Saturday: 2009 has been proclaimed the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by scientific organizations all over the world. Why 2009? It is the 400th anniversary of Galileo first using a telescope to study the sky and of the publication of Astronomia Nova, Kepler’s ground breaking book about the motion of the planets. You can find information about IYA activities at http://astronomy2009.us/. My favorite IYA website is http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/, NASA’s effort to educate us about all aspects of astronomy. Each month, NASA has picked a “Hot Topic” and something to “Go Observe!”. January’s hot topic is telescopes and space probes. The planet Venus leads off the year as the first object to observe. Venus holds a special place in the history of astronomy as being the first object, other than the Moon, to be observed to go through phases. The specific pattern of phases, first observed by Galileo, provides evidence that the Earth is not at the center of the Solar System. Stay tuned to this space about IYA events in Ellensburg.
Sunday: Saturn is one fist held upright and at arm’s length above due east at 11:30 p.m. What does it mean to be “one fist held upright and at arm’s length above due east?” Make a fist with your right hand. Hold it out in front of you at arm’s length. Do you feel like you can “fight the power”? Good. Now, hold your fist vertical so your thumb is on top. The angular distance from the top of your fist to the bottom is 10 degrees. Place the top part of your fist at eye level. This represents zero degrees. Now, stack the left fist on top. The top of this fist is 10 degrees above the horizon. Any celestial object even with the top of your left fist is about 10 degrees above the horizon. If you were to hold your left fist steady and move your right fist on top of the left, the top of the right fist would be about 20 degrees above the horizon.
Monday: Jupiter is about a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:15 p.m. Mercury is about a finger’s width to the lower left of Jupiter.
Tuesday: Antares is about a half a fist above the southeast horizon at 7 a.m.
Wednesday: Forget about that big bright ball in Times Square. You can mark the start of the new year with one of the sky’s own big bright balls. That perennial favorite New Year’s Day marker, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, rises to its highest point in the sky a little after midnight on January 1. Thus, when Sirius starts to “fall”, the new year has begun. Look for Sirius about two and a half fists above due south at midnight.
Thursday: Today is the day we celebrate something new – a new classification of celestial objects. Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres [pronounced sear’-ease], the first of what are now called “asteroids”, on January 1, 1801. Ceres is the largest asteroid in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. At first, Piazzi thought it was a star that didn’t show up on his charts. But, he noted its position changed with respect to the background stars from night to night. This indicated to him that it had to be orbiting the Sun. August 2006, Ceres got promoted to the status of “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union.
Friday: Tonight’s weather forecast: showers. Meteor showers, that is. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks tomorrow morning making tonight and tomorrow the best night to see meteors. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. That makes this shower mysterious because there isn’t any constellation with this name now. The shower was named after Quadrans Muralis, an obsolete constellation found in some early 19th century star atlases. These meteors appear to come from a point in Draco the dragon. This point is about three fists above the northeast horizon at 1 a.m. In good years, careful observers can spot about 100 meteors per hour. This could be a good year because the waxing crescent moon sets at 11:30 p.m. meaning the prime viewing time will be moon free. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. Most meteors are associated with the path of a comet. This shower consists of the debris from an asteroid discovered in 2003.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 12/20/08
Saturday: Have you ever looked down on the ground and spotted a penny? In Yakima? While you were standing in Ellensburg? If you have, then you’d be able to see the star Hamal is more than just a point of light. It has an angular diameter that can be detected from Earth. Hamal, the brightest star in the constellation Aries the ram, has the same angular diameter as a penny 37 miles away. (For comparison, the moon is about half the diameter of a penny held at arm’s length.) Hamal is six and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 8 p.m.
Sunday: At 4:04 a.m., 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 noon time 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 day 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. But, the Sun rise and set time depends 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. For more information on this, go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/dark_days.html.
Monday: Venus is nearly two fists above the southeast horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: What does that special someone deserve for Christmas? A dust mop? No. A bucket? No. A subscription to The Daily Record? No. Well, maybe. But what she or he really deserves is a ring. And, what better way to remember than to see the ringed planet. Saturn, the ringed planet, is a half a fist above due east at 11:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Mercury is barely above the southwest horizon at 5 p.m. It is about a half a fist to the lower right of the much brighter Jupiter
Thursday: 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). 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 man, 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. Molnar’s theory is supported by a book written by the astrologer of Constantine the Great in 334 AD. The book describes an eclipse of Jupiter in Aries and notes a man of divine nature born during this time. See http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/ for more information.
Aries and Jupiter make an appearance in the Christmas sky tonight. At 5:30 p.m., the dim constellation Aries is about five fists above the east-southeast horizon and Jupiter is a half a fist above the southwest horizon.
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. In fact it is so well hidden, the icon on the Daily Record weather page says the new moon doesn’t occur until tomorrow. That is because the moon is directly between the Earth and Sun at 4:30 a.m. on December 27 making the night which includes December 26 and 27 the new moon night.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: At 4:04 a.m., 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 noon time 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 day 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. But, the Sun rise and set time depends 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. For more information on this, go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/dark_days.html.
Monday: Venus is nearly two fists above the southeast horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: What does that special someone deserve for Christmas? A dust mop? No. A bucket? No. A subscription to The Daily Record? No. Well, maybe. But what she or he really deserves is a ring. And, what better way to remember than to see the ringed planet. Saturn, the ringed planet, is a half a fist above due east at 11:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Mercury is barely above the southwest horizon at 5 p.m. It is about a half a fist to the lower right of the much brighter Jupiter
Thursday: 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). 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 man, 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. Molnar’s theory is supported by a book written by the astrologer of Constantine the Great in 334 AD. The book describes an eclipse of Jupiter in Aries and notes a man of divine nature born during this time. See http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/ for more information.
