Saturday: How many stars can be seen in the constellation Orion? From tonight through March 6, you can help answer that question. The organization called GLOBE at Night is looking for people all over the world to count how many stars they can see in the constellation Orion. Participants use star charts found at http://www.globeatnight.org/ to observe Orion and compare what they see to the charts. After making the observations, participants can go to the website and add their findings to those of thousands of other observers. The main goal of GLOBE at Night is to research the pattern of light pollution across the globe. A secondary goal is to increase interest in observing and awareness of the night sky. You can find the middle of Orion three and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southwest horizon at 9 p.m. In Orion, you’ll see four of the 30 brightest stars in the night sky: Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, and Alnilam.
Sunday: It’s getting dark. The last remnant of twilight has disappeared. Suddenly, you notice a large softly radiant pyramid of light in the western sky. The base of this ghostly triangle is along the west horizon and the peak stretches two or three fists above the horizon. It is not really a ghost. It is an effect called the zodiacal light. This light comes from sunlight reflecting off dust grains in our solar system. The effect is the most visible when the band of constellations called the zodiac makes a steep angle with the horizon. You need a clear dark sky with no haze or light pollution to see the zodiacal light. At its brightest, the zodiacal light rivals the light of the central Milky Way. Look for this light after twilight in the middle evening for the next few weeks.
Monday: Jupiter is one fist above the west horizon at 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Venus is a half a fist to the right of the thin, waning crescent Moon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: If the National Enquirer was around in Galileo’s day, it may have featured the headline: “Saturn has love handles; Opis leaves him for a much thinner Mars”. When Galileo first observed Saturn through a telescope, he reported objects that looked like bulges on either side of Saturn’s midsection. He was actually seeing Saturn’s rings through less than ideal optics. Go to http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/observe_mar.htm for more information about Saturn. Go to one and a half fists above the east-southeast horizon at 10 p.m. to see Saturn.
Thursday: You’ve seen the science fiction love story movies where humans travel to a comet in order to blow it up. Now watch the Valentine’s Day movies where human travel to a comet in order to study it. On February 14, the NASA Stardust spacecraft recorded its trip to within 115 miles of Comet Tempel 1. So get your significant other, go to http://www.universetoday.com/83368/movies-of-comet-tempel-1-flyby-by-stardust-next/ and enjoy the ride. It’s probably better than another Twilight movie and much for you to see.
Friday: Tonight’s Moon is new. Don’t bother looking for it. The new moon is the phase where the Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun. Hence the side of the Moon facing Earth is not receiving any sunlight and cannot be seen. This is why some people call this phase the “dark moon” and reserve the name “new moon” for the first visible waxing crescent after the Moon moves out from directly between the Earth and Sun.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 2/19/11
Saturday: This President’s Day weekend, let’s remember Abraham Lincoln: 16th president, country lawyer, man on the penny, and astronomer. Astronomer? Well, maybe not an astronomer, but someone who used observational evidence from the sky to solve a problem. In 1858, Lincoln defended Duff Armstrong, a family friend who was accused of murder. The prosecution thought they had a strong case because their primary witnesses claimed to have observed the killing by the light of the nearly full moon. Let’s listen in on the trial courtesy of the 1939 film, Young Mr. Lincoln.
Lincoln: How’d you see so well?
Witness: I told you it was Moon bright, Mr. Lincoln.
Lincoln: Moon bright.
Witness: Yes.
(Dramatic pause as Lincoln reaches for something)
Lincoln: Look at this. Go on, look at it. It’s the Farmer’s Almanack (sic). You see what it says about the Moon. That the Moon… set at 10:21, 40 minutes before the killing took place. So you see it couldn’t have been Moon bright, could it?
Lincoln used the known information about Moon rise and set times for August 29, 1858 as evidence in a trial. You may confirm Lincoln’s findings on the Moon set time by going to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php, the US Naval Observatory website, and filling out Form A. For more information about Lincoln’s “almanac trial”, go to http://media.skyandtelescope.com/documents/Almanac_Trial.pdf.
