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 today 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 above the east-northeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Sunday: There is a lunar eclipse tonight visible throughout the entire United States. But don’t get too excited. It is a penumbral eclipse, when the Moon passes through the penumbral, or partial, shadow of the Earth. The Moon will get a little dimmer but will not be obscured or look red, like during a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse goes from 11:32 Pacific Standard Time tonight to 3:53 tomorrow morning, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 1:43 a.m..
Monday: Have you been online 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 five and a half fists above the northeastern horizon at 6:00 p.m., about a fist below the sideways “W” of Cassiopeia and three fists above the bright star Capella.
Tuesday: Venus is just over one fist above the southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m.
Wednesday: Jupiter is one and a half fists above the south-southwestern horizon at 5:00 p.m. Saturn is less than a half a fist to the upper left of Jupiter.
Thursday: Did you miss taking a Thanksgiving weekend vacation because of COVID-19? Then take a virtual vacation to a black hole. NASA scientists have just developed a visualization to show how light moves in the vicinity of a black hole. Book your ticket soon at https://tinyurl.com/y4z5pm2p.
Friday: The CWU campus is mostly closed. But astronomy learning lives on! The Physics Department is hosting a First Saturday VIRTUAL planetarium show tomorrow from noon to 1:00 p.m. CWU professor Bruce Palmquist will give a show called “Put a ring on it: a tour of the Saturn system”. This tour will visit all of Saturn’s largest moons to learn about their surface features and other characteristics. There is a virtual planetarium show on the first Saturday of nearly every month of the school year. Stay at home, practice good physical distancing, and visit https://cwu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkce-qpjouHdBch42LCnF-XCLW62c4n8t_ to register for the show.
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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