Aries and Jupiter make an appearance in the Christmas sky tonight. At 5:30 p.m., the dim constellation Aries is about five fists above the east-southeast horizon and Jupiter is a half a fist above the southwest horizon.
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. In fact it is so well hidden, the icon on the Daily Record weather page says the new moon doesn’t occur until tomorrow. That is because the moon is directly between the Earth and Sun at 4:30 a.m. on December 27 making the night which includes December 26 and 27 the new moon night.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Ellensburg Sky for the week of 12/13/08
Saturday: The Geminid meteor shower peaks late tonight and early tomorrow morning. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Gemini the twins. This point is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east-northeast horizon at 9 p.m. tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain near the bright star Castor, the right hand star of the “twin” stars Pollux and Castor. This shower is typically one of the best ones of the year producing bright, medium speed meteors with about 50 meteors per hour near the peak. Most of the dim meteors in the sky tonight and tomorrow morning will be obscured by the light of the waning gibbous moon.
Most meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the orbital trail of a comet. The broken off comet fragments collide with the earth and burn up in the atmosphere. Astronomers had searched for the comet source since 1862 when the shower was first observed. In 1983, astronomers discovered the object that created the fragments that cause the meteor shower. To their surprise, it was a dark, rock that looked like an asteroid, not a shiny icy comet. Astronomers named this object Asteroid 3200 Phaethon. But, they still don’t know if it an asteroid or if it is a comet with all of its ice boiled off by many close passes by the Sun.
Sunday: Jupiter is rapidly fading toward the southwest horizon. The much brighter planet Venus is to the upper right of Jupiter. Venus is most likely the first object you’ll find in the southwest sky because it is the brightest point of light in the sky. It is a fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m. Jupiter is nearly a fist to the lower right of Venus.
Monday: Who could forget this holiday classic? “Away in the manger, no crib for its bed. The Moon near Praesepe in Cancer instead.” Oh. You have forgotten it already. Well, that’s probably for the better. At least this song has meaning this morning because the Moon is in the constellation Cancer near the open star cluster called Praesepe (Latin for “manger”). Watching over the manger are Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, the northern and southern donkey stars, respectively. The donkeys and the manger are less than a fist to the upper left of the moon, too dim to be seen with the naked eye through the glare of the Moon.
Tuesday: When you were growing up, you may have heard “Don’t make waves.” The red supergiant star Betelgeuse must not have listened. According to data from the Japanese Akari satellite, Betelgeuse creates a shockwave as it moves through the surrounding cloud of gas and dust. If viewed through a telescope sensitive to infrared radiation, this shockwave would appear to be the size of the full Moon as seen from Earth. Betelgeuse is four fists above the southeast horizon at 10 p.m.
Wednesday: Capella, the bright star in the constellation Auriga the charioteer, is straight overhead at 11:30 p.m.
Thursday: Saturn is about a fist to the upper left of the Moon this morning. They are four fists above the south-southwest horizon at 7 a.m.
Friday: This morning’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Virgo.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Most meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the orbital trail of a comet. The broken off comet fragments collide with the earth and burn up in the atmosphere. Astronomers had searched for the comet source since 1862 when the shower was first observed. In 1983, astronomers discovered the object that created the fragments that cause the meteor shower. To their surprise, it was a dark, rock that looked like an asteroid, not a shiny icy comet. Astronomers named this object Asteroid 3200 Phaethon. But, they still don’t know if it an asteroid or if it is a comet with all of its ice boiled off by many close passes by the Sun.
Sunday: Jupiter is rapidly fading toward the southwest horizon. The much brighter planet Venus is to the upper right of Jupiter. Venus is most likely the first object you’ll find in the southwest sky because it is the brightest point of light in the sky. It is a fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m. Jupiter is nearly a fist to the lower right of Venus.
Monday: Who could forget this holiday classic? “Away in the manger, no crib for its bed. The Moon near Praesepe in Cancer instead.” Oh. You have forgotten it already. Well, that’s probably for the better. At least this song has meaning this morning because the Moon is in the constellation Cancer near the open star cluster called Praesepe (Latin for “manger”). Watching over the manger are Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, the northern and southern donkey stars, respectively. The donkeys and the manger are less than a fist to the upper left of the moon, too dim to be seen with the naked eye through the glare of the Moon.
Tuesday: When you were growing up, you may have heard “Don’t make waves.” The red supergiant star Betelgeuse must not have listened. According to data from the Japanese Akari satellite, Betelgeuse creates a shockwave as it moves through the surrounding cloud of gas and dust. If viewed through a telescope sensitive to infrared radiation, this shockwave would appear to be the size of the full Moon as seen from Earth. Betelgeuse is four fists above the southeast horizon at 10 p.m.
Wednesday: Capella, the bright star in the constellation Auriga the charioteer, is straight overhead at 11:30 p.m.
Thursday: Saturn is about a fist to the upper left of the Moon this morning. They are four fists above the south-southwest horizon at 7 a.m.
Friday: This morning’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Virgo.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Ellensburg Sky for the week of 12/6/08
Saturday: The earliest sunset of the year occurs this week. 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. But, the Sun rise and set time depends 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.
Sunday: “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 about November 29 to December 17. 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 highly personal 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 about one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Venus is about a fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m. Jupiter, about one fifth as bright, is less than half a fist to the lower right of Venus.
Tuesday: Saturn rises at about midnight. By 6 am, it is nearly five fists above due south.
Wednesday: At about 11 p.m., the Moon occults the Pleiades. That means the Moon passes between the open star cluster called the Pleiades and the Earth, blocking the light of the Pleiades from reaching Earth. They are six and a half fists above the south-southwest horizon when this happens.
Thursday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is one fist above the southeast horizon at 10 p.m.