Sunday: The sky provides an effective lesson in geometry and in relative motions tonight. At 11 p.m., the moon, Saturn, and the bright star Spica form a small right triangle one and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon. Saturn is to the upper left of the moon and Spica is to the lower left. By 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, this triangle as moved across the sky to about two fists above the southwest horizon. Saturn is now to the upper right of the moon and Spica is to the upper left. These are simply changes in their position in the sky due to the rotation of the Earth. But, because the moon is very close to the Earth, in an astronomical scale, we can observe the moon’s actual motion with respect to more distant objects. Thus, you will notice that the triangle tonight has a slightly different shape than the triangle tomorrow morning because the moon has moved eastward toward Spica in the sky.
Monday: Avast ye matey. Swab the poop deck. Pirates love astronomy. In fact, the term “poop” in poop deck comes from the French word for stern (poupe) which comes for the Latin word Puppis. Puppis is a constellation that represents the raised stern deck of Argo Navis, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. Argo Nevis was an ancient constellation that is now divided between the constellations Puppis, Vela and Carina. The top of Puppis is about a fist and a half to the left of the bright star Sirius in the south-southwest sky at 10 p.m. Zeta Puppis, the hottest, and thus the bluest, naked eye star in the sky at 40,000 degrees Celsius is near the uppermost point in Puppis.
Tuesday: Venus is a little less than one fist above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is two and a half fists above the south horizon at 9 p.m.
Thursday: Jupiter is a little more than one fist above the west horizon at 7 p.m. By mid-March, Jupiter will be lost in the glare of the Sun. But that will not make Jupiter any less interesting. Jupiter’s dark Southern Equatorial Belt (SEB) disappeared for most of 2010, probably covered by lighter colored ammonia clouds in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. But recent photographs taken using an infrared wavelength camera show that the ammonia clouds may be starting to part, revealing the SEB once again. For more information, go to http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/115941284.html.
Friday: Have you been to outer space lately? Neither have I. But the iron meteorite slice just acquired by the Central Washington University Astronomy club has. It made the trip from the inner Solar System asteroid belt long ago, landed on a farm near Uruaçu, Brazil in 1992 and now resides in a display case near the middle of the first floor in Lind Hall on the CWU campus. Thanks to NASA and the Night Sky Network for providing this slice of a coarse octahedrite meteorites are composed primarily of nickel-iron alloys
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Lincoln: How’d you see so well?
Witness: I told you it was Moon bright, Mr. Lincoln.
Lincoln: Moon bright.
Witness: Yes.
(Dramatic pause as Lincoln reaches for something)
Lincoln: Look at this. Go on, look at it. It’s the Farmer’s Almanack (sic). You see what it says about the Moon. That the Moon… set at 10:21, 40 minutes before the killing took place. So you see it couldn’t have been Moon bright, could it?
Lincoln used the known information about Moon rise and set times for August 29, 1858 as evidence in a trial. You may confirm Lincoln’s findings on the Moon set time by going to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php, the US Naval Observatory website, and filling out Form A. For more information about Lincoln’s “almanac trial”, go to http://media.skyandtelescope.com/documents/Almanac_Trial.pdf.
Sunday: The sky provides an effective lesson in geometry and in relative motions tonight. At 11 p.m., the moon, Saturn, and the bright star Spica form a small right triangle one and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon. Saturn is to the upper left of the moon and Spica is to the lower left. By 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, this triangle as moved across the sky to about two fists above the southwest horizon. Saturn is now to the upper right of the moon and Spica is to the upper left. These are simply changes in their position in the sky due to the rotation of the Earth. But, because the moon is very close to the Earth, in an astronomical scale, we can observe the moon’s actual motion with respect to more distant objects. Thus, you will notice that the triangle tonight has a slightly different shape than the triangle tomorrow morning because the moon has moved eastward toward Spica in the sky.
