The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of 2/17/18

Saturday: Orion stands tall in the southern sky. At 7:30 p.m., the middle of Orion’s belt is four fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south. 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. 

Sunday: “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, at that time classified as the ninth planet. However, as astronomers started discovering a lot of similar objects in that part of the solar system, they realized that had a classification crisis on their hands. Should everything in this region of the solar system be named a planet? Eventually the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified Pluto and all future Pluto-like objects as dwarf planets.  

Monday: At 6 a.m., Mars is two fists above the south-southeast horizon, less than a fist to the upper left of its rival Antares. Snoop Dogg may have tried to put an end to the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry. But the Mars-Antares rivalry has been going on for centuries. In fact, the name Antares means "rival of Mars". The reddish Antares has that name because of its resemblance to the reddish Mars.  

Tuesday: Clyde Tombaugh discovered the first planet 9. Will you discover the new Planet 9? You and thousands of others will have the opportunity to comb through images of the sky from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). You’ll view short “flipbook” movies of the same patch of sky on different nights. Any point of light that moves could be Planet 9 or another undiscovered Solar System object. Read about how you can join the search for Planet 9 at https://goo.gl/D4PkCD.  

Wednesday: The Stargate movies and TV shows have access to a portal to other planets. Harry Potter has access to a portal to the Chamber of Secrets. You have access to a Portal to the Universe. This portal is not in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom but is on the web at http://www.portaltotheuniverse.org/. It is a repository of up-to-date astronomy news, blogs, and podcasts. A recent story highlights how planet hunters like you and Clyde Tombaugh study the galaxy to learn more about other planets. The first planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 were discovered in 2016. Recent measurements of the densities of the planets indicate that they could have significant amounts of water, up to 5% of the planet's mass in some cases. Only 0.02% of the mass of the Earth is water. For more information about water on the TRAPPIST planets, go to https://goo.gl/u5tPUK. 

Thursday: The Seven Sisters are playing coy with the Moon tonight. At 9 p.m., they are about a fist to the upper right of the Moon. Close enough to show their interest but far enough to show their independence. Oh, by the way, the Seven Sisters is another name for the Pleiades, an open star cluster of about 1,000 middle-aged, hot B-type stars. 

Friday: At 6 a.m., Jupiter is two and a half fists above the south horizon and Saturn is about a fist above the southeast horizon. 

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.  

The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of 2/10/18

Saturday: “Oooo, they’re little runaways. Orion’s stars moved fast. Tried to make a getaway. Ooo-oo, they’re little runaways,” sang Bon Jovi in his astronomical hit “Runaway.  At least that’s what I hear when I listen to the song. After all, it fits the recently calculated trajectory of AE Aurigae, Mu Columbae, and 53 Arietis. Extrapolating the actual motion of these three stars back in time, they were all in the location of the star-forming region called the Orion Nebula a few million years ago. What kicked these stars out? Not paying rent? Excessive partying? No, it was simply gravitation interactions with near-by stars. Find out more about the eviction at http://goo.gl/UeLwKQ. Orion is about four fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 8 p.m. 

Sunday: Saturn is about a thumb width to the lower right of the Moon at 6:30 a.m. They are a little more than one fist held upright and at arm's length above the southeast horizon. 

Monday: Winter is a good time to see the thick 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. 

Tuesday: Are you staying up late to get work done? Take a peak out an east-facing window. Jupiter is just above the southeast horizon at 1:30 a.m. 

Wednesday: 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 stare 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 to 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 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. 

Thursday: Today's Moon is a New Moon. Typically that is not very exciting. But it is exciting for some people in Antarctica and southern South America because there is a partial solar eclipse this afternoon Up to half of the Sun will be blocked by the New Moon.. 

Friday: This President’s Day weekend, let’s remember Abraham Lincoln: 16th president, country lawyer, man on the penny, vampire hunter, and astronomer. Vampire hunter? No. 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 rising and setting times for August 29, 1858 as evidence in a trial. This is one of the earliest uses of forensic astronomy. You may confirm Lincoln’s findings on the Moon set time by going to http://goo.gl/PsCmff, the US Naval Observatory website, and filling out Form A. For more information about Lincoln’s “almanac trial”, go to http://goo.gl/r83q4X.  

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.  

The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of 2/3/18

What's up in the sky 2/3/18 

Today: The CWU Physics Department and the College of the Sciences is hosting its first Saturday planetarium show today from noon to 1 pm. Bruce Palmquist will give a show highlighting the sky as seen in different wavelengths of light. Shows are free and open to all ages. There will be a show at noon on the first Saturday of every month hosted by different CWU astronomers and astronomy educators. The planetarium is room 101 in Science Phase II, just off the corner of 11th and Wildcat Way, H-11 on the campus map found at https://www.cwu.edu/facility/campus-map. 

Some constellations don't look anything like the figure they represent. Aquila the eagle does. In classic Greek mythology, Aquila was the eagle that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus, the king of the gods. In Hinduism, Aquila represents the eagle-like god Garuda. And in NFL mythology, the Eagle represents the creature who will finally defeat Gisele's husband and the man clothed in torn sweatshirts. Aquila, and its brightest star Altair, is about two fists held upright and at arm's length above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 am tomorrow morning. 

Sunday: Are you going to watch the super bowl tonight? Is the bowl really that super? After all, half the night the bowl is tipped upside down, spilling out all of its contents. But don’t just focus on the functionality of the bowl. Think about how it inspires people all across the world to look at the night sky. In Mongolia, participants in the super bowl are known as gods. An Arabian story says the super bowl is a coffin. I encourage you go outside tomorrow night at about 8 p.m., after whatever unimportant thing you have been doing since 3:30 p.m. Look low in the north-northwest sky and watch the super bowl, also known as the Big Dipper, balancing on the end of its handle, proudly displaying its large bowl.  

Monday: The bright star Regulus, in the constellation Leo the Lion, is about one and a half fists above the east horizon at 8 p.m. 

Tuesday: 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 nuanced 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. 

Wednesday: Jupiter is about a half a fist to the lower left of the Last Quarter Moon at 6:30 a.m.  

Thursday: Winter is a good time to see the thick 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. 

Friday: Mars is about a half a fist to the lower right of the Moon at 6:30 a.m. Mars' rival, Antares, is a little over a half a fist directly below Mars. 

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.