Friday: In 1981, the well known astronomy rock group Blondie released The Tide is High in two versions: the radio version and the astronomy version. In the astronomy version, Debbie Harry sang: “The tide is high ‘cause the moon is full. Higher still when the moon’s close, Will.” (Will must be Debbie’s sky watching partner.) The full moon is the phase where the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. That means the moon and Sun are both stretching the Earth in the same direction causing the ocean water in line with the Sun and moon to be pulled upward. The highest high tides occur when the moon is full or new. In addition, the moon is at perigee this evening. Peri- means close and –gee refers to the Earth so this is the day of the month when the moon is closest to the Earth. This accentuates the upward pull on the water and makes the tides really high.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: “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 about November 29 to December 17. 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 highly personal 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 about one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Venus is about a fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m. Jupiter, about one fifth as bright, is less than half a fist to the lower right of Venus.
Tuesday: Saturn rises at about midnight. By 6 am, it is nearly five fists above due south.
Wednesday: At about 11 p.m., the Moon occults the Pleiades. That means the Moon passes between the open star cluster called the Pleiades and the Earth, blocking the light of the Pleiades from reaching Earth. They are six and a half fists above the south-southwest horizon when this happens.
Thursday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is one fist above the southeast horizon at 10 p.m.
Friday: In 1981, the well known astronomy rock group Blondie released The Tide is High in two versions: the radio version and the astronomy version. In the astronomy version, Debbie Harry sang: “The tide is high ‘cause the moon is full. Higher still when the moon’s close, Will.” (Will must be Debbie’s sky watching partner.) The full moon is the phase where the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. That means the moon and Sun are both stretching the Earth in the same direction causing the ocean water in line with the Sun and moon to be pulled upward. The highest high tides occur when the moon is full or new. In addition, the moon is at perigee this evening. Peri- means close and –gee refers to the Earth so this is the day of the month when the moon is closest to the Earth. This accentuates the upward pull on the water and makes the tides really high.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 11/29/08
Saturday: Do you ever look into the night sky and wonder if any other stars have planets? So far, astronomers have discovered planets orbiting 280 stars. But, until earlier this month, none of those planets were discovered by direct photography. On November 13, astronomers confirmed that pictures they took of Fomalhaut (pronounced Fo’-mal-ought) show a planet about three times the mass of Jupiter in an orbit that averages 115 astronomical units from the star. One astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and Sun. For comparison, Pluto’s orbit is about 40 astronomical units from the Sun. Fomalhaut is nearly a fist and a half held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 6:15 p.m.
Sunday: Have you been shopping all weekend? Do you need an evening sky break? You deserve a big reward so make it a double. A Double Cluster, that is. The Double Cluster, also known as h and Chi Persei, consists of two young open star clusters in the constellation Perseus. Of course, young is a relative term as these clusters are about 13 million years old. Each cluster is spread out over an area about the same size as the full moon. To the naked eye, the Double Cluster shines with a steady, fuzzy glow. Binoculars resolve dozens of individual stars in the clusters. The Double Cluster is six and a half fists above the northeast horizon at 7 p.m., about a fist below the sideways “W” of Cassiopeia.
Monday: Should I start every entry with a question? Maybe. But, you should definitely start every morning this month by finding Saturn, the highest planet in the sky this month. It is nearly five fists above due south at 6:30 a.m. this morning.
Tuesday: Where is Venus? About 0.7 astronomical units from the Sun. Helpful, aren’t I. You can find Venus one fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Do you believe in miracles? Yes! Team USA beating the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics may have been a miracle. But, star birth isn’t. It’s taking place in the Orion Nebula, a giant star-forming region in the middle of Orion’s sword. The Orion Nebula looks like a fuzzy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars reveal a nebula, or region of gas and dust, that is 30 light years across. The center of the nebula contains four hot “baby” stars called the Trapezium. These hot stars emit the ultraviolet radiation that causes the Nebula’s gas to glow. The Orion Nebula is three fists above the southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Thursday: Is Jupiter still visible in the evening sky? Barely. It is a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Friday: Not every day starts with a question. But every clear night includes Capella. Capella is the brightest circumpolar star meaning it never goes below the horizon from our point of view in Ellensburg. It is straight overhead a little after midnight tonight.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Have you been shopping all weekend? Do you need an evening sky break? You deserve a big reward so make it a double. A Double Cluster, that is. The Double Cluster, also known as h and Chi Persei, consists of two young open star clusters in the constellation Perseus. Of course, young is a relative term as these clusters are about 13 million years old. Each cluster is spread out over an area about the same size as the full moon. To the naked eye, the Double Cluster shines with a steady, fuzzy glow. Binoculars resolve dozens of individual stars in the clusters. The Double Cluster is six and a half fists above the northeast horizon at 7 p.m., about a fist below the sideways “W” of Cassiopeia.
Monday: Should I start every entry with a question? Maybe. But, you should definitely start every morning this month by finding Saturn, the highest planet in the sky this month. It is nearly five fists above due south at 6:30 a.m. this morning.
Tuesday: Where is Venus? About 0.7 astronomical units from the Sun. Helpful, aren’t I. You can find Venus one fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Do you believe in miracles? Yes! Team USA beating the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics may have been a miracle. But, star birth isn’t. It’s taking place in the Orion Nebula, a giant star-forming region in the middle of Orion’s sword. The Orion Nebula looks like a fuzzy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars reveal a nebula, or region of gas and dust, that is 30 light years across. The center of the nebula contains four hot “baby” stars called the Trapezium. These hot stars emit the ultraviolet radiation that causes the Nebula’s gas to glow. The Orion Nebula is three fists above the southeast horizon at 11 p.m.
