Saturday: The
CWU Physics Department and the College of the Sciences is hosting its monthly
First Saturday planetarium show today from noon to 1 p.m. CWU Bruce Palmquist
will give a presentation about the highlights of the winter sky. It’s more than
just snow and clouds. The show is free and open to all ages. There will be a
show at noon on the first Saturday of every month of the school year hosted by
different CWU astronomers and astronomy educators. The CWU Lydig Planetarium is
room 101 in Science Phase II, just off the corner of 11th and Wildcat Way, H-11
on the campus map found at https://www.cwu.edu/facility/campus-map.
Sunday: Venus is
two and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast
horizon at 6:45 a.m. It is at its brightest point this celestial cycle, shining
more than twice as bright as when it at its dimmest. The much less bright
Mercury is less than a half a fist above the east-southeast horizon at this
time.
Monday: The
earliest sunset of the year in Ellensburg, Washington occurs throughout the week: 4:13 p.m.
This seems odd because the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, isn’t
for about two more weeks. 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 sunrise
and sunset times depend on more than the Sun’s apparent southward motion in the
sky. 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 leading edge of
the analemma, the first section to go below the horizon. For a slightly
different explanation about this, go to http://goo.gl/kjnHP. Or just go watch
the sunset. But don’t stare at the Sun.
Tuesday: Comet
46P/Wirtanen is closing in on the Earth and will make its closest approach on
December 16. Currently, you need binoculars to see it but some astronomers
estimate it could be visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions. It is
about three fists above due south at 10 p.m. Don’t look for a sharp point of
light, however. Comet 46P will look like a diffuse cloud about the same angular
size as the Full Moon, or even larger. For more information and a finder chart,
go to https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/comet-46p-wirtanen-approaches-earth/.
Wednesday: Most
constellations don’t look like the object their name refers to. That’s because
most constellations don’t have such a simple to object to emulate as Triangulum
does. Triangulum is shaped like a… wait for it…. wait for it…. A thin isosceles
triangle. Metallah is the only mononymous star in the constellation. In Latin
this star is called Caput Trianguli, the head of the triangle. Triangulum is
seven fists above due south horizon at 9 p.m. It is pointing down and to the
right with Metallah 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 Metallah.
Thursday: Saturn is
a half a fist above the southwest horizon at 5 p.m. Mars is three fists above
the south-southeast horizon. Neptune is just to the left of Mars but you’ll
need binoculars to see it.
Friday: Earlier
this week, we learned that the early December evenings are getting darker
earlier than any time of the year. While the sky is getting darker earlier, the
nighttime sky is actually getting lighter due to the greater use of low energy
LED bulbs. While these bulbs use much less energy that incandescent or compact
fluorescent bulbs, researchers think that people and communities are using more
of the bulbs and leaving them on longer. This is increasing light pollution
near cities. You can get more illumination on the subject at https://goo.gl/1CdqcH.
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 https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
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