Monday: Avast ye matey. Swab the poop deck. Pirates love astronomy. In fact, the term “poop” in poop deck comes from the French word for stern (poupe) which comes for the Latin word Puppis. Puppis is a constellation that represents the raised stern deck of Argo Navis, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. Argo Nevis was an ancient constellation that is now divided between the constellations Puppis, Vela and Carina. The top of Puppis is about a fist and a half to the left of the bright star Sirius in the south-southwest sky at 10 p.m. Zeta Puppis, the hottest, and thus the bluest, naked eye star in the sky at 40,000 degrees Celsius is near the uppermost point in Puppis.
Tuesday: Venus is a little less than one fist above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is two and a half fists above the south horizon at 9 p.m.
Thursday: Jupiter is a little more than one fist above the west horizon at 7 p.m. By mid-March, Jupiter will be lost in the glare of the Sun. But that will not make Jupiter any less interesting. Jupiter’s dark Southern Equatorial Belt (SEB) disappeared for most of 2010, probably covered by lighter colored ammonia clouds in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. But recent photographs taken using an infrared wavelength camera show that the ammonia clouds may be starting to part, revealing the SEB once again. For more information, go to http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/115941284.html.
Friday: Have you been to outer space lately? Neither have I. But the iron meteorite slice just acquired by the Central Washington University Astronomy club has. It made the trip from the inner Solar System asteroid belt long ago, landed on a farm near Uruaçu, Brazil in 1992 and now resides in a display case near the middle of the first floor in Lind Hall on the CWU campus. Thanks to NASA and the Night Sky Network for providing this slice of a coarse octahedrite meteorites are composed primarily of nickel-iron alloys
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 2/11/11
Saturday: 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 in order to punish her family. It seemed that all was lost. But, along came the great warrior Perseus, fresh off his defeat of the evil Gorgon, Medusa. The only similarity between Andromeda and Medusa was that Andromeda caused people to stand still and stares at her beauty while Medusa turned people to stone because of her ugliness. (And, you thought you looked bad in the morning.) 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 monsters neck and killed it. In a little known addendum to the story, Perseus carved “Percy (heart symbol) Andi” in the rock, thus originating the use of the heart symbol as a substitute for the word “love”.
You can find these lovers in the sky this Valentine’s Day. Just remember it is rude stare – and you never know when you might turn to stone. First, find the Great Square of Pegasus at 7 p.m. between one and a half and three and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the west horizon. The lowest star in Andromeda is the top star in the square. This represents Andromeda’s head. Perseus is at her feet, nearly straight overhead. Mirphak, the brightest star in Perseus is about eight fists above the west horizon. Perseus’ body is represented by the line of stars to the left and right of Mirphak.
Sunday: Venus, the brightest point of light in the sky, is a little more than one fist above the southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Give your sweetheart a ring for Valentine’s Day. No, no, no. Don’t break the bank. Show your sweetheart Saturn, the ringed planet. It is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Tuesday: February is named for the Roman word februum which means purification. Februa, the Roman festival of ritual purification was held on February 15 according to the Roman lunar calendar. Feb-hand-sanitizer-rua is the soccer mom ritual of pre snack purification. It is held every Saturday during the summer before the orange slices are handed out.
Wednesday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the west-southwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tonight’s full moon is in the constellation Leo the lion. You may have noticed that your calendar says the full moon is the 18th, not today. Why is that? Because your calendar lies. After all, the calendar says it is your spouse’s birthday and you know that it is not your spouse’s birth…. Oh no! It IS your spouse’s birthday. Run out and buy a gift before it… is… too… late. Oops, too late. You may as well read the rest of the column. The actual moment of the full moon, the time when the Earth is directly between the Moon and the Sun is Friday morning at 12:47 am. Thus, the moon spends most of its “close to full moon” time this evening, the 17th.
Friday: “Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Pluto. Happy Birthday to you.” On this day in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the solar system object formerly known as a planet.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
You can find these lovers in the sky this Valentine’s Day. Just remember it is rude stare – and you never know when you might turn to stone. First, find the Great Square of Pegasus at 7 p.m. between one and a half and three and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the west horizon. The lowest star in Andromeda is the top star in the square. This represents Andromeda’s head. Perseus is at her feet, nearly straight overhead. Mirphak, the brightest star in Perseus is about eight fists above the west horizon. Perseus’ body is represented by the line of stars to the left and right of Mirphak.
Sunday: Venus, the brightest point of light in the sky, is a little more than one fist above the southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Give your sweetheart a ring for Valentine’s Day. No, no, no. Don’t break the bank. Show your sweetheart Saturn, the ringed planet. It is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Tuesday: February is named for the Roman word februum which means purification. Februa, the Roman festival of ritual purification was held on February 15 according to the Roman lunar calendar. Feb-hand-sanitizer-rua is the soccer mom ritual of pre snack purification. It is held every Saturday during the summer before the orange slices are handed out.
Wednesday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the west-southwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tonight’s full moon is in the constellation Leo the lion. You may have noticed that your calendar says the full moon is the 18th, not today. Why is that? Because your calendar lies. After all, the calendar says it is your spouse’s birthday and you know that it is not your spouse’s birth…. Oh no! It IS your spouse’s birthday. Run out and buy a gift before it… is… too… late. Oops, too late. You may as well read the rest of the column. The actual moment of the full moon, the time when the Earth is directly between the Moon and the Sun is Friday morning at 12:47 am. Thus, the moon spends most of its “close to full moon” time this evening, the 17th.
Friday: “Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Pluto. Happy Birthday to you.” On this day in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the solar system object formerly known as a planet.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 2/5/11
Saturday: “E.T. phone Kepler 11”. This may be the iconic line of dialog if there is a sequel the hit movie “E.T.”. This past Wednesday, scientists working on the Kepler planet finding mission announced 1,235 planet candidates, 68 of which are approximately Earth-size. Five of the near Earth-size planets are in the habitable zone of their host star meaning the temperature is right for liquid water to exist in the surface. The most exciting find is the six planet (so far) system orbiting a Sun-like star dubbed Kepler-11. None of Kepler-11’s planets orbit in the habitable zone. But this is the largest group of planets ever discovered that transit their star. A transiting planet is one that passes between the Earth and its host star such that the host star’s light is dimmed a little bit. Kepler-11 is located about one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the northwest horizon at 7 p.m. It is much too dim to be seen with the naked eye but it is near the bright star Deneb in the sky. To learn more about the Kepler mission, go to http://kepler.nasa.gov/.
Sunday: Jupiter is a half a fist to the lower left of the Moon at 7 p.m.
Monday: Are you looking for a little romance in your sky? If so, go to the planetarium show “Romantic Myths” given tonight at 7:50, 8:30 and 9:10 by the CWU Astronomy Club. Here you will learn important tips for meeting your loved one such as saving them from a sea monster or casting them into the sky. The shows are in the SURC Ballroom, up on the second floor. Located on the CWU campus at the intersection of N Chestnut Street and E 11th Avenue, the SURC has ample free parking available most evenings.
Tuesday: Small bodies can make big impacts. Think babies. Gymnasts. Ferrets. Comets. Comets? While the typical comets we observe are much larger than those other small bodies I listed, they are some of the smallest objects in the Solar System. Yet they have a big impact on our understanding of the formation of the Solar System. Larger objects have processes such as weathering and volcanism that cover up evidence of the early Solar System’s history. But, NASA isn’t covering up any evidence on its Year of the Solar System website. Go to http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2011&Month=2 to read more about how the small bodies have big impacts. And, no, I don’t mean bunny rabbits.
Wednesday: Winter is a good time to see think band of the Milky Way galaxy. It arches high in the high in the early evening starting in the southeast by Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Climbing from Sirius through the "horns" of Taurus high overhead, it drops down toward M-shaped Cassiopeia in the north and the tail of Cygnus, the swan, in the northwest.
Thursday: Tonight’s first quarter Moon is in the constellation Aries the ram.
Friday: Saturn is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Jupiter is a half a fist to the lower left of the Moon at 7 p.m.
Monday: Are you looking for a little romance in your sky? If so, go to the planetarium show “Romantic Myths” given tonight at 7:50, 8:30 and 9:10 by the CWU Astronomy Club. Here you will learn important tips for meeting your loved one such as saving them from a sea monster or casting them into the sky. The shows are in the SURC Ballroom, up on the second floor. Located on the CWU campus at the intersection of N Chestnut Street and E 11th Avenue, the SURC has ample free parking available most evenings.
Tuesday: Small bodies can make big impacts. Think babies. Gymnasts. Ferrets. Comets. Comets? While the typical comets we observe are much larger than those other small bodies I listed, they are some of the smallest objects in the Solar System. Yet they have a big impact on our understanding of the formation of the Solar System. Larger objects have processes such as weathering and volcanism that cover up evidence of the early Solar System’s history. But, NASA isn’t covering up any evidence on its Year of the Solar System website. Go to http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/display.cfm?Year=2011&Month=2 to read more about how the small bodies have big impacts. And, no, I don’t mean bunny rabbits.
Wednesday: Winter is a good time to see think band of the Milky Way galaxy. It arches high in the high in the early evening starting in the southeast by Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Climbing from Sirius through the "horns" of Taurus high overhead, it drops down toward M-shaped Cassiopeia in the north and the tail of Cygnus, the swan, in the northwest.
Thursday: Tonight’s first quarter Moon is in the constellation Aries the ram.
Friday: Saturn is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 1/29/11
Saturday: The “Hot Topic” for February during the 2009 International Year of Astronomy was the Solar System. Even though 2009 has done the way of popular netbooks and a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, the Solar System lives on. Galileo’s discoveries about the Sun, the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter helped move us from a privileged spot in the center of the perfect heavens to one of billions of planets in the turbulent neighborhood known as the Milky Way Galaxy. Some may say that makes them feel small and insignificant. I say it makes me feel empowered. All those planets and very few, perhaps only one, inhabited by beings with the capability to comprehend their surroundings. It is better to understand your situation as one in a billion than to blindly and incorrectly think you are at the center of everything. Go to http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/topics_feb.htm for more information about the Solar System. Go outside and look two and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m. for more information about Jupiter.
Sunday: Venus is a half a fist above the Moon in the southeast sky at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: The bright star Arcturus is one fist above the east-northeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Tuesday: The good news is the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter. The better news is the farther north you go in the United States, the longer the days get. Here in Ellensburg, there is one more hour of daylight than on the first day of winter. In the southern part of the US, there are only 30 more minutes of sunlight. Of course, on the North Pole, the day length goes from zero hours to 24 hours.
Wednesday: Today is Groundhog Day. If Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow this morning, he is telling us that he follows the Chinese calendar and that spring starts early. On the Chinese calendar, equinoxes and solstices occur in the middle of their respective seasons. In order for the vernal equinox to occur in the middle of spring, spring must start on February 3 or 4, depending on the year. Thus, if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, spring may start on February 3 or 4 as on the Chinese calendar. If Phil sees his shadow, he is telling us he agrees with the western calendar and that there will be six more weeks of winter meaning spring will start near March 20.
Thursday: One year ago, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spotted its first of many never-before-seen near Earth asteroids. While there is no danger of this asteroid hitting Earth in the foreseeable future, the United States’ government is worried about the threat of a rogue asteroid hitting Earth. So much so that Congress mandated that by 2020, NASA must find 90% of all potential Earth-impacting asteroids down to 140 meters across. I may write a book about this search called “Going Rogue – An Asteroid Life”. Here is an excerpt.
I’d rather “stand with our North Korean allies” than be in the path of even a small asteroid streaking towards Earth. Would it be dangerous? You betcha! The asteroid that created the mile-wide impact crater in Arizona was only 25 meters in diameter and packed a wallop about 150 times the force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I say “Thanks but no thanks” to that kind of risk, even if this size impact occurs only once every few hundred years.
