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? Regulus the star is right in line with the Sun at this time of year so it is not visible. Arcturus, the second brightest star visible in the nighttime sky in Washington and at Hogwarts, is about two and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the western horizon at 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: Venus and Jupiter are right next to each other, low
in the eastern sky for the next few mornings. At 5:00 a.m., they are two fists
above the eastern horizon. Venus is brighter and to the upper right of Jupiter.
Over the next few weeks, Venus will move to the lower left, down toward the
east-northeastern horizon, and eastward compared to the background stars.
Monday: The Perseid meteor shower peaks this morning and
tomorrow morning. In case you decide to stay in bed this week, the shower is
active until about September 1 so you may still enjoy an increased number of
meteors later. The moon is in the waning gibbous phase so its light will
obscure all but the brightest meteors. The meteors appear to come from a point
just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia. This point is about three
fists above the northeast horizon at 11:00 p.m. By dawn, this point is nearly
straight overhead. For tips about optimizing your viewing this year, go to https://earthsky.org/?p=165416. As
your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum
enjoyment. These meteors are sand to pea-sized bits of rock that fell from
Comet Swift-Tuttle. They travel about 40 miles per second as they collide with
the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
Tuesday: Bellatrix Lestrange is Sirius Black’s cousin. But
certainly not 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 and a half fists above
the east-southeastern horizon at 5:00 a.m.
Wednesday: 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 to someone. 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 and a half fists above the southeastern horizon at 5:15 a.m.
Mercury is a half a fist above the east-northeastern horizon at this time.
Thursday: 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 a little on the northwest side of straight overhead at 10:00
p.m.
Friday: Antares, the brightest star in the constellation
Scorpius, is one and a half fists above the south-southwestern horizon at 9:00
p.m. Draco Malfoy was so impressed with this constellation name that he used it
for the first name of his son. Mars is half a fist above the western horizon at
this time.
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.
