Saturday: The two meteor showers centered in the constellation Taurus peak this week and next. That means there will be increased meteor activity in western Taurus, about five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon at midnight. This is when the best meteor watching begins.
Before you fall back on your bed tonight, set your clock
back one hour to the real time. Daylight Saving Time 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 Saving Time was
first used during World War I 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 saving 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 saving rules. It also
banished the “s” as the correct term is daylight saving time, not daylight savings
time.
Sunday: Antares is right above the young crescent moon. Both
are just above due southwest at 5:00 p.m. The elusive planet Mercury is one
fist to the right of the moon.
Monday: The Southern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight.
These are slow moving meteors that result in the occasional fireball. The
Taurid meteor showers produce a few bright meteors every hour. The waxing
crescent moon will set before midnight, leaving the sky dark for the meteors.
These meteors appear to come from a point in Taurus the bull, about two fists
held at arm’s length to the right of the open star cluster called the Hyades.
This point is about five fists above the south-southeast horizon at midnight.
The “V” of the Hyades cluster points at the center of the Southern Taurid
shower. 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. Go to https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/taurid-meteors-all-you-need-to-know/
for more information.
Tuesday: Venus is about a half a fist above the southwest
horizon at 5:30 p.m., just to the right of the crescent moon.
Wednesday: If you looked for Taurid meteors to the
right of the Hyades, you may have wondered about the bright object to the left
of the Hyades cluster. That is the planet Jupiter. You don’t have to stay up
late to see it. It is two fists above the eastern horizon at 9:00 p.m. At this
same time, Saturn is three fists above the south-southwestern horizon.
Thursday: Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky,
is a half a fist above the southeastern horizon at 11:30 p.m.
Friday: Is visiting Mars too unrealistic? How about
America’s desert Southwest? Still not happening? 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 8-track tape player. Then take a Polaroid selfie of you
enjoying each experience. Mars is one and a half fists above the
east-northeastern horizon at 11:00 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.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment