The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of November 27, 2021

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: We are just a few days away from the earliest sunsets of the year in Ellensburg. (No, the earliest sunsets  are not on the first day of winter.) So this is a good time to learn how to quantify the darkness of the sky. First find the Great Square, the main part of the constellation Pegasus. It is six fists above due south at 7:00 p.m. Find the dimmest star that you can see inside or near the square. Then compare that star to the chart at  https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/how-dark-is-your-night-sky/. The larger the magnitude number, the dimmer the star. When the sky is exceptionally dark, you can see more stars and more interesting deep-sky objects such as star clusters and nebulae.

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: At 5:00 p.m., the very bright point of light called Venus is about one fist above the south-southwestern horizon. Saturn is two fists to the upper left of Venus. Jupiter is another two fists to the upper left of Saturn, and three fists above the southern horizon.

Wednesday: Lacerta, the faint lizard constellation, is straight overhead at 6:00 p.m. It was named by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687 to fill the space between the much brighter and well-defined constellations Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Cygnus going clockwise from the constellation just south of Lacerta.

Thursday: Mars is a half a fist above the east-southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m., about halfway between the horizon and the waning crescent moon.

Friday: Get ready for a launch party. Tomorrow, the CWU Physics Department will host a virtual event celebrating the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The event will include a virtual department tour, activities, a planetarium show and a presentation by NASA scientist Dr. Susan Mullally. All this and you don’t even have to leave your home. Register at https://bit.ly/cwujameswebb for your personal invitation. The actual launch is later in the month. Go to https://jwst.nasa.gov/ for up to date information about the telescope.

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 November 20, 2021

Saturday: “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood.” Constellations can be considered neighborhoods in the nighttime sky. But, the stars in those constellations are not necessarily neighbors in real life. For example, the bright stars in the constellation Cassiopeia range from 19 light years to over 10,000 light years away from Earth. One constellation that consists of real neighbors is Ursa Major. Or, more specifically, the Big Dipper. Five stars in the Big Dipper are all moving in the same direction in space, are about the same age, and are all about 80 light years from Earth. “Please won’t you be my neighbor?” Skat, the third brightest star in the constellation Aquarius is a neighbor to these five Big Dipper stars, all of which are about 30 light years from each other. They are thought to have originated in the same nebula about 500 million years ago. Just like human children do, these child stars are slowly moving away from home. Skat is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above due south at 7:00 p.m. The much brighter Fomalhaut is a fist and a half below Skat. And, it’s not fun being below Skat. 

Sunday: Get ready for a launch party in two weeks. On December 4, the CWU Physics Department will host a virtual event celebrating the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The event will include a virtual department tour, activities, a planetarium show and a presentation by NASA scientist Dr. Susan Mullally. All this and you don’t even have to leave your home. Register at https://bit.ly/cwujameswebb for your personal invitation.  Please register by November 26 to receive free NASA materials and educational activities. The actual launch is later in the month. Go to https://jwst.nasa.gov/ for up to date information about the telescope.

Monday: The dwarf planet Ceres will be in opposition later this week. That doesn’t mean that refuses to listen. Opposition means that Ceres 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 an object. Ceres is about five fists above the southeast horizon at 10:00 p.m. The bad news is you’ll need binoculars to see it. The good news is it will be easy to find because it is next to a very prominent asterism. First aim your binoculars at the V-shaped snout of Taurus the bull, about five fists above the southeast horizon. There will be two medium bright stars of similar brightness in the upper right portion of your field of view. Ceres is about halfway between those. Revisit this spot for the next few nights. Ceres will move to the upper right compared to the two medium bright stars.

