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.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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.
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