Thursday: Is Jupiter still visible in the evening sky? Barely. It is a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Friday: Not every day starts with a question. But every clear night includes Capella. Capella is the brightest circumpolar star meaning it never goes below the horizon from our point of view in Ellensburg. It is straight overhead a little after midnight tonight.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 11/22/08
Today: The Nature of Night takes place today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Black Hall on the CWU campus. There will be planetarium shows, fun nighttime projects, storytelling, cookies and much more. The event is free. The Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education at CWU and various community sponsors work together to put on this event. If you go, ask about Venus. It is nearly a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m. You can even see it in the daytime sky if you know where to look. At 2:47 p.m., Venus is nearly two fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south. Use binoculars to scan about two or three binocular fields of view up from due south.
Sunday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 a.m.
Monday: Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, is a half a fist above the Moon at 6 a.m.
Tuesday: Saturn is four and a half fists above the south-southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
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 in order 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-northeast horizon and Andromeda is about seven fists above the east horizon at 7 p.m.
Friday: Are you thankful that you live in a solar system with multiple planets? You should be. A giant planet like Jupiter cleans up planetary debris that could have collided with Earth and hindered the formation of complex life. Any inhabitants of the planets orbiting Upsilon Andromedae are thankful for this, as well. Upsilon Andromedae, a star in the constellation Andromeda, is the only Sun-like star to have multiple planets orbiting it. So far, all of its planets are giant planets like Jupiter. But, the system is likely to also contain smaller planets. The dim star, but certainly not its planets, is barely visible straight overhead at 9 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky, is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 a.m.
Monday: Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, is a half a fist above the Moon at 6 a.m.
Tuesday: Saturn is four and a half fists above the south-southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Wednesday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
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 in order 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-northeast horizon and Andromeda is about seven fists above the east horizon at 7 p.m.
Friday: Are you thankful that you live in a solar system with multiple planets? You should be. A giant planet like Jupiter cleans up planetary debris that could have collided with Earth and hindered the formation of complex life. Any inhabitants of the planets orbiting Upsilon Andromedae are thankful for this, as well. Upsilon Andromedae, a star in the constellation Andromeda, is the only Sun-like star to have multiple planets orbiting it. So far, all of its planets are giant planets like Jupiter. But, the system is likely to also contain smaller planets. The dim star, but certainly not its planets, is barely visible straight overhead at 9 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 11/15/08
Today: Imagine Opie and Andy Taylor walking down the dirt path at night to that fishing hole in the sky. (No, that is not a euphemism for death.) They’d probably be looking to catch Pisces, the two fish already conveniently tied together with two ropes. The ropes are connected at the star Alrescha, Arabic for “the cord”. Alrescha is four and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 10 p.m. The fish are attached to lines of stars that branch out at one o’clock and three o’clock from Alrescha. By the way, “The Fishing Hole”, The Andy Griffith Show’s theme song was rated the 20th best TV theme song of all time by ign.com. That’s too low in my opinion.
Sunday: The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight and tomorrow morning. These meteors appear to come from a point in Leo the lion. This point is about one fist above the east-northeast horizon at midnight tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night and into the morning as it will remain about one fist above the bright star Regulus. These meteors are particles from the tail of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. This will likely be an average to below average Leonid shower with about 10-15 meteors per hour visible throughout the night. But the light of the waning gibbous moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors.
Monday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus the bull, is two and a half fists above due east at 8 p.m.
Wednesday: This morning’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Leo the lion.
Thursday: Saturday, November 22, the Nature of Night takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Black Hall on the CWU campus in Ellensburg, Washington. There will be planetarium shows, fun nighttime projects, storytelling, cookies and much more. The event is free. Go to www.cwu.edu/~scied or call 509-963-2929 for more information. The Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education at CWU and various community sponsors work together to put on this event. When you are there, ask about Venus. It is nearly a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m. You can even see it in the daytime sky if you know where to look.
Friday: Saturn is about a half a fist to the upper right of the moon at 6 a.m. They are in the southeastern sky.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight and tomorrow morning. These meteors appear to come from a point in Leo the lion. This point is about one fist above the east-northeast horizon at midnight tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night and into the morning as it will remain about one fist above the bright star Regulus. These meteors are particles from the tail of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. This will likely be an average to below average Leonid shower with about 10-15 meteors per hour visible throughout the night. But the light of the waning gibbous moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors.
Monday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus the bull, is two and a half fists above due east at 8 p.m.
Wednesday: This morning’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Leo the lion.
Thursday: Saturday, November 22, the Nature of Night takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Black Hall on the CWU campus in Ellensburg, Washington. There will be planetarium shows, fun nighttime projects, storytelling, cookies and much more. The event is free. Go to www.cwu.edu/~scied or call 509-963-2929 for more information. The Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education at CWU and various community sponsors work together to put on this event. When you are there, ask about Venus. It is nearly a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m. You can even see it in the daytime sky if you know where to look.
Friday: Saturn is about a half a fist to the upper right of the moon at 6 a.m. They are in the southeastern sky.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 11/8/08
Today: The North Taurid meteor shower peaks for the next few late nights and early mornings with the night of the 12th being the peak of the peak. This is not a prominent shower but it occasionally produces a couple of bright “fireballs”. The moon will not be out for the next few late nights to interfere with your meteor viewing. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Taurus the bull. This point is about six fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon at 11 p.m. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain midway between the bright star Aldebaran (pronounced Al-deb’-a-ran) and the open star cluster, the Pleiades. If you miss the peak tonight, don’t worry. Taurid meteor showers result in a slight increase on meteor activity from mid-October to the beginning of December.
Sunday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
Monday: Saturn is about four fists above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Tuesday: We wish you a Merry Martinmas. We wish you a Merry Martinmas. We wish you a Merry Martinmas. And a happy Wednesday. Martinmas is a holiday in many parts of the world commemorating Saint Martin of Tours. He was buried on November 11, 397. What does this have to astronomy? Not much except that the celebration on November 11 often doubles as a cross-quarter day celebration, a day that is halfway between an equinox and a solstice.
