Saturday:
“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 spot-on 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 a half a fist held upright and
at arm’s length above the east-northeast horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Sunday: Is
that favorite astronomy-loving relative of yours asking for a telescope this
Christmas? Well, she’s your favorite so get her what she wants with cost being
no object. But if that so-so relative of yours would like a telescope, look no
further than this Sky and Telescope article about low cost telescopes http://goo.gl/40zd6. The
authors review and recommend three telescopes for under $100 at the time of
publication. If your hated acquaintance wants an astronomy gift, show them a
copy this column. After such a dud “gift”, you’ll never hear from them again.
And that may be the best gift of all.
Monday: Jupiter
is one fist above the east-northeast horizon at 11 p.m.
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 fists above the
northeast horizon at 6 p.m., about a fist below the sideways “W” of Cassiopeia
and three fists above the bright star Capella.
Wednesday:
Have you even seen a Black Hole? Neither have scientists. But they have seen
the effects of a Black Hole. Black holes have a strong gravitational influence
on anything that passes close to them, including light. Cygnus X-1, the first
Black Hole candidate ever discovered, is six fists above the west horizon at 7
p.m., in the middle of the neck of Cygnus the swan. NASA launched the Chandra
X-ray observatory in 1999 to study black hole candidates and other high-energy
events.
Thursday: I
am guessing that some of you don’t like the line of reasoning from Wednesday:
that seeing the effects of a Black Hole is good enough to claim there are Black
Holes. You have never seen the wind. But, you have seen the effects of the
wind. And no Ellensburg resident doubts the existence of the wind.
Friday: Saturn
is more than a half a fist above the east-southeast horizon at 7 a.m. Because
of this, I am no longer calling it a challenging object to find.
The
positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically
accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky,
go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
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