Friday: Saturn is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11:30 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Venus is a half a fist above the Moon in the southeast sky at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: The bright star Arcturus is one fist above the east-northeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Tuesday: The good news is the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter. The better news is the farther north you go in the United States, the longer the days get. Here in Ellensburg, there is one more hour of daylight than on the first day of winter. In the southern part of the US, there are only 30 more minutes of sunlight. Of course, on the North Pole, the day length goes from zero hours to 24 hours.
Wednesday: Today is Groundhog Day. If Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow this morning, he is telling us that he follows the Chinese calendar and that spring starts early. On the Chinese calendar, equinoxes and solstices occur in the middle of their respective seasons. In order for the vernal equinox to occur in the middle of spring, spring must start on February 3 or 4, depending on the year. Thus, if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, spring may start on February 3 or 4 as on the Chinese calendar. If Phil sees his shadow, he is telling us he agrees with the western calendar and that there will be six more weeks of winter meaning spring will start near March 20.
Thursday: One year ago, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spotted its first of many never-before-seen near Earth asteroids. While there is no danger of this asteroid hitting Earth in the foreseeable future, the United States’ government is worried about the threat of a rogue asteroid hitting Earth. So much so that Congress mandated that by 2020, NASA must find 90% of all potential Earth-impacting asteroids down to 140 meters across. I may write a book about this search called “Going Rogue – An Asteroid Life”. Here is an excerpt.
I’d rather “stand with our North Korean allies” than be in the path of even a small asteroid streaking towards Earth. Would it be dangerous? You betcha! The asteroid that created the mile-wide impact crater in Arizona was only 25 meters in diameter and packed a wallop about 150 times the force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I say “Thanks but no thanks” to that kind of risk, even if this size impact occurs only once every few hundred years.
Friday: Saturn is one fist above the east-southeast horizon at 11:30 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 1/22/11
Saturday: Draco Malfoy makes an appearance in all seven books of the Harry Potter series. Perhaps you’ve heard of these. But, the constellation Draco the dragon makes an appearance in the sky every night. It is a circumpolar constellation as viewed from Ellensburg meaning it never goes below the horizon. The head of the dragon is one fist held upright and at arm’s length above due north at 9 p.m. Eltanin, the brightest star in the constellation, is at one corner of the trapezoid-shaped head of Draco.
Sunday: Jupiter, the brightest point of light in the evening sky, is two and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m. Uranus, one of the dimmest lights sometimes visible to the naked eye can be easily found using binoculars because it is very close to Jupiter in the night sky. First find Jupiter. Then, move your binoculars so Jupiter is in the upper left section. Uranus is in the lower right section. Notice how I wrote that they are very close in the night sky. In actuality, they are about 1.5 billion miles apart. This is 15 times farther than the Sun is from the Earth.
Monday: Deneb Kaitos, the "tail of the whale," tries to swim away from Jupiter in the southern sky tonight. The moderately bright orange star forms the tail of Cetus the whale. At 7 p.m., it appears about two fists above the southwest horizon and less than a half a fist to the lower left of Jupiter.
Tuesday: Venus is one fist above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Saturn, the bright star Spica, and the last quarter Moon line up in the southern sky this morning.
Thursday: Are you interested in participating in astronomy research? You don’t need to go back to school. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars getting a fake degree from an online university. The scientists working on the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter would like your input on which objects they should target for close-up pictures. While you may think the scientists are just trying to build interest in their project by having people look at pretty pictures, there is a real scientific benefit to having many eyes searching for interesting targets. There aren’t enough scientists to carefully inspect all of the low power images. And, surprisingly, computers are not nearly as effective as people in making educated judgments of images. So, go to http://www.uahirise.org/ and click on the HiWish button. You’ll be on your way to suggesting close-up targets for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Friday: What is the number one threat to the peaceful use of space? Missiles from rogue nations? Nope. Aliens? You wish after seeing that beer commercial during NFL games. It is space junk. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of space junk orbit the earth, most of it in the main human-made satellite region. The US Department of Defense is tracking over 21,000 objects greater than four inches across to assess the danger they pose. Go to www.heavens-above.com to find out what large pieces of that space junk is visible any night. You may select your location from a map, from a list, or enter it manually.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Jupiter, the brightest point of light in the evening sky, is two and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m. Uranus, one of the dimmest lights sometimes visible to the naked eye can be easily found using binoculars because it is very close to Jupiter in the night sky. First find Jupiter. Then, move your binoculars so Jupiter is in the upper left section. Uranus is in the lower right section. Notice how I wrote that they are very close in the night sky. In actuality, they are about 1.5 billion miles apart. This is 15 times farther than the Sun is from the Earth.