Wednesday: Are you thirsty? Enjoy a full frosty one. November’s full moon is called the full frosty moon. Late fall and early winter full moons are very enjoyable because they are so high in the sky. How can that be? The answer relates to the position of the Sun. In the late fall and early winter, the Sun is very low in the sky at noon. Since the full Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun, a Sun that is very low in the sky at noon means a full Moon that is very high in the sky. The summertime Sun is high in the sky at noon resulting in a full Moon that is low in the sky. It is almost like the sky is apologizing for a low winter Sun with a high winter full Moon. Tonight’s full frosty moon is the mug, I mean constellation, Aries the ram.
Thursday: The constellation Lepus the hare is right under the feet of Orion. At 11 p.m., the middle of the hare is one fist above the southeast horizon. Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, is just above the head of the hare.
Friday: Tonight, Venus is as low as it can get with respect to the background stars. It’s pretty low compared to our local horizon, as well. Venus is about a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
Monday: Saturn is about four fists above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
Tuesday: We wish you a Merry Martinmas. We wish you a Merry Martinmas. We wish you a Merry Martinmas. And a happy Wednesday. Martinmas is a holiday in many parts of the world commemorating Saint Martin of Tours. He was buried on November 11, 397. What does this have to astronomy? Not much except that the celebration on November 11 often doubles as a cross-quarter day celebration, a day that is halfway between an equinox and a solstice.
Wednesday: Are you thirsty? Enjoy a full frosty one. November’s full moon is called the full frosty moon. Late fall and early winter full moons are very enjoyable because they are so high in the sky. How can that be? The answer relates to the position of the Sun. In the late fall and early winter, the Sun is very low in the sky at noon. Since the full Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun, a Sun that is very low in the sky at noon means a full Moon that is very high in the sky. The summertime Sun is high in the sky at noon resulting in a full Moon that is low in the sky. It is almost like the sky is apologizing for a low winter Sun with a high winter full Moon. Tonight’s full frosty moon is the mug, I mean constellation, Aries the ram.
Thursday: The constellation Lepus the hare is right under the feet of Orion. At 11 p.m., the middle of the hare is one fist above the southeast horizon. Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, is just above the head of the hare.
Friday: Tonight, Venus is as low as it can get with respect to the background stars. It’s pretty low compared to our local horizon, as well. Venus is about a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 11/1/08
Today: The Southern Taurid meteor shower reaches a maximum over the next few nights with a peak on November 5. This is not a prominent shower but it averages one or two bright fireballs per hour. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Taurus the bull. This point is about four fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon at 11 p.m. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain one fist to the right of the Hyades Cluster with its bright star Aldebaran (pronounced Al-deb’-a-ran). Meteors are tiny rocks that burn up in the atmosphere when the Earth runs into them. These rocks are broken off parts of Comet 2P/Encke.
Don’t forget to “fall back” tonight. Before you fall back on to your bed, set your clock back one hour to the real time. Daylight savings ends early Sunday morning at 2 a.m. This means one more hour of sky watching at night because the Sun will set one hour earlier. Ben Franklin proposed the idea of “saving daylight” by adjusting our clocks way back in 1784. Daylight savings time was first utilized during World War I as a way to save electricity. After the war, it was abandoned. It was reintroduced during World War II on a year-round basis. From 1945 to 1966, some areas implemented daylight savings and some did not. But, it was not implemented with any uniformity as to when it should start and stop. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 codified the daylight savings rules.
Sunday: Did you look up Williamina Fleming and Harlow Shapley based on last week’s Halloween costume suggestion? Williamina Fleming was the first American woman elected to the Royal Astronomical Society of London. Harlow Shapley was the first astronomer to realize that the Sun is not at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. They make much better, and more realistic, heroes than rock stars and super models.
Monday: Jupiter is about a finger’s width to the upper right of the moon at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Venus is a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Tonight’s first quarter moon is in the constellation Capricornus the sea goat. It sets a little after 11 p.m., just in time to look for a few Southern Taurid meteors in the south-southeast sky.
Thursday: What do you and Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi have in common? Probably nothing right now. But after tonight, you may have both seen an asteroid. Piazzi discovered the first asteroid, Ceres. With binoculars, you can easily spot Vesta, the brightest asteroid. Look about three and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 9 p.m. Find Menkar, the nose of Cetus the sea monster, and the brightest star in the vicinity. To the upper right of Menkar is a star that is about half as bright. Continuing to the upper right, you should see a line of dots of similar brightness and much dimmer than Menkar. The middle dot, not quite in line with the other two, is Vesta. To confirm this, look again a couple nights later. Vesta will have moved with respect to the other stars.
Friday: Saturn is four fists above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Don’t forget to “fall back” tonight. Before you fall back on to your bed, set your clock back one hour to the real time. Daylight savings ends early Sunday morning at 2 a.m. This means one more hour of sky watching at night because the Sun will set one hour earlier. Ben Franklin proposed the idea of “saving daylight” by adjusting our clocks way back in 1784. Daylight savings time was first utilized during World War I as a way to save electricity. After the war, it was abandoned. It was reintroduced during World War II on a year-round basis. From 1945 to 1966, some areas implemented daylight savings and some did not. But, it was not implemented with any uniformity as to when it should start and stop. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 codified the daylight savings rules.
Sunday: Did you look up Williamina Fleming and Harlow Shapley based on last week’s Halloween costume suggestion? Williamina Fleming was the first American woman elected to the Royal Astronomical Society of London. Harlow Shapley was the first astronomer to realize that the Sun is not at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. They make much better, and more realistic, heroes than rock stars and super models.
Monday: Jupiter is about a finger’s width to the upper right of the moon at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Venus is a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Tonight’s first quarter moon is in the constellation Capricornus the sea goat. It sets a little after 11 p.m., just in time to look for a few Southern Taurid meteors in the south-southeast sky.
