The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of August 17, 2019

Saturday: “The sky is black (or light polluted), the stars are white (or red or orange or yellow or blue), the whole world gazes upon the sight (except where there are too many city lights or people are lazy.” Wow. It is difficult to write a flowing set of lyrics when there are so many parenthetical thoughts. Most people think of the sky’s blackness as a lack of stars. But dark patches in the Milky Way are actually massive clouds of dust that are blocking the stars behind them. Two of the most prominent are dark nebulae B142 and B143 in the constellation Aquila the eagle. These are easy to find and enjoy with binoculars. First find the bright white star Altair, five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon at 10 p.m. Then move your binoculars up a little bit to the next bright star Tarazed, about one fifth as bright. B142 and B143 are to the upper right of Tarazed. They make an “E” shape in the sky; fitting because it was American astronomer E. E. Barnard who first proposed that these were dust clouds and not simply big spaces between the stars. For more information about dark nebula, including many more to look at with binoculars, go to https://goo.gl/9tiqdh. 

Sunday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the south-southwestern horizon and Saturn is two fists above the southern horizon at 10:00 p.m.

Monday: Fomalhaut, the southernmost bright star, is a half a fist above the southeastern horizon at 11:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Need a caffeine pick-me-up? Make it a double. Need an astronomy pick-me-up? Make it a double double. Find Vega, in the constellation Lyra the lyre, nearly straight overhead at 10:00 tonight. Less than half a fist to the east (or left if you are facing south) of the bright bluish star Vega is the “star” Epsilon Lyra. If you look at Epsilon Lyra through binoculars, it looks like two stars. If you look at Epsilon Lyra through a large enough telescope, you will notice that each star in the pair is itself a pair of stars.  Each star in the double is double. Hence, Epsilon Lyra is known as the double double. The stars in each pair orbit a point approximately in the center of each respective pair. The pairs themselves orbit a point between the two pairs.

Wednesday: If you want to show your loved ones a celestial sign that they should hang up their clothes, show them Brocchi's Cluster, commonly known as the Coat Hanger cluster because of its resemblance to an upside down coat hanger. The cluster is six fists above the southern horizon at 11 p.m., midway between Altair and Vega, the two brightest stars in the Summer Triangle. You'll need binoculars to make out the shape. First find Altair five fists above the south horizon. Slowly move your binoculars up toward Vega. You will run into the coat hanger along the way. And while you are at it, put away your shoes.

Thursday: Let’s all sing the galactic black hole monster song: “D is for dusty, that’s good enough for me. D is for dusty that’s good enough for me. D is for dusty that’s good enough for me. Oh dusty, dusty, dusty starts with D.” Astronomers know that spiral galaxies such as our own have super massive black holes in the center, black holes that are billions of times the mass of the Sun. They thought they got to be this massive by mergers where two galaxies collide and the gas, dust and black holes at the center of each colliding galaxy form a larger central black hole. But many distant galaxies show no signs of galactic mergers. Astronomers think the black holes at the center of these galaxies grew simply by snacking on the gas and dust that comes from supernova explosions and normal star formation. Just like the Cookie Monster gains weight by snacking on individual cookies rather than eating a cookie factory. Cookie crumbs, I mean dust, block your view of the center of our galaxy.  It is about one fist above the southern horizon at 10 p.m., between the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius. For more information, go to http://goo.gl/L9ppJf.

Friday: The Moon is in the Hyades Cluster late tonight at 2:00 a.m. The bright star Aldebaran is about a thumb width to the lower right of the Moon. 

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. 

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of August 10, 2019

Since the Perseid Meteor Shower peak this weekend will be difficult to see because of the full or nearly full Moon, let’s focus on a universe that never disappoints: Harry Potter. For those of you who still want to view the Perseids, here are some tips for dealing with the moonlit skies.

Saturday: One minor Harry Potter character actually has two well-known star names: Regulus Arcturus Black, the brother of Sirius Black who is Harry Potter’s godfather. Regulus Black was a former follower of Voldemort, the bad guy of the Harry Potter series. However, Regulus tried to dissociate himself from Voldemort and was killed. In the sixth book, Harry found an important note written by someone known only by the initials R.A.B. Hmmm. R.A.B. Regulus Arcturus Black perhaps? 

Sunday: Regulus is lost in the glare of the setting Sun at this time of year. Arcturus, the second brightest star visible in the nighttime sky in Washington and at Hogwarts., is three and a half fists above the western horizon at 10 p.m. The bright star Spica is below Arcturus, just barely above the west-southwestern horizon.

Monday: Bellatrix Lestrange is Sirius Black’s cousin. But, far from being kissing cousins. They are killing cousins. Bellatrix kills Sirius in a fight at the Ministry of Magic. Bellatrix the star is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion the hunter. It is two fists above the east-southeastern horizon at 5:00 a.m.

Tuesday: Of course, Bellatrix is in cahoots with “he who must not be named”. Now, that’s a poorly written sentence, using an obscure synonym for “conspiring” and a vague reference. I must be under the curse “writicus dreadfulium”. Clearly this is the work of Tom Riddle, whose mother is named Merope Gaunt. Merope is a star in the Pleiades, an open star cluster about five fists above the east horizon at 5:00 a.m.

Wednesday: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s young nemesis, is related to Sirius Black. Draco’s mother, Narcissa Black (Sirius’ cousin), helped develop a plan to trap Harry at the Ministry of Magic in the fifth book. Draco’s namesake, the constellation Draco the dragon, is one of the largest constellations in the sky, winding around the North Star. Draco’s head is a four-sided figure nearly straight overhead at 9:30 p.m.

Thursday: Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, is one and a half fists above the south-southwestern horizon at 9:00 p.m., right below the much brighter Jupiter. Draco Malfoy was so impressed with this constellation name that he used it for the first name of his son.

Friday: Not every woman in the Black family is evil. Let’s focus on the good. Andromeda Black, Bellatrix’s sister, is a good witch and the mother of Tonks, a young witch from the last few Harry Potter books. (If these Harry Potter references are confusing, you better start reading the books.) Andromeda the constellation is an interesting one. It contains the Andromeda galaxy, the most distant object visible with the naked eye from a dark site. To locate the Andromeda Galaxy, first find the Great Square of Pegasus. At 11:00 p.m., the left hand corner of the square is about three and a half fists above the eastern horizon. Less than two fists to the left and down a little bit is another star the same brightness as the star at the corner of the square. From that star, hop about a half a fist up to a star that is about one fourth as bright. Less than another half fist in the same direction is a fuzzy oval patch of light known as the Andromeda Galaxy. The galaxy is impressive to see in binoculars. It consists of about one trillion stars and is 2.5 million light years away.

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. 

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of August 3, 2019

Saturday:  The Perseid meteor shower is next weekend. But the Moon will be full then so it may be better to do your Perseid viewing this week. The meteors appear to come from a point just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia. This point is about two and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the northeast horizon at 11 p.m. By dawn, this point is about seven fists above the northeast horizon. If you fall asleep or forget to set your alarm, you will be able to observe this shower from about 11 p.m. to dawn for the next few nights in about the same location in the sky. The Perseid shower is one of the longest lasting showers. The Moon will be new or close to new for the next few nights. For tips about optimizing your viewing this year, go to http://earthsky.org/?p=2087. As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. These meteors are sand to pea-sized bits of rock that fell off of Comet Swift-Tuttle. They are traveling about 40 miles per second as they collide with the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Sunday: Saturn is two fists above the south horizon at 11 p.m.

Monday: Spica is less than a fist to the lower left of the Moon at 9 p.m.