Tuesday: Are you thankful that you live in a solar system with multiple planets? You should be. A giant planet like Jupiter cleans up planetary debris that could have collided with Earth and hindered the formation of complex life. Any inhabitants of the planets orbiting Upsilon Andromedae are thankful for this, as well. Upsilon Andromedae, a star in the constellation Andromeda, was the first Sun-like star discovered to have multiple planets orbiting it. So far, all of its planets are giant planets like Jupiter. But, the system is likely to also contain smaller planets. The dim star, but certainly not its planets, is barely visible straight overhead at 9:00 p.m. Jupiter has set by then. You can see it three fists above the southern horizon at 6:00 p.m. Saturn is a little more than a fist to the lower right of Jupiter. The bright planet Venus is a half a fist above the southwestern horizon.

Wednesday: Deneb Kaitos, Arabic for whale’s tail, is two and a half fists above due south at 8:30 p.m. This is the brightest star in the constellation Cetus the sea monster. Or, if you are less prone to hyperbole, Cetus the whale.

Thursday: Some of us have a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. But, probably not as much as Andromeda had to be thankful for. According to Greek mythology, the beautiful princess Andromeda was chained to a rock next to the ocean. Cetus the sea monster was about to devour her in order to punish her family. Her mother Queen Cassiopeia and her father King Cepheus didn’t know what to do. It seemed that all was lost. But, along came Andromeda’s boyfriend, the great warrior Perseus. Even though Perseus’ standing as the son of King Zeus and the slayer of Medusa was probably enough to win Andromeda under normal circumstances, Andromeda’s impending death-by-sea-monster was not a normal circumstance. So, Perseus drove his sword into the sea monster’s neck and killed it. This was the first time in recorded history that a set of parents actually welcomed an uninvited Thanksgiving visit from the boyfriend. Perseus is about five fists above the east-northeastern horizon and Andromeda is about seven fists above the eastern horizon at 7:00 p.m.

Friday: Mars is a half a fist above the east-southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.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 November 13, 2021

Saturday: The Leonid meteor shower peaks Wednesday morning. But there will be increased activity for the next few days. These meteors appear to come from a point in the constellation Leo the lion. This point is about one fist above the east-northeast horizon at midnight tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night and into the morning, as it will remain about one fist above the bright star Regulus. The Moon is tending towards full for the next few evenings so its light will interfere with viewing. The Leonid meteors are particles from the tail of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, a comet discovered by Ernst Tempel and Horace Parnell Tuttle in 1866. These are exceptionally fast moving meteors – over 150,000 miles per hour! Go to https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-leonid-meteor-shower/ to read everything you need to know about the Leonid meteor shower. As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment.

Sunday: Would you like to visit Mars? How about America’s desert Southwest? Not enough time? Then just look at some photos from… from…. Hmmm. The photos at https://goo.gl/Elx7O8 look like they could be from either place. The Murray Buttes region of Mars, where the Curiosity rover has been exploring, looks a lot like the landscape of Utah. So much so that the Mars-based movie John Carter was filmed in the desert of southern Utah. Look for John Carter at your local video store. Listen to the soundtrack on your cassette player. Then take a Polaroid selfie of you enjoying each experience. Mars is a half a fist above the east-southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m.

Monday: Venus is one fist above the southeastern horizon at 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Lieutenant Worf, the Klingon Starfleet officer on Star Trek: The Next Generation, might say “Today is a good day to die.” But Deneb, the bright supergiant star in Cygnus the Swan would say “two million years from now is a good day to die.” This may seem like a long time. But, compared to the lifespan of most stars, two million years from now is as close as tomorrow. For example, the Sun will last about five billion years. Small stars known as red dwarfs may last trillions of years. Prepare your astronomically short goodbyes to Deneb tonight at 7:00 o’clock when it is seven fists above the western horizon.

Wednesday: Jupiter is three fists above due south at 6:00 p.m. Saturn is a fist and a half to the lower right of Jupiter.

Thursday: Tonight’s full moon will be mostly eclipsed by the Earth. That makes it a mostly lunar eclipse. Wait. That’s not an official term. It is a partial lunar eclipse. Nearly the entire moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow. The partial eclipse begins at about 11:20 p.m. The peak eclipse occurs at 1:02 a.m., when 97% of the moon is eclipsed. The partial eclipse ends at 2:47 a.m. Learn more about the eclipse, and look up the eclipse times for anywhere in the world, at https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2021-november-19.