Thursday: What do you and Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi have in common? Probably nothing right now. But after tonight, you may have both seen an asteroid. Piazzi discovered the first asteroid, Ceres. With binoculars, you can easily spot Vesta, the brightest asteroid. Look about three and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 9 p.m. Find Menkar, the nose of Cetus the sea monster, and the brightest star in the vicinity. To the upper right of Menkar is a star that is about half as bright. Continuing to the upper right, you should see a line of dots of similar brightness and much dimmer than Menkar. The middle dot, not quite in line with the other two, is Vesta. To confirm this, look again a couple nights later. Vesta will have moved with respect to the other stars.
Friday: Saturn is four fists above the southeast horizon at 6 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 10/25/08
Today: Been to the eye doctor lately? If not, an ancient vision test was the ability to see Mizar and Alcor as two stars. Mizar is the bright star at the bend of the Big Dipper handle. Alcor is the dimmer star less than a pinky width above it. Someone with superhero vision (or eyes that are eight inches in diameter) will also see Mizar as two stars. In 1650, Mizar became the first binary star discovered. Mizar and Alcor are three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the northwest horizon at 8 p.m.
Sunday: Mercury and the moon team up in the constellation Virgo this morning. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon and a half a fist to the lower left of the moon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Antares may mean “rival of Mars”. But, this morning it is making an attempt to rival the brightest point of light in the sky – the planet Venus. Let’s look at the stats for each. Antares has a diameter more than 500 times greater than the Sun’s. If it were to replace the Sun in our Solar System, it would fill the entire inner Solar System all the way out to Jupiter. Antares is as bright as about 10,000 Suns. Venus, on the other hand, is a little bit smaller than Earth. It does not produce any of its own light. This looks like a one sided rivalry to me. Sort of like comparing Central Washington University’s football team to the other lousy “big time” football teams in the state. Antares is about a thumb thickness below Venus, less than one fist above the southwest horizon at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 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.
Wednesday: Saturn is three fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Thursday: Arcturus is one fist above the west-northwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Friday: Halloween. The pumpkins. The candy. The children going door-to-door dressed up has their favorite astronomers Harlow Shapley and Williamina Fleming. At least they should because Halloween is, in part, an astronomical holiday. Halloween is a “cross-quarter date”, a day approximately midway between an equinox and a solstice. Historically, the Celts of the British Isles used cross-quarter dates as the beginnings of seasons. For the Celts, winter began with Halloween. So when all those little Flemings and Shapleys come to your door, honor the Celts and give them a wintry treat.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Mercury and the moon team up in the constellation Virgo this morning. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon and a half a fist to the lower left of the moon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: Antares may mean “rival of Mars”. But, this morning it is making an attempt to rival the brightest point of light in the sky – the planet Venus. Let’s look at the stats for each. Antares has a diameter more than 500 times greater than the Sun’s. If it were to replace the Sun in our Solar System, it would fill the entire inner Solar System all the way out to Jupiter. Antares is as bright as about 10,000 Suns. Venus, on the other hand, is a little bit smaller than Earth. It does not produce any of its own light. This looks like a one sided rivalry to me. Sort of like comparing Central Washington University’s football team to the other lousy “big time” football teams in the state. Antares is about a thumb thickness below Venus, less than one fist above the southwest horizon at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 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.
Wednesday: Saturn is three fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Thursday: Arcturus is one fist above the west-northwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Friday: Halloween. The pumpkins. The candy. The children going door-to-door dressed up has their favorite astronomers Harlow Shapley and Williamina Fleming. At least they should because Halloween is, in part, an astronomical holiday. Halloween is a “cross-quarter date”, a day approximately midway between an equinox and a solstice. Historically, the Celts of the British Isles used cross-quarter dates as the beginnings of seasons. For the Celts, winter began with Halloween. So when all those little Flemings and Shapleys come to your door, honor the Celts and give them a wintry treat.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 10/18/08
Saturday: “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood.” Constellations can be considered neighborhoods in the nighttime sky. But, the stars in those constellations are not necessarily neighbors in real life. For example, the bright stars in the constellation Cassiopeia range from 19 to over 10,000 light years away from Earth. One constellation that consists of real neighbors is Ursa Major. Or, more specifically, the Big Dipper. Five stars in the Big Dipper are all moving in the same direction in space, are about the same age and are all about 80 light years from Earth. “Please won’t you be my neighbor?” Skat, the third brightest star in the constellation Aquarius is a neighbor to these five Big Dipper stars, all of which are about 30 light years from each other. They are thought to have originated in the same nebula about 500 million years ago. Just like human children do, these child stars are slowly moving away from home. Skat is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 10 p.m. The much brighter Fomalhaut is a fist and a half below Skat. And, it’s not fun being below Skat.
Sunday: Don’t look up at 10 p.m. tonight. There is a lizard overhead. You looked up, didn’t you? Lacerta the lizard is a small constellation located between the much more prominent constellations Cassiopeia and Cygnus. It is straight overhead at 10 p.m. tonight.
Monday: The Orionid meteor shower consists of the earth colliding with pieces of the remains of Halley's Comet's tail. This shower peaks this tonight into early tomorrow morning. This is not a meteor shower that results in a meteor storm. There will be about 15-20 meteors per hour, many more meteors than are visible on a typical night. The chance of seeing meteors this year is less than usual because the last quarter moon will be in the sky during the peak viewing times. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Orion, the hunter. This point is about three fists above the southeast horizon at 1 a.m. tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain one fist above the prominent reddish star Betelgeuse (pronounced Bet'-el-jews). The Orionid meteors are fast - up to 40 miles per second. If you fall asleep tonight, you can catch the tail end of the shower every night until early November.
Tuesday: Buzzz. Tonight’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Cancer near the near Beehive Cluster.
