Saturday: Let’s learn about Capella. It is the fourth brightest star we can see in Ellensburg. It is the brightest northerly star. It is a binary star consisting of two yellow giant stars that orbit each other every 100 days. At 11:20 p.m., Capella is half a fist above due north. You can also use the Big Dipper to find it. First, find the two “cap” stars on the cup of the Big Dipper, the stars on the top of the cup. Draw a line from the “cap” star closest to the handle to the cap star farthest from the handle. Then, continue that line to the next very bright star, which is Capella. Thus, you can “cap” to Capella. If you can’t “cap” tonight, don’t worry. Capella is the brightest circumpolar star meaning it is the brightest star that never goes below the horizon from our point of view in Ellensburg.
Sunday: Saturn is three and a half fists above the
southeastern horizon at 4:15 a.m. The planet Neptune is less than a pinky width
above Saturn. You’ll need binoculars or a small telescope to see it.
Monday: Antares is less than a fist to the upper right of
the moon at 4:15 a.m., one and a half fists above due south.
Tuesday: Three years ago, the Mars Curiosity rover made a
comprehensive measurement of the organic carbon found in rocks on the Martian
surface. It found more organic carbon in the Gale Crater rocks than in very
low-life places on Earth such as the Atacama Desert in South America. This
certainly does not prove there is life on Mars now. And it does not prove there
was life on Mars in the past. But it definitely strengthens the argument for
either. In the past, Gale Crater likely had water, chemical energy sources, low
acidity, and other elements common in living organisms. Read more about the
findings at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/mars-total-organic-carbon.
Mars is one and a half fists above the western horizon at 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday: About ten years ago astronomers using a radio
telescope in Australia discovered the source of fleeting radio signal bursts
that had been a mystery for 17 years. And they didn’t have to probe the depths
of deep space. They only had to probe the depths of… the observatory kitchen.
It turns out the signal came from opening the microwave door prematurely. Read
more about The Microwave Emission here: http://goo.gl/Ftb04C.
Sheldon Cooper used similar methods of science when he discovered a can opener
instead of magnetic monopoles in the season three premiere of “The Big Bang
Theory” http://goo.gl/kAEoOD.
Thursday: Tonight’s full moon is in the constellation
Sagittarius. The Wishram, Haida, and Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest
call the July full moon the salmon moon. This is the time of year the salmon
return after spawning season.
Friday: Stonehenge was created on the island of Great
Britain by Neolithic people. “Manhattanhenge” was created on the island of
Manhattan by modern day architects and construction workers. Twice a year, at
the end of May and mid-July, the setting Sun aligns perfectly with the
Manhattan grid pattern. That means observers will see the Sun set at the end of
the street. The first Manhattanhenge sunset of July is tonight at 8:20 p.m.
Eastern time and then again tomorrow at 8:22 p.m. Eastern time. For more
information about Manhattanhenge, go to https://www.amnh.org/research/hayden-planetarium/manhattanhenge.
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.
