Saturday: Don’t wait until the 4th of July to go to those wimpy firecracker shows. Find the hypergiant star Rho Cassiopeiae. Astronomers think that Rho Cassiopeiae will likely go supernova (explode) in the near future. Of course, for stars, near future might mean today. It might mean 20,000 years from now. Rho Cassiopeiae is in the constellation Cassiopeia the queen. At 11:00 tonight, Cassiopeia looks like the letter “W” about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the northeast horizon. Rho Cassiopeiae is about a finger’s width to the right of the rightmost star in the “W”. Once you find it you’ll be thinking, “Big deal, I can hardly see it.” Although it is barely visible to the naked eye, it is actually very bright. It is the 20th most luminous star in the sky, a whopping 550,000 times more luminous than the Sun.
Sunday: Ah, the continuing dilemma for any king, even a little one: love or war. Regulus, the 20th brightest star in the night sky, Latin for “little king”, is midway between the planets Mars, named for the god of war, and Venus, named for the god of love. At 10 p.m., Regulus is one and a half fists above due west. Mars is about a fist to its upper left and Venus is about a fist to its lower right. Of the two, I pick love. It is much brighter.
Monday: Saturn is two fists above the west-southwest horizon at 10:30 p.m. If you look through a small telescope at this time, you’ll be able to see its two largest moons, Titan and Rhea, off to its side. Titan is the 10th largest and Rhea is the 20th largest object in the solar system. For more information on identifying Saturn’s moons in a small telescope, go to http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/javascript/3308506.html.
Tuesday: Two of the dogs in the sky have set: Canis Major and Canis Minor. Both are represented by stars that are very close and very bright. Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major, is the brightest nighttime star and the 8th closest. Procyon, in the constellation Canis Minor, is the 7th brightest nighttime star and the 20th closest. But, canines are still represented in the sky by Canes Vanatici, the hunting dogs. They are four fists above the west-northwest horizon at midnight, underneath the Big Dipper handle.
Wednesday: The constellation Cepheus the king (husband of Cassiopeia the queen) is about four fists above the northeast horizon at 11 pm. Cepheus is about one and a half fists above Cassiopeia. Cepheus looks like a house on its side with the roof peak pointing towards the west. Cassiopeia and Cepheus revolve around the North Star every night like a happy couple going through life together.
Thursday: When people find out that you read this column, they may ask you all sorts of tough astronomy questions such as “Where can I see the Milky Way?” That one is easy. Just look in the mirror. We are all part of the Milky Way. The center of the Milky Way galaxy is in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, about one and a half fists above due south at 11:30 p.m. The Milky Way is NASA’s “Go Observe” object for July. For more information, go to http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/observe_jul.htm.
Friday: You won’t be able to see Jupiter unless you either stay up late or get up early. Jupiter is about a half a fist above the east horizon at 1 a.m. By 4 a.m., it is three fists above the southeast horizon.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 6/19/10
Saturday: Summer is nearly here. How do I know? Because my kids are home from school. Also, because the Summer Triangle is fairly high in the eastern sky at 10 p.m. Vega, the third brightest star visible from Ellensburg, is about five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east horizon. Deneb, at the tail of Cygnus the swan is about three and a half fists above the northeast horizon. The third star in the triangle, Altair, in Aquila the eagle is two fists above the east horizon.
If you want to put somebody off, tell them to wait until Deneb sets. At Ellensburg’s latitude of 47 degrees, Deneb is a circumpolar star meaning it never goes below the horizon.
Sunday: Venus, the brightest planet, looks like it is in danger of being stung by a bee tonight. It is right above the open star cluster known as the Beehive Cluster. This cluster is about 600 million years old and is about 600 light years away. (Oops, I guess the bees can’t fly that far. Also, there is nothing for them to beat their wings against in space. Finally, there are no bees in the Beehive Cluster. Well, that storyline failed.) Venus is the bright point of light one fist above the west-northwest horizon at 10 p.m. The cluster will be easily visible in binoculars below Venus.