Wednesday: Hit the road Mercury. And don’t you come back no more, no more. For a few weeks, Mercury has been hitting the road and moving away from the Sun in the sky. This morning, Mercury is as far away from the Sun as it will get this cycle. This is known as its greatest western elongation. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m. Over the next few weeks, Mercury will move toward the Sun in the sky.
Thursday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 9 p.m.
Friday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Don’t look up at 10 p.m. tonight. There is a lizard overhead. You looked up, didn’t you? Lacerta the lizard is a small constellation located between the much more prominent constellations Cassiopeia and Cygnus. It is straight overhead at 10 p.m. tonight.
Monday: The Orionid meteor shower consists of the earth colliding with pieces of the remains of Halley's Comet's tail. This shower peaks this tonight into early tomorrow morning. This is not a meteor shower that results in a meteor storm. There will be about 15-20 meteors per hour, many more meteors than are visible on a typical night. The chance of seeing meteors this year is less than usual because the last quarter moon will be in the sky during the peak viewing times. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Orion, the hunter. This point is about three fists above the southeast horizon at 1 a.m. tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain one fist above the prominent reddish star Betelgeuse (pronounced Bet'-el-jews). The Orionid meteors are fast - up to 40 miles per second. If you fall asleep tonight, you can catch the tail end of the shower every night until early November.
Tuesday: Buzzz. Tonight’s last quarter moon is in the constellation Cancer near the near Beehive Cluster.
Wednesday: Hit the road Mercury. And don’t you come back no more, no more. For a few weeks, Mercury has been hitting the road and moving away from the Sun in the sky. This morning, Mercury is as far away from the Sun as it will get this cycle. This is known as its greatest western elongation. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m. Over the next few weeks, Mercury will move toward the Sun in the sky.
Thursday: Jupiter is one fist above the southwest horizon at 9 p.m.
Friday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 10/11/08
Today: Halley's Comet returns this month! In the form of little pieces of its tail, that is. The Orionid meteor shower consists of the earth colliding with pieces of the remains of Halley's Comet's tail. This shower peaks on the morning of October 21 but produces meteors from now until early November. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Orion, the hunter. This point is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon at 1 a.m. tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night as it will remain one fist above the prominent reddish star Betelgeuse (pronounced Bet'-el-jews). The Orionid meteors are fast - up to 40 miles per second. As you Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment.
Sunday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: “Hold your horses! Is that a great square in the sky?” It is more than a great square. It’s THE Great Square of Pegasus. The middle of the Great Square is six and a half fists above due south at 11 p.m. Are you impressed that I used the words “great square” six times in an entry? Great square. Imagine that.
Tuesday: The harvest is over. Animals that have filled themselves up with the excess bounty are wondering around through forests that have lost their leaves. It is a hunter’s paradise. The only thing missing is nighttime lighting. Enter the hunter’s moon. Tonight’s full moon, called the hunter’s moon, is in the constellation Pisces the fish.
Wednesday: Jupiter is two fists above the south horizon at 7 p.m.
Thursday: Mercury was the messenger of the Roman gods because of his speed. The planet Mercury shows this same messenger god-like speed through the sky. In the past two weeks, it has gone from being in-line with the Sun to being visible in the early morning sky. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Friday: When do seven sisters not look like seven sisters? When some of them are occulted by the moon. What? Early this morning, the moon passes between the open star cluster called the Pleiades and Earth, thus blocking or occulting the Pleiades. Another name for the Pleiades is the seven sisters. The upper portion, also known as the spinster sisters, are blocked by the moon at 3 a.m. Look for the rest of the sisters to the lower left of the moon high in the southern sky. By 6:30 a.m., the moon is no longer blocking the Pleiades.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the east-southeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Monday: “Hold your horses! Is that a great square in the sky?” It is more than a great square. It’s THE Great Square of Pegasus. The middle of the Great Square is six and a half fists above due south at 11 p.m. Are you impressed that I used the words “great square” six times in an entry? Great square. Imagine that.
Tuesday: The harvest is over. Animals that have filled themselves up with the excess bounty are wondering around through forests that have lost their leaves. It is a hunter’s paradise. The only thing missing is nighttime lighting. Enter the hunter’s moon. Tonight’s full moon, called the hunter’s moon, is in the constellation Pisces the fish.
Wednesday: Jupiter is two fists above the south horizon at 7 p.m.
Thursday: Mercury was the messenger of the Roman gods because of his speed. The planet Mercury shows this same messenger god-like speed through the sky. In the past two weeks, it has gone from being in-line with the Sun to being visible in the early morning sky. Mercury is about a half a fist above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Friday: When do seven sisters not look like seven sisters? When some of them are occulted by the moon. What? Early this morning, the moon passes between the open star cluster called the Pleiades and Earth, thus blocking or occulting the Pleiades. Another name for the Pleiades is the seven sisters. The upper portion, also known as the spinster sisters, are blocked by the moon at 3 a.m. Look for the rest of the sisters to the lower left of the moon high in the southern sky. By 6:30 a.m., the moon is no longer blocking the Pleiades.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 10/4/08
Today: Venus is about a half a fist held upright and at arm’s length above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m.
Sunday: Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a dolphin. A dolphin? The constellation Delphinus the dolphin is nearly six fists above due south at 8:30 p.m. The constellation’s two brightest stars are called Sualocin and Rotanev, which is Nicolaus Venator spelled backwards. Venator worked at the Palermo Observatory in Italy in the mid nineteenth century. He slipped these names into Giuseppe Piazzi’s star catalog without him noticing.
Monday: Jupiter is about a half a fist above the first quarter Moon at 9 p.m. Look for them in the southwest sky.
