m., the middle of Orion’s belt is about one fist above the west-southwest horizon. And talk about belt tightening! Alnilam, the middle star in the belt, is losing mass at a rate of about 100 thousand trillion tons a day. That’s a 1 followed by 17 zeros tons per day.

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.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of April 19, 2025

Saturday: This week is International Dark Sky Week. Lights that are aimed upwards or not properly capped illuminate the atmosphere and obscure dim objects. Having too much light shining where it shouldn’t is considered light pollution. And just like other forms of pollution, light pollution can be hazardous to our health and the health of other animals. That’s right. Harmful. Watch this National Geographic video for more information: https://youtu.be/V_A78zDBwYE. Learn about how you can help at https://idsw.darksky.org/. 

Sunday: The first day of spring was March 20. The most recent full moon was April 12. That means today is Easter. The standard way to figure out the date of Easter for Western Christian churches is that it is the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox, also known as the first day of spring. Of course, the other standard way is to look for the date of church services celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. There is no Bible story of an “Easter star”. If there were, Spica would be a pretty good choice. The name Spica comes from the Latin “spica virginis” which means “Virgo’s ear of grain”. Spica represents life-giving sustenance rising after a long winter just like the risen Jesus represents life-giving redemption to Christians. Spica is two fists above due southeast horizon at 9:00 p.m. For an algorithm on how to calculate the exact date of Easter for any year, go to https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/when-easter. 

Monday: Mercury will be as far away from the Sun in the sky as it will get this half of its orbital cycle. This "farthest away" point is known as the planet's greatest elongation. Since Mercury is in the morning sky, it is west of the Sun and this occurrence is called the greatest western elongation. Often, the day of greatest elongation is a good time to observe Mercury. But not this cycle. Mercury is just barely above due east at 5:30 a.m. You are much more likely to see the bright planet Venus, nearly a fist held upright and at arm’s length above the eastern horizon. You should be able to see Mercury with binoculars. Saturn may also be visible with binoculars, about halfway between Venus and the horizon. Over the next few weeks, Mercury will move toward the Sun in the sky. By mid June, it will be visible in the evening sky.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight. 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 tonight. The best time to see the shower this year is between 11:00 p.m. and moonrise at 4:00 a.m. Typically, this is one of the least interesting major meteor showers of the year, with 10-20 bright, fast meteors per hour. However, it is also one of the most unpredictable. As recently as 1982, there were 90 meteors visible during a single hour. In addition, the Lyrid meteor shower has historical interest because it was one of the first ones observed. Chinese records say “stars fell like rain” in the shower of 687 B.C. As your mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. For more information, go to http://earthsky.org/?p=158735.

Tuesday: Jupiter is nearly three fists above due west at 9:00 p.m. Mars is nearly six fists above the southwestern horizon at this time.

Wednesday: Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is getting lower and lower. It is one fist above the southwestern horizon at 9:00 p.m. By mid-May, it will be lost in the glare of the setting Sun.

Thursday: On Monday I described Venus as “the bright planet Venus”. This morning, it is at its brightest for this orbital cycle. Its visual magnitude is -4.54. By comparison, Jupiter, the second brightest point of light in the sky, is magnitude -2, only about one tenth as bright. Venus is about a fist above the eastern horizon at 5:30 a.m.

Friday: As the rock group Journey once thought of singing, “Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’. I know where the Dipper’ll be tomorrow.” Every night, the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia make a wheel in the sky that turns around the North Star in a counterclockwise direction. Every year on April 24 at 10:00 p.m., the Big Dipper is straight overhead and W-shaped Cassiopeia is low on the northern horizon. Every year on April 25 at 10:00 p.m., the Big Dipper is straight overhead and W-shaped Cassiopeia is low on the northern horizon. Every year on April 26 at 10:00 p.m., the Big Dipper is straight overhead and W-shaped Cassiopeia is low on the northern horizon. Oh, am I boring you? Of course, there are subtle charges in the position from night to night. Each northern constellation moves about one degree counterclockwise from one night to the next. But this is not going to change their position in the sky drastically over a few days. So, if you know where the Big Dipper is tonight, you DO know where it’ll be tomorrow. If you are really struggling to understand this concept, Don’t Stop Believin’ in yourself. Just keep studying Faithfully.

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.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of April 12, 2025

Saturday: Tonight’s full moon is called the pink moon, named after the pink creeping phlox wildflowers that bloom in the early spring in North America. Also, this moon is a mini-moon because the moon is at apogee - farthest from Earth - a few hours after being full.

Sunday: Do people think you have a magnetic personality? The star Cor Caroli understands how you feel. Cor Caroli has one of the strongest magnetic fields among main sequence stars like our Sun. This strong magnetic field is thought to produce large sunspots that cause the brightness of Cor Caroli to vary. Cor Caroli is nearly straight overhead at 12:30 a.m.