Monday: Today is the first day of summer, the day that the Sun reaches its highest declination (the official name for sky latitude) of 23.5 degrees above the celestial equator. The celestial equator is the line that divides the northern sky from the southern sky. In Ellensburg, the Sun is about seven fists held upright and at arm’s length above the south horizon at 1:00 p.m. (noon standard time). Contrary to popular belief, the Sun is never straight over head in Ellensburg or anywhere else in the 48 contiguous states. The northernmost portion of the world where the Sun can be directly overhead is 23.5 degrees north latitude. In ancient times, the Sun was in the constellation Cancer the crab on the first day of summer. Hence, 23.5 degrees north latitude has the nickname "Tropic of Cancer". Because the Earth wobbles like a spinning top, the Sun's apparent path through the sky changes slightly over time. Now, the Sun is in the constellation Taurus the bull on the first day of summer. However, citing the high cost of revising all of the science books, geographers are not changing the name of 23.5 degrees north latitude to "Tropic of Taurus". The first day of summer is often called the summer solstice. However, astronomers refer to the summer solstice as the point in the sky in which the Sun is at its highest point above the celestial equator. Thus, summer starts when the Sun is at the summer solstice point. This year, that happens at 4:36 a.m.
Tuesday: Summer is the season of the horse and rider here in Ellensburg. But every night of the year is the season of the horse and rider in the Ellensburg sky. Mizar and Alcor, two stars at the bend of the Big Dipper’s handle, were known to the ancients as the horse and rider because dim Alcor “rides” just above brighter Mizar in the sky. Since the Big Dipper is circumpolar from Ellensburg’s latitude, it never goes below the horizon. Tonight, Alcor and Mizar are seven fists above the northwest horizon at 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Jupiter is two and a half fista above the southeast horizon at 4 a.m.
Thursday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the west-southwest and Mars is one and a half fists above the west horizon at 10:30 p.m.
Friday: A few days ago, I wrote about Mizar. Don’t confuse it with its rhyming brother Izar in the constellation Bootes. Izar is also a binary star with about the same apparent brightness. And both were featured in different episodes of Star Trek. Izar was featured in the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy” from the original series. It is the base of Fleet Captain Garth, a former big shot in the federation and one of Kirk’s heroes before he went insane. Garth kidnaps Kirk and Spock before eventually being out smarted. Mizar doesn’t play as big a role in its episode. It is the star of the home world of one of the alien species in The Next Generation episode “Allegiance”. Izar is one fist above the bright star Arcturus and seven fists above the south horizon at 10 p.m. Mizar is seven fists above the northwest horizon at this time.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
If you want to put somebody off, tell them to wait until Deneb sets. At Ellensburg’s latitude of 47 degrees, Deneb is a circumpolar star meaning it never goes below the horizon.
Sunday: Venus, the brightest planet, looks like it is in danger of being stung by a bee tonight. It is right above the open star cluster known as the Beehive Cluster. This cluster is about 600 million years old and is about 600 light years away. (Oops, I guess the bees can’t fly that far. Also, there is nothing for them to beat their wings against in space. Finally, there are no bees in the Beehive Cluster. Well, that storyline failed.) Venus is the bright point of light one fist above the west-northwest horizon at 10 p.m. The cluster will be easily visible in binoculars below Venus.
Monday: Today is the first day of summer, the day that the Sun reaches its highest declination (the official name for sky latitude) of 23.5 degrees above the celestial equator. The celestial equator is the line that divides the northern sky from the southern sky. In Ellensburg, the Sun is about seven fists held upright and at arm’s length above the south horizon at 1:00 p.m. (noon standard time). Contrary to popular belief, the Sun is never straight over head in Ellensburg or anywhere else in the 48 contiguous states. The northernmost portion of the world where the Sun can be directly overhead is 23.5 degrees north latitude. In ancient times, the Sun was in the constellation Cancer the crab on the first day of summer. Hence, 23.5 degrees north latitude has the nickname "Tropic of Cancer". Because the Earth wobbles like a spinning top, the Sun's apparent path through the sky changes slightly over time. Now, the Sun is in the constellation Taurus the bull on the first day of summer. However, citing the high cost of revising all of the science books, geographers are not changing the name of 23.5 degrees north latitude to "Tropic of Taurus". The first day of summer is often called the summer solstice. However, astronomers refer to the summer solstice as the point in the sky in which the Sun is at its highest point above the celestial equator. Thus, summer starts when the Sun is at the summer solstice point. This year, that happens at 4:36 a.m.
