Saturday: This
week brings a special treat to the morning sky. Two of the most interesting
planets to look at with binoculars or a small telescope dance past each other
in the sky. At 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, they are about one fist held upright
and at arm’s length above the east-southeast horizon. Saturn is about a
thumb-width to the lower left of the much brighter Venus. With binoculars, you
should be able to find Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, about eight
Saturn-diameters to the lower left of Saturn.
Sunday: Most
constellations don’t look like the object their name refers to. Most
constellations don’t have such a simple to object to emulate as Triangulum. As
you probably guessed, Triangulum is shaped like a princess. Wait…. Just a
second…. I read my book wrong. Triangulum is shaped like a thin isosceles
triangle. Mothallah is the only named star in the constellation. In Latin this
star is called Caput Trianguli, the head of the triangle. Triangulum is seven
fists held upright and at arm’s length above the south horizon at 9 p.m. It is
pointing down and to the right with Mothallah being the southernmost star at
this time of night. The Triangulum Galaxy can be seen with binoculars about a
half a fist to the right of Mothallah.
Monday: Venus
and Saturn are about as close together as they are going to get in the morning
sky at 6 a.m. They would both fit into the field of view of a small backyard
telescope at less than a degree apart. While you are looking through your
binoculars or small telescope, look at Saturn’s rings. They look so delicate.
But they may have formed by violently shredding the outer envelop of an ancient
moon before it collided with Saturn. For more information about Saturn’s rings,
go to http://goo.gl/tjcSN.
Tuesday: 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.
Wednesday:
Well, it is late November. It is time to set the beaver traps before the swamps
freeze so you have a supply of warm winter furs. You must be getting ready to
do that because the November full moon is known as the full beaver moon. Or
maybe you shop for winter coats at a fine Ellensburg business (shop local). If
that is the case, you may think the name full beaver moon came about because
the beavers, themselves, are preparing for winter. Setting their human traps for…
I guess I shouldn’t continue that thought.
Thursday: Jupiter
and the moon trek through the sky together tonight. They rise at about 4:30
p.m., just as the Sun sets. Look for them in the east-northeast sky. If you
want an observing challenge, see if you can spot the bright star Aldebaran
before 5 p.m. It is to the lower right of the moon. In fact, observing the
relative positions of Jupiter, the moon, and Aldebaran throughout the night
will show you how the different objects appear to move with respect to each
other. Because Aldebaran is so far away, its observable motion is completely
due to the Earth’s rotation. Jupiter, as one of the outer planets, moves
slightly with respect to the background stars from night to night. If you
carefully measured the distance between Jupiter and Aldebaran in the sky each night,
you’d notice a change. The moon, being our nearest neighbor and being in orbit
around us, moves noticeable with respect to the background stars throughout the
night. By 9 p.m., the moon and Jupiter are twice as far apart from each other
as they were at 5 p.m.
Friday: Do
you like to look in a nursery and say “it’s a boy” or “it’s a girl”? Not me. I
say, “It’s a star”. Of course, I like looking into a stellar nursery – a star
forming region such as the Orion Nebula in the middle of Orion’s sword holder.
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.
The
positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically
accurate for the entire week.
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