Tuesday: Many big city dwellers never see the milky white, nearly continuous band of stars known as the Milky Way. As cities grow and add more lights, it has become harder to see the bulk of the Milky Way galaxy, our home in the universe. But, there are two easy ways to see the Milky Way. The first way is to look in the mirror. You are part of the Milky Way. The second way is to look from the north-northeastern horizon through the point nearly straight overhead (called the zenith) to the south-southwestern horizon from 10:00 p.m. to midnight for the next few weeks. This is the time of year when the Milky Way is highest in the sky and away from the city lights on the horizon.

Wednesday: Mercury is near its greatest western elongation for the next few mornings, meaning it is a far as it will get from the Sun in the morning sky this orbit.

Thursday: When the Moon is full, as it will be next week, it is difficult to see dim objects in the sky because of the sky glow. But why struggle to find dim objects when there is so much to see on the big, bright object in front of you? The lunar crater called Tycho is best seen during a full Moon. Tycho was formed about 109 million years ago when an asteroid struck the Moon, leaving a crater over 50 miles in diameter and ejected dust trails that radiate out hundreds of miles in all directions. For more lunar highlights, go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/ObserveMoon.pdf, a resource of the Night Sky Network.

Friday: The Moon, Jupiter, and Antares make a line in the sky today. Jupiter is less than half a fist to the lower right of the Moon and Antares is about a half a fist beyond Jupiter. By the way, I did say “today”. This would be a good day to try see Jupiter while the Sun is out. First find the Moon two fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 8 p.m. Jupiter is about two finger widths to the right-lower right of the Moon. It would help to find it with binoculars first.

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. 

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 27, 2019

Saturday:  The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks this week and on into mid-August. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Aquarius near the star Delta Aquarii, also known as Skat. This point is about one and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon at 1 am tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night, as it will remain a fist above Fomalhaut, the brightest star in that section of the sky. Since the New Moon is this week, the skys will be exceptionally dark during prime meteor watching time. For more information about this year’s shower, go to https://earthsky.org/?p=159138.  As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Sunday: Aldebaran and the Hyades Cluster are one fist to the upper right of the Moon at 5 a.m.

Monday: Mizar is a well-known binary star in the constellation Ursa Major. You can find it at the bend in the Big Dipper handle, five fists above the west-northwestern horizon at 10 p.m. 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 Alcor and 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.

Tuesday: Jupiter is two fists above the southern horizon and Saturn is a little less than two fists above the south-southwestern horizon at 10 p.m.

Wednesday: What you see with the naked eye isn’t all that can be seen. While astronomers can learn a lot from observing the sky in the visible wavelengths, many celestial objects radiate more light, and more information, in wavelengths such as radio, microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray. In 2012, NASA launched the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to study objects that radiate in the infrared range such as asteroids, cool dim stars, and luminous galaxies. For an interesting comparison of how different wavelengths show different aspects of celestial objects, go to http://goo.gl/nvuax. For example, if it weren’t for infrared telescopes such as WISE, astronomers would not know about the significant amount of dust in galaxies. We also wouldn’t know how much brighter than the Sun red supergiant stars are. Antares is a red supergiant star, currently sitting at one and a half fists above the south-southwestern horizon and one fist to the lower right of the much brighter (and much closer) Jupiter. In the visible wavelengths, Antares shines 10,000 times brighter than the Sun. But since Antares is much cooler that the Sun, its energy distribution peaks in the infrared. So across all wavelengths of light, Antares shines 60,000 times brighter than the Sun.

Thursday: The planet Mercury is less than a half a fist above the east-northeastern horizon at 5 a.m., just ahead of the rising Sun. It is about a fist to the lower right of the Gemini twin stars, Pollux and Castor.

Friday: It is not winter yet. But Orion, thought of as a winter constellation, is just above the east-southeastern horizon at 5 a.m. By the actual winter, it will be visible in the evening sky. 

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.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 20, 2019

Saturday:  Take a two and a half hour walk today. Too long, you say? Fifty years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first ever walk by humans on another world. They spend two and a half hours setting up scientific instruments and collecting rocks for study back on Earth. Their colleague Michael Collins orbited the Moon in the spacecraft the astronauts would use to return to Earth. While everyone seems to know about Armstrong and Aldrin, spend some time learning more about Collins by reading https://time.com/5624528/michael-collins-apollo-11/.

