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.
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