Tuesday: The Draconid meteor shower peaks tonight and tomorrow night. The meteors appear to come from a point in the head of Draco, the dragon constellation. This point is about five fists above the northwest horizon at 10 p.m. tonight. This point remains near the trapezoid-shaped head of Draco throughout the night. Typically, this is a minor shower. However, this year’s late night visibility is aided by the fact that the moon sets at about midnight. Draconid meteors are slow moving which means you will have a easy time differentiating true Draconid meteors, from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, from stray grains of dust that happen to enter the Earth’s atmosphere near where we see the constellation Draco. As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment.
Wednesday: Saturn is about two fists above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Thursday: What time is tea time? Certainly not during an autumn evening. The constellation Sagittarius the archer, with its signature teapot shape, is sinking into the south-southwest horizon by 9 p.m. The handle is on top and the spout is touching the horizon ready to pour that last cup of tea.
Friday: The southernmost bright star visible from Ellensburg, Fomalhaut (pronounced Fo'-mal-ought) is one fist above the south horizon at 10 p.m. Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation Pisces Austrinus, the southern fish. This fish is said to be the parent of Pisces, the two zodiacal fish. The parent fish must have moved south to get away from the cold weather.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a dolphin. A dolphin? The constellation Delphinus the dolphin is nearly six fists above due south at 8:30 p.m. The constellation’s two brightest stars are called Sualocin and Rotanev, which is Nicolaus Venator spelled backwards. Venator worked at the Palermo Observatory in Italy in the mid nineteenth century. He slipped these names into Giuseppe Piazzi’s star catalog without him noticing.
Monday: Jupiter is about a half a fist above the first quarter Moon at 9 p.m. Look for them in the southwest sky.
Tuesday: The Draconid meteor shower peaks tonight and tomorrow night. The meteors appear to come from a point in the head of Draco, the dragon constellation. This point is about five fists above the northwest horizon at 10 p.m. tonight. This point remains near the trapezoid-shaped head of Draco throughout the night. Typically, this is a minor shower. However, this year’s late night visibility is aided by the fact that the moon sets at about midnight. Draconid meteors are slow moving which means you will have a easy time differentiating true Draconid meteors, from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, from stray grains of dust that happen to enter the Earth’s atmosphere near where we see the constellation Draco. As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment.
Wednesday: Saturn is about two fists above the east horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Thursday: What time is tea time? Certainly not during an autumn evening. The constellation Sagittarius the archer, with its signature teapot shape, is sinking into the south-southwest horizon by 9 p.m. The handle is on top and the spout is touching the horizon ready to pour that last cup of tea.
Friday: The southernmost bright star visible from Ellensburg, Fomalhaut (pronounced Fo'-mal-ought) is one fist above the south horizon at 10 p.m. Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation Pisces Austrinus, the southern fish. This fish is said to be the parent of Pisces, the two zodiacal fish. The parent fish must have moved south to get away from the cold weather.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 9/27/08
Today: Did you time the exact length of the day and night last Monday on the first day of autumn? They were not equal in duration. Many people think that the day and night are the same duration on the autumnal equinox. The day is a little longer than the night for two reasons. First, the Sun is an extended object so even when the middle part has set, the upper half is still above the horizon lighting the sky. The second, and more influential reason, is that the atmosphere acts like a lens, bending light from the Sun above the horizon when the Sun is really still below the horizon. Day and night are closest in duration today.
Sunday: 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.
Monday: Jupiter is two fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: “You know Aries and Cancer and Draco and Libra. Leo and Pisces and Virgo and Hydra. But, do you recall, the pointiest asterism of all? Triangulum, the three sided asterism, had a very pointy edge….” Sorry. Some stores have started putting up their Christmas decorations and that put me in the mood. Anyway, Triangulum is a small constellation between the more prominent Andromeda and Aries. Its main feature is a skinny triangle oriented parallel to and nearly four fists above the east horizon at 10 p.m.
Wednesday: Venus is a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m. Even though it is so close to sunset, Venus is bright enough to poke out through the twilight.
Thursday: Saturn is one fist above due east at 6 a.m.
Friday: Since Halloween is coming up, the stores are filled with bags of candy clusters. Instead, take time to look at a star cluster. The Hyades cluster is an open star cluster that represents the V-shaped face of Taurus the bull. It is one of the biggest and nearest star clusters with about 200 stars 150 light years away. The Hyades cluster was the first cluster to be the subject of detailed motion studies. These studies allowed astronomers to pinpoint the distance to the Hyades and provide important information about the scale of the universe. Aldebaran, one fist above the east horizon at 11 p.m., is a foreground star and not a part of the Hyades cluster.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: 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.
Monday: Jupiter is two fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: “You know Aries and Cancer and Draco and Libra. Leo and Pisces and Virgo and Hydra. But, do you recall, the pointiest asterism of all? Triangulum, the three sided asterism, had a very pointy edge….” Sorry. Some stores have started putting up their Christmas decorations and that put me in the mood. Anyway, Triangulum is a small constellation between the more prominent Andromeda and Aries. Its main feature is a skinny triangle oriented parallel to and nearly four fists above the east horizon at 10 p.m.
Wednesday: Venus is a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 7 p.m. Even though it is so close to sunset, Venus is bright enough to poke out through the twilight.
Thursday: Saturn is one fist above due east at 6 a.m.
Friday: Since Halloween is coming up, the stores are filled with bags of candy clusters. Instead, take time to look at a star cluster. The Hyades cluster is an open star cluster that represents the V-shaped face of Taurus the bull. It is one of the biggest and nearest star clusters with about 200 stars 150 light years away. The Hyades cluster was the first cluster to be the subject of detailed motion studies. These studies allowed astronomers to pinpoint the distance to the Hyades and provide important information about the scale of the universe. Aldebaran, one fist above the east horizon at 11 p.m., is a foreground star and not a part of the Hyades cluster.
The positional information in this column about stars and any planet except Mercury is accurate for the entire week.
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