Sunday: You’ve seen the images and heard the recordings of Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin. Now look at their craters. They range in size from 2.4 to 4.6 km in diameter and are located just north of the Apollo 11 landing site. If you want to see them yourself, get up at about 4:00 a.m. this morning or tomorrow morning when the Moon is highest in the southern sky. Then borrow your neighbor’s eight inch or larger telescope. If you don’t live in that neighborhood, just look at the pictures at https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/celebrate-apollo-11-armstrong-aldrin-collins-craters/. 

Monday: Academic interest in the Moon started long before the Apollo missions. Galileo was the first scientist to widely publish his lunar observations. Since then, hundreds of astronomers have studied the Moon. To celebrate Apollo 11, read about 11 lunar stars here:

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/before-apollo-scientists-who-discovered-moon/. 

Tuesday: Take a break from thinking about the Moon by thinking about meteors. The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower has a long gradual peak for the next few weeks into mid-August. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Aquarius near the star Delta Aquarii, also known as Skat. This point is about two and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeast horizon at 3 am early this morning. You can follow this point throughout the night and for the next few weeks, as it will remain a fist above Fomalhaut, the brightest star in that section of the sky. Since the Moon is near Skat tonight, use your time wisely by reading about the shower, at https://earthsky.org/?p=159138.  As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Wednesday: Jupiter is two fists above due south at 10 p.m. Even though it is the largest planet, it would be dwarfed by Antares, a red supergiant star less than one fist to the lower right of it. If Antares replaced our Sun, it would fill up the Solar System nearly all the way out to Jupiter. 

Thursday: Saturn is two fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 11:00 p.m.

Friday: The Gemini twins, Castor and then Pollux, rise just before the Sun. They are both less than a fist below the northeastern horizon at 4:45 a.m. Pollux is the brightest star, as measured from Earth, with a confirmed planet in orbit. It is likely that there are brighter stars with undiscovered planets.

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.

The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of July 13, 2019

Saturday:  Jupiter is a half a fist to the right of the Moon in the southern sky at 10 p.m. Since this week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, it is fitting that the Moon will be prominent in the night sky all week. Warm up for the week by reading 50 Apollo 11 facts at http://mentalfloss.com/article/585759/apollo-11-moon-landing-facts. 

Sunday: Four years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons probe passed by Pluto. If the band Nirvana was still together, they’d probably rewrite one of their hit songs to be called Heart-Shaped Spot, after one of Pluto’s most distinctive features. “She eyes me like a dwarf planet when I am weak. I’ve been imaging your heart-shaped spot for weeks.” Astronomers think this heart-shaped spot is a large plain of nitrogen ice that consists of convective cells 10-30 miles across. Solid nitrogen is warmed in the interior of Pluto, becomes buoyant, and bubbles up to the surface like a lava lamp. You will find great pictures and information about what New Horizons found this past year at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/. Pluto, itself, is one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon, a half a fist to the lower left of the much brighter Saturn.

Hey, wait, I’ve got a new complaint. People should be more interested in astronomy. Hopefully all of the Apollo 11 news will help build this interest in more people.

Monday: Saturn is in the southeastern sky,  about a thumb width to the left of the Moon at 10 p.m. In a few decades, future generations may be celebrating the first Saturn Moon landing just like we are celebrating the first Earth Moon landing. Last month, NASA announced the first step in the process: an innovative mission to send a flier, nicknamed the Dragonfly, to explore diverse parts of Titan. The Dragonfly, launching in 2026 and landing in 2034, will analyze samples from various dunes and craters to study the past and present chemical processes on Titan. For more information about the mission, go to https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-dragonfly-will-fly-around-titan-looking-for-origins-signs-of-life. Titan is visible through a pair of 10X50 binoculars tonight, about Saturn-ring-diameters to the left of Saturn.