Tuesday: Summer is the season of the horse and rider here in Ellensburg. But every night of the year is the season of the horse and rider in the Ellensburg sky. Mizar and Alcor, two stars at the bend of the Big Dipper’s handle, were known to the ancients as the horse and rider because dim Alcor “rides” just above brighter Mizar in the sky. Since the Big Dipper is circumpolar from Ellensburg’s latitude, it never goes below the horizon. Tonight, Alcor and Mizar are seven fists above the northwest horizon at 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Jupiter is two and a half fista above the southeast horizon at 4 a.m.
Thursday: Saturn is two and a half fists above the west-southwest and Mars is one and a half fists above the west horizon at 10:30 p.m.
Friday: A few days ago, I wrote about Mizar. Don’t confuse it with its rhyming brother Izar in the constellation Bootes. Izar is also a binary star with about the same apparent brightness. And both were featured in different episodes of Star Trek. Izar was featured in the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy” from the original series. It is the base of Fleet Captain Garth, a former big shot in the federation and one of Kirk’s heroes before he went insane. Garth kidnaps Kirk and Spock before eventually being out smarted. Mizar doesn’t play as big a role in its episode. It is the star of the home world of one of the alien species in The Next Generation episode “Allegiance”. Izar is one fist above the bright star Arcturus and seven fists above the south horizon at 10 p.m. Mizar is seven fists above the northwest horizon at this time.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 6/12/10
Have you bought your favorite college graduate a graduation gift yet? Why not get her or him a star? I don’t mean from one of those organizations that offers to “register the name of YOUR star with the U.S. Patent Office”. No company owns the right to name stars after people. Besides, the stars those companies “name” are so dim you can’t find them. In this column, I’ll pick a constellation and representative star for each of the four colleges at a typical university. Then, I’ll briefly tell the story of the constellation and relate that story to the aspect of public service graduates from that college are uniquely qualified to engage in. Just like a couple can have “their” song, your favorite college graduate can have her or his star.
Today: Just as gyms and stadiums have been crowded with smart people for many evenings for the past few weeks, the eastern sky will crowded with bright planets for the next few weeks. Tonight at 10 p.m., right as your graduation party is getting started, you can see Venus, the brightest planet, more than one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the west-northwest horizon. Three fists above the west-southwest horizon, you’ll see the planet Mars to the upper left of the star Regulus. They are about the same brightness as each other. Finally, Saturn is three and a half fists above the southwest horizon. Over the next few weeks, these planets will move towards each other in the sky.
Sunday: College of Arts and Humanities: You are the people who interpret the world in unique ways. Then, you share those ways with others. According to Greek mythology, Orpheus charmed everyone he met when he played the lyre or harp. After his wife died tragically, he journeyed to the underworld to charm its inhabitants in an effort to win his wife back to the living world. Your service reminder: use your talent to bring joy to others. The constellation Lyra and its bright star Vega should remind you of the power of the arts. Vega is five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Monday: What’s better than waking up to a new job offer? Waking up to a comet. Well, maybe not better but still pretty interesting. Comet C/2009 R1, also known as McNaught, is visible in the northeast sky at 4 a.m. First find Mirphak two and a half fists above the northeast horizon. Comet C/2009 R1 will be about a half a fist below Mirphak. You may need binoculars to see it. However since this is the first time Comet C/2009 R1 has entered the inner Solar System, its maximum brightness is difficult to predict.
Tuesday: College of Business. You are the future movers and shakers. The future CEOs. The future big donors to the university. Auriga represented a king of Athens who happened to be mobility impaired. Instead of sitting around waiting for others to transport him, he took the initiative to invent the four-wheeled chariot. He solved a problem for a special need. Your service reminder: address the problems of those in the most need. To remind you of that, look to the constellation Auriga. Its bright star Capella is about one fist above the north horizon at 11 p.m.