Friday: What do Justin Bieber and Betelgeuse have in common? Both are superstars. One will shine brightly for about a few hundred thousand more years. The other will only seem to be around for that long. “Sorry” Beliebers. “If you Love Yourself”, you and your “Boyfriend” need to learn more about Betelgeuse, the real supergiant star that is big enough to hold about one million Suns. “What Do You Mean” you don’t know where to look? For more information about Betelgeuse, go to http://goo.gl/0MyfHT. You’ll find it one fist above due east at 11 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 November 6, 2021

Saturday: Before you fall back on your bed tonight, set your clock back one hour to the real time. Daylight savings ends early Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. This means one more hour of sky watching in the evening because the Sun will set one hour earlier. Ben Franklin proposed the idea of “saving daylight” by adjusting our clocks way back in 1784. Daylight savings time was first utilized during World War I as a way to save electricity. After the war, it was abandoned. It was reintroduced during World War II on a year-round basis. From 1945 to 1966, some areas implemented daylight savings and some did not. Also, it was not implemented with any uniformity as to when it should start and stop. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 codified the daylight savings rules. Some states would like to adopt daylight savings year around.

The CWU campus is mostly open. However, for fall quarter, the First Saturday Planetarium Shows will be online. The Physics Department is hosting the First Saturday VIRTUAL planetarium show today from noon to 1:00 p.m. CWU Teach STEM students Kendra Gardner and Grace Warren will present about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and game based learning, featuring an interactive game they developed. The presentation will also include the electromagnetic spectrum and some celestial objects. There will be a virtual planetarium show on the first Saturday of every month for the rest of the school year. Stay at home, practice good physical distancing, and visit http://tiny.cc/sy3luz to attend online using Zoom.

Sunday: The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks this week. The peak of the peak is the night of November 11/12. These are slow moving meteors that result in the occasional fireball. The Taurid meteor showers produce a few bright meteors every hour. The Moon will set at about midnight. These meteors appear to come from a point in Taurus the bull, near the open star cluster called the Pleiades. This point is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east horizon at 8 p.m. You can follow this point throughout the night, as it will remain one fist above the V-shaped Hyades Cluster with its bright star Aldebaran (pronounced Al-deb’-a-ran). Meteors are tiny rocks that burn up in the atmosphere when the Earth runs into them. These rocks are broken off parts of Comet 2P/Encke.

Monday: Mercury and Mars are very close together in the predawn sky this week. They are about a half a fist held upright and at arm’s length above the east-southeastern horizon at 6:30 a.m. Mercury is the brighter of the two. By Wednesday, they will be right next to each other in the sky.

Tuesday: While Stonehenge is an ancient burial ground visited by religious people for thousands of years, MIThenge is an 825-foot long hallway on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology visited by the Sun’s rays twice a year. Every year in November and January, the setting Sun lines up with a narrow window at the end of the long hall and the light shines down to the opposite end. This season’s alignment is from November 9-11. For more information, visit http://goo.gl/0hwFQf or visit MIT. In addition, challenge yourself to find a similar alignment in your neighborhood.

Wednesday: Venus is one fist above the south-southwest horizon at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday: Are you planning on opening your Martinmas gifts today? Martinmas is a holiday in many parts of the world commemorating Saint Martin of Tours. He was buried on November 11, 397. What does this have to do with astronomy? Not much except that the celebration on November 11 often doubles as a cross-quarter day celebration, a day that is halfway between an equinox and a solstice. Also, according to an agricultural calendar, November 11 marks the practical beginning of winter.

Friday: Jupiter is about a two and a half fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 5:30 p.m. Saturn is a fist and a half to the lower right of Jupiter.

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.