Monday:  Did you get binoculars for the holidays? Like Celebrate Scientists Day or Science Education Day (both celebrated today)  If so, start using them on some of the easy to find binocular targets found here: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/best-targets-for-binoculars-moon-planets-nebula-clusters/. The first item on the list, the Moon, is a great choice because it is full this week, meaning it is out most of the night. One of my favorite binocular objects is the Hyades Open Star Cluster. It is a V-shaped set of stars found about two fists held upright and at arm’s length above the western horizon at 9:00 p.m. The bright star Aldebaran is in the upper left-hand part of the V, just below Aldebaran is the double star system Theta1 and Theta2 Tauri. Theta2 Tauri is a blue giant star and Theta1 Tauri is an orange giant star. Through binoculars, you should get a hint of their color. In the mythology of the Maya, the Theta Tauri pair is known as Chamukuy, meaning “small bird” in the Yucatec Maya language. The bright planet Jupiter is about a fist above the cluster.

Tuesday: There is a clump of planets low in the eastern sky at 5:45 this morning. The brightest planet Venus is about one fist above the eastern horizon. Saturn is below Venus, less than a half a fist above the horizon. Mercury is to the lower left of Saturn, and a little bit brighter. Since they are so low in the twilight sky, you may need binoculars to see them. You’ll need a small telescope to see the dim planet Neptune, just to the upper left of Mercury.

Wednesday: “The crow rises in the southeast,” said spy number one. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize that code,” replied spy number two. Spy one exclaimed, “That’s because it’s not a code, you idiot. I’m talking about the constellation Corvus the crow.” This very bad spy movie dialogue is to remind you that Corvus had a very bad life. According to one myth, Corvus brought the god Apollo the news that his girlfriend was seeing someone else. In a classic case of punishing the messenger, Apollo turned the formerly beautifully colored crow black. The box-shaped Corvus is two fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 11:00 p.m.

Thursday: Mars is six fists above the southwestern horizon at 9:00 p.m.

Friday: Remember the old saying: April showers bring… meteors. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks next week, with the peak of the peak occurring from Monday night to Tuesday morning. 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 tonight and close to straight overhead near dawn. The best time to see meteor showers is between midnight and dawn. Typically, this is one of the least interesting major meteor showers of the year, with 10-20 bright, fast meteors per hour. However, it is also one of the most unpredictable. As recently as 1982, there were 90 meteors visible during a single hour. In addition, the Lyrid meteor shower has historical interest because it was one of the first ones seen. Chinese records say “stars fell like rain” in the shower of 687 B.C. As your mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. For more information, go to http://earthsky.org/?p=158735.

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.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of April 5, 2025

Saturday: Mars is about a half a fist to the lower right of the moon. They are six fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southwestern horizon at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday: Astronomers are often fascinated with large objects. Planets that could hold 1000 Earths (Jupiter). Stars that would fill up the entire inner Solar System (Betelgeuse). Galaxies with 400 billion stars (Milky Way). But what about the smallest objects? Until recently, the smallest known stars were about five times the mass of Jupiter. However, in 2023, a pair of astronomers looking at the Orion Nebula think they discovered pairs of binary brown dwarf stars just a little more massive than Jupiter. If confirmed, that could cause a substantial change in the accepted theory of star formation. For more on the smallest star, go to https://www.science.org/content/article/astronomers-may-have-spotted-smallest-possible-stars. You can’t see these stars. But you can see the Orion Nebula one and a half fists above the west-southwestern horizon at 9:30 p.m.

Monday: April is officially known as Global Astronomy Month. Of course, if you are reading this column, every month can be astronomy month. For more information about online events, go to https://my.astronomerswithoutborders.org/programs/global-astronomy-month/gam2025-main997

Tuesday: The stars in the Hyades Cluster are all young, as stars are judged, formed in the same cloud of gas and dust a few hundred million years ago. But just as children move away from home, the stars of the Hyades Cluster are slowly drifting apart. Millennia from now, future sky watchers will see these stars as random points of light in the sky and not as a family. I hope they at least call home every so often. For more information, go to https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/end-hyades-star-cluster/. The Hyades Cluster is two fists above due west at 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday: 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 Me Round (Like a Record)" were actually: “You spin me right round, baby, right round, like the Whirlpool Galaxy, right round, round, round.” (Well, that’s what I thought they were.) The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first galaxy seen to have a spiral shape. Since then, astronomers have discovered that many galaxies, including our own Milky Way Galaxy, have a spiral shape. Go to https://esahubble.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 10:00 p.m., find Alkaid, the end star of the Big Dipper handle, five and a half fists above the east-northeastern horizon. The Whirlpool Galaxy is two fingers to the upper right of Alkaid.

Thursday: Venus is about a half a fist above due east at 5:30 a.m.

Friday: The Lyrid meteor shower peaks later this month. But there will be increased meteor activity in the vicinity of the constellation Lyra until then. 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 one and a half fists above due northeast at 10:00 p.m. and close to straight overhead near dawn. Go to https://earthsky.org/?p=158735 for more information.

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.