Wednesday: College of Education and Professional Studies. You are the teachers. The craftspeople. The facilitators of learning in a diverse world. Bootes, the herdsman, was such a person. Bootes’ job was to guide the northern constellations to the feeding place and the watering hole. He and his dogs were especially in charge of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the greater and lesser bears. Your service reminder: guide others to a better place in life. Look to the constellation Bootes and its bright star Arcturus to remind you of this. Arcturus is six fists above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Thursday: College of the Sciences. You are the people who will systematically study how the world works. Agriculture is an important scientific application. Each year, farmers must use the findings of science to be successful. Who better to represent the College of the Sciences than Virgo, the goddess of the harvest? Virgo looms large in the sky holding an ear of wheat in her hand. Your service reminder: study the practical aspects of the scientific world. The ear of wheat, and your service reminder, is represented by the bright star Spica. Spica is two and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Friday: Tonight’s first quarter Moon is in the constellation Virgo, about a fist below Saturn at 10 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Today: Just as gyms and stadiums have been crowded with smart people for many evenings for the past few weeks, the eastern sky will crowded with bright planets for the next few weeks. Tonight at 10 p.m., right as your graduation party is getting started, you can see Venus, the brightest planet, more than one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the west-northwest horizon. Three fists above the west-southwest horizon, you’ll see the planet Mars to the upper left of the star Regulus. They are about the same brightness as each other. Finally, Saturn is three and a half fists above the southwest horizon. Over the next few weeks, these planets will move towards each other in the sky.
Sunday: College of Arts and Humanities: You are the people who interpret the world in unique ways. Then, you share those ways with others. According to Greek mythology, Orpheus charmed everyone he met when he played the lyre or harp. After his wife died tragically, he journeyed to the underworld to charm its inhabitants in an effort to win his wife back to the living world. Your service reminder: use your talent to bring joy to others. The constellation Lyra and its bright star Vega should remind you of the power of the arts. Vega is five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Monday: What’s better than waking up to a new job offer? Waking up to a comet. Well, maybe not better but still pretty interesting. Comet C/2009 R1, also known as McNaught, is visible in the northeast sky at 4 a.m. First find Mirphak two and a half fists above the northeast horizon. Comet C/2009 R1 will be about a half a fist below Mirphak. You may need binoculars to see it. However since this is the first time Comet C/2009 R1 has entered the inner Solar System, its maximum brightness is difficult to predict.
Tuesday: College of Business. You are the future movers and shakers. The future CEOs. The future big donors to the university. Auriga represented a king of Athens who happened to be mobility impaired. Instead of sitting around waiting for others to transport him, he took the initiative to invent the four-wheeled chariot. He solved a problem for a special need. Your service reminder: address the problems of those in the most need. To remind you of that, look to the constellation Auriga. Its bright star Capella is about one fist above the north horizon at 11 p.m.
Wednesday: College of Education and Professional Studies. You are the teachers. The craftspeople. The facilitators of learning in a diverse world. Bootes, the herdsman, was such a person. Bootes’ job was to guide the northern constellations to the feeding place and the watering hole. He and his dogs were especially in charge of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the greater and lesser bears. Your service reminder: guide others to a better place in life. Look to the constellation Bootes and its bright star Arcturus to remind you of this. Arcturus is six fists above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Thursday: College of the Sciences. You are the people who will systematically study how the world works. Agriculture is an important scientific application. Each year, farmers must use the findings of science to be successful. Who better to represent the College of the Sciences than Virgo, the goddess of the harvest? Virgo looms large in the sky holding an ear of wheat in her hand. Your service reminder: study the practical aspects of the scientific world. The ear of wheat, and your service reminder, is represented by the bright star Spica. Spica is two and a half fists above the southwest horizon at 11 p.m.
Friday: Tonight’s first quarter Moon is in the constellation Virgo, about a fist below Saturn at 10 p.m.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Ellensburg sky for the week of 6/5/10
Saturday: In 1979, the group Foreigner recorded the song “Head Games”. They could have been singing about the constellations Hercules and Ophiuchus when they said “head games, it’s just you and me baby, head games, I can’t take it anymore” because the heads of these two constellations have been right next to each other in the nighttime sky for all of human history. Each head is represented by a star bears an Arabic name that means "the head." In Hercules, it's Ras Algethi (head of the kneeler); in Ophiuchus, Ras Alhague (head of the serpent charmer). At 11 p.m., Ras Alhague, the brighter of the two, is a little more than four fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon. Ras Algethi is about a half a fist to the upper right of Ras Alhague.