Monday: Deneb Kaitos, the "tail of the whale," tries to swim away from Jupiter in the southern sky tonight. The moderately bright orange star forms the tail of Cetus the whale. At 7 p.m., it appears about two fists above the southwest horizon and less than a half a fist to the lower left of Jupiter.
Tuesday: Venus is one fist above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Saturn, the bright star Spica, and the last quarter Moon line up in the southern sky this morning.
Thursday: Are you interested in participating in astronomy research? You don’t need to go back to school. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars getting a fake degree from an online university. The scientists working on the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter would like your input on which objects they should target for close-up pictures. While you may think the scientists are just trying to build interest in their project by having people look at pretty pictures, there is a real scientific benefit to having many eyes searching for interesting targets. There aren’t enough scientists to carefully inspect all of the low power images. And, surprisingly, computers are not nearly as effective as people in making educated judgments of images. So, go to http://www.uahirise.org/ and click on the HiWish button. You’ll be on your way to suggesting close-up targets for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Friday: What is the number one threat to the peaceful use of space? Missiles from rogue nations? Nope. Aliens? You wish after seeing that beer commercial during NFL games. It is space junk. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of space junk orbit the earth, most of it in the main human-made satellite region. The US Department of Defense is tracking over 21,000 objects greater than four inches across to assess the danger they pose. Go to www.heavens-above.com to find out what large pieces of that space junk is visible any night. You may select your location from a map, from a list, or enter it manually.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 1/15/11
Saturday: Who can forget that memorable song by Three Dog Constellations Night, “The sky is black. The stars are white. Together we learn to find the light.” Well, maybe it didn’t go like that. This is good because not all stars are white. Most stars are too dim to notice a color. But, the stars in the constellation Orion provide a noticeable contrast. Betelgeuse, five fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 10:30 p.m. is a red giant. Rigel, the bright star about two fists to the lower right of Betelgeuse, is a blue giant.
By the way, the three dog constellations are Canis Major, the greater dog; Canis Minor, the lesser dog; and Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky.
Sunday: Jupiter is three fists above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Monday: Some objects we can observe every day lead to very difficult scientific questions. The star that we call Epsilon Auriga varies in brightness for a two year period every 27 years. Scientists were not sure of the exact cause of this dimming. The most recent episode started in the summer of 2009 and will end this year. But recent images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which sees infrared wavelengths, are helping scientists solve the puzzle. Epsilon Auriga is actually a binary system. The bright star in the Epsilon Auriga system is orbited by a smaller star which is surrounded by a huge cloud of sand grain-sized particles. This cloud, which is approximately the size of Jupiter’s orbit in diameter, causes the main star in the system, creatively called Epsilon Auriga A, to be only half as bright as its maximum. You can follow the cycle with the naked eye. Epsilon Auriga is about a fist to the upper right of Capella, one of the brightest stars in the sky. Capella is seven and a half fists above due east at 8 p.m.
Tuesday: How do you study the life cycle of a dog? Easy. Get a dog from the animal shelter, care for it for 15 years and study it. How do you study the life cycle of a star? Easy. Pick a star, watch it for a few billion years, and…. Wait a minute. Astronomers can’t observe something for a few billion years. Instead, they study stars that are at different points in their long life cycle and piece together the information from those different stars. What they do is like studying a one-year-old dog for a few minutes, then studying a different two-year-old dog for a few minutes, and so on. The sky in and near the constellation Orion provides an example of four objects at different points of star life.