Tuesday: Tonight’s Moon is full. This is a great opportunity to really study our nearest neighbor. Download the Skywatcher’s Guide to the Moon at https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/ObserveMoon.pdf. It shows some of the largest features as well as the location for each of the six human Moon landings.

Wednesday: Say "Cheese". 169 years ago today, Vega, in the constellation Lyra the lyre, became the first star ever photographed. The photograph was taken at the Harvard Observatory using the daguerreotype process. Vega is the third brightest night time star we can see in Ellensburg, behind Sirius and Arcturus. Vega is nearly straight overhead at 11:00 tonight. 

Thursday: Deneb Algedi, the brightest “star” in the constellation Capricornus is about a thumb width to the upper left of the Moon tonight. They are low in the southeastern sky at 11 p.m. The word “star” is in quotes because it makes me sound pretentious. And because Deneb Algedi, which means “the tail of the goat” (there’s that pretentiousness again) in Arabic, is actually a four star system.

Friday: Say “good-bye” to Regulus tonight, before it gets lost in the glare of the setting Sun. It is less than a half a fist above the west-northwestern horizon at 9:45 p.m.

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. 

The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of July 6, 2019

Today:  Say “Goodbye” to Mars before it is too late. Mars less than a half a fist held upright and at arm’s length above the west-northwest horizon at 9:30 p.m. Last month, the Mars Curiosity rover measured the highest amount of methane ever found on the Martian surface. This is relevant for the search for life because most methane on Earth is produced by living things such as microbes in the stomachs of cattle. But before you considering mooooooving to Mars, remember that some geologic processes also produce methane. Read all about Martian methane at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01981-2. 

Sunday: The bright star Regulus is one fist above the west horizon at 10 p.m.

Monday: Look straight up at midnight. The head of Draco the dragon will be looking straight down on you. The brightest star in the head is called Eltanin. If you chose to wait for a VERY long time, Eltanin will be the brightest star in the night sky. Currently 154 light years away, it is moving towards Earth and will be only 28 light years away in about 1.3 million years, claiming the title as the brightest star.

Tuesday: Saturn is in opposition tonight. That doesn’t mean that Saturn is stubborn. Opposition means that Saturn is on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun. When an object is in opposition, it is at its highest point in the sky during the darkest time of the day. Thus, opposition is typically the best time to observe a planet. Saturn is about two fists above due south at 1 a.m. It is about one fist above due southeast at 10 p.m. Careful readers of this column should realize they could be doing something much more interesting. But they also may recall that Saturn is in opposition on nearly the same date every year: June 14, 2017. June 26, 2018. An outer planet is in opposition when Earth passes it up as both orbit the Sun. The farther out a planet is, the less it has moved along its orbit, and the closer it is to exactly one year from one Earth passing to the next. For comparison, it is about 18 months between successive oppositions for Mars.

Wednesday: Being in a coma is a bad thing. Looking at the Coma Star Cluster is a good thing. The Coma Star Cluster is an open cluster of about 50 stars that takes up more space in the sky than 10 full Moons. It looks like a fuzzy patch with the naked eye. Binoculars reveal dozens of sparkling stars. A telescope actually diminishes from the spectacle because the cluster is so big and the telescope’s field of view is so small. The Coma Star Cluster is in the faint constellation Coma Berenices (ba-ron-ice’-ez) or Queen Berenice’s hair. Queen Berenice of Egypt cut off her beautiful hair as a sacrifice to the gods for the safe return of her husband Ptolemy III from battle. The Coma Star Cluster is about four fists held upright and at arm’s length above the west horizon at 11:00 p.m. 

Thursday: Mizar is a star in the middle of the Big Dipper handle. Don’t confuse Mizar 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 outsmarted. Mizar doesn’t play as big a role in its episode. It is the star of the homeworld 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.

Friday: Moon, Jupiter, and Antares make an equilateral triangle in the southern sky at 10 pm. Jupiter is about one fist to the lower left of the Moon and Antares is about one fist below the Moon.

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.