Sunday: For the next few months, Uranus and Jupiter will be neighbors in the sky. For the next couple of months, you’ll have to either get up early or stay up late to see them. At 4:30 a.m., they are two and a half fists above the southeast horizon. Jupiter is the brightest point of light in the area. You’ll need binoculars to see dim Uranus just to the upper left of Jupiter. This morning, Jupiter and Uranus are joined by the Moon
Monday: Mars is near Regulus in the sky for the next few nights. Tonight, Regulus, the dimmer of the two is less than a pinky width to the lower right of Mars. They are three fists above the west-southwest horizon tonight.
Tuesday: Mizar is a well known binary star in the constellation Ursa Major. You can find it at the bend in the Big Dipper handle, nearly straight overhead at 10 p.m. tonight. Its name is Arabic for waistband. Mizar has an optical double called Alcor which is less than a pinky width away and can easily be seen with the naked eye. Optical doubles are stars that are close together in the sky but do not orbit a common center of mass as true binary stars. Not wanting to deceive sky gazers who call Mizar a binary star, two stars that DO orbit a common center of mass, Mizar actually is a binary. It was the first binary star system discovered by telescope. Mizar A and Mizar B are about 400 astronomical units apart from each other and about 80 light years from Earth. 400 astronomical units is about 10 times the distance between the Sun and Pluto.
Wednesday: Saturn is four fists above the southwest horizon at 10 p.m.
Thursday: Venus lines up with the Gemini twins, Pollux and Castor, for the next couple of nights. Tonight Venus is about one fist above the west-northwest horizon. Pollux, the brighter of the “twins” is a half a fist to the right of Venus and Castor is another half fist to the right of Pollux.
Friday: Vega, probably the second star you’ll see tonight, is four fists above the east-northeast horizon at 9:30 p.m. Last week I wrote that Arcturus, high in the southeast sky, is most likely the first star you’ll see tonight. You DO remember me writing that, don’t you?
Wait a minute. We got all the way to the end of the week with no Moon phase summary? How can that be? There are 29.5 days between the same Moon phase in two different cycles. That means about 7.5 days between the phases new, first quarter, full and last quarter. Since a week is seven days, there are some weeks in which none of the main phases occur. This week, the Moon was always in the waning crescent phase.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
Sunday: For the next few months, Uranus and Jupiter will be neighbors in the sky. For the next couple of months, you’ll have to either get up early or stay up late to see them. At 4:30 a.m., they are two and a half fists above the southeast horizon. Jupiter is the brightest point of light in the area. You’ll need binoculars to see dim Uranus just to the upper left of Jupiter. This morning, Jupiter and Uranus are joined by the Moon
Monday: Mars is near Regulus in the sky for the next few nights. Tonight, Regulus, the dimmer of the two is less than a pinky width to the lower right of Mars. They are three fists above the west-southwest horizon tonight.
Tuesday: Mizar is a well known binary star in the constellation Ursa Major. You can find it at the bend in the Big Dipper handle, nearly straight overhead at 10 p.m. tonight. Its name is Arabic for waistband. Mizar has an optical double called Alcor which is less than a pinky width away and can easily be seen with the naked eye. Optical doubles are stars that are close together in the sky but do not orbit a common center of mass as true binary stars. Not wanting to deceive sky gazers who call Mizar a binary star, two stars that DO orbit a common center of mass, Mizar actually is a binary. It was the first binary star system discovered by telescope. Mizar A and Mizar B are about 400 astronomical units apart from each other and about 80 light years from Earth. 400 astronomical units is about 10 times the distance between the Sun and Pluto.
Wednesday: Saturn is four fists above the southwest horizon at 10 p.m.
Thursday: Venus lines up with the Gemini twins, Pollux and Castor, for the next couple of nights. Tonight Venus is about one fist above the west-northwest horizon. Pollux, the brighter of the “twins” is a half a fist to the right of Venus and Castor is another half fist to the right of Pollux.
Friday: Vega, probably the second star you’ll see tonight, is four fists above the east-northeast horizon at 9:30 p.m. Last week I wrote that Arcturus, high in the southeast sky, is most likely the first star you’ll see tonight. You DO remember me writing that, don’t you?
Wait a minute. We got all the way to the end of the week with no Moon phase summary? How can that be? There are 29.5 days between the same Moon phase in two different cycles. That means about 7.5 days between the phases new, first quarter, full and last quarter. Since a week is seven days, there are some weeks in which none of the main phases occur. This week, the Moon was always in the waning crescent phase.
The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week.
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