First, find Rigel, the bright star in the lower right corner of the constellation Orion. This star, rapidly burning its fuel for a high energy but short lived existence, is three and a half fists above due south at 9:30 p.m. About one fist up and to the left are the three objects of Orion’s sword holder. The middle “star” is really a star forming region called the Orion nebula. There you’ll find baby Suns. Now, look about two fists to the right and a little below Rigel. You should be looking at a star that is about one tenth as bright as Rigel but still the brightest in its local region. The third star to the right of that star is Epsilon Eridani, the most Sun-like close and bright star. Betelgeuse, in the upper left corner of Orion, is a star at the end of its life that started out life a bit larger than the Sun.
Wednesday: It’s cold. The snow is blowing in your face. Food is scarce. Packs of wild animals are wondering around howling. Does this describe your house after someone broke your window during your New Year’s party? It also describes wolf packs around Native American villages. That’s why many tribes call January’s full moon, which occurs this morning at 5:36 the Full Wolf Moon. It is also called the Moon after Yule.
Thursday: Saturn finally makes its way into the late evening sky. It is a half a fist above the east horizon at midnight.
Friday: Venus is one and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
By the way, the three dog constellations are Canis Major, the greater dog; Canis Minor, the lesser dog; and Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky.
Sunday: Jupiter is three fists above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Monday: Some objects we can observe every day lead to very difficult scientific questions. The star that we call Epsilon Auriga varies in brightness for a two year period every 27 years. Scientists were not sure of the exact cause of this dimming. The most recent episode started in the summer of 2009 and will end this year. But recent images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which sees infrared wavelengths, are helping scientists solve the puzzle. Epsilon Auriga is actually a binary system. The bright star in the Epsilon Auriga system is orbited by a smaller star which is surrounded by a huge cloud of sand grain-sized particles. This cloud, which is approximately the size of Jupiter’s orbit in diameter, causes the main star in the system, creatively called Epsilon Auriga A, to be only half as bright as its maximum. You can follow the cycle with the naked eye. Epsilon Auriga is about a fist to the upper right of Capella, one of the brightest stars in the sky. Capella is seven and a half fists above due east at 8 p.m.
Tuesday: How do you study the life cycle of a dog? Easy. Get a dog from the animal shelter, care for it for 15 years and study it. How do you study the life cycle of a star? Easy. Pick a star, watch it for a few billion years, and…. Wait a minute. Astronomers can’t observe something for a few billion years. Instead, they study stars that are at different points in their long life cycle and piece together the information from those different stars. What they do is like studying a one-year-old dog for a few minutes, then studying a different two-year-old dog for a few minutes, and so on. The sky in and near the constellation Orion provides an example of four objects at different points of star life.
First, find Rigel, the bright star in the lower right corner of the constellation Orion. This star, rapidly burning its fuel for a high energy but short lived existence, is three and a half fists above due south at 9:30 p.m. About one fist up and to the left are the three objects of Orion’s sword holder. The middle “star” is really a star forming region called the Orion nebula. There you’ll find baby Suns. Now, look about two fists to the right and a little below Rigel. You should be looking at a star that is about one tenth as bright as Rigel but still the brightest in its local region. The third star to the right of that star is Epsilon Eridani, the most Sun-like close and bright star. Betelgeuse, in the upper left corner of Orion, is a star at the end of its life that started out life a bit larger than the Sun.
Wednesday: It’s cold. The snow is blowing in your face. Food is scarce. Packs of wild animals are wondering around howling. Does this describe your house after someone broke your window during your New Year’s party? It also describes wolf packs around Native American villages. That’s why many tribes call January’s full moon, which occurs this morning at 5:36 the Full Wolf Moon. It is also called the Moon after Yule.
Thursday: Saturn finally makes its way into the late evening sky. It is a half a fist above the east horizon at midnight.
Friday: Venus is one and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
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