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 11:30 p.m., Capella is a half a fist held upright and at arm’s length 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: Look straight up at midnight. The head of Draco the
dragon will be looking straight down on you. The brightest star in the head is
called Eltanin. If you wait for a VERY long time, Eltanin will be the brightest
star in the entire night sky. Currently 154 light years away, it is moving
towards Earth and will be only 28 light years away in about 1.3 million years,
claiming the title as the brightest star.
Monday: Hot enough for you? Don’t blame the Earth-Sun
distance. Surprisingly, the overall temperature of the Earth is slightly higher
in July, when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, than in January, when it is
closest. That’s because in July, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the
Sun. (This is the real cause of the seasons.) The Northern Hemisphere has more
land than the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, in July, the large amount of Northern
Hemisphere land heats up the entire Earth about two degrees Celsius warmer than
in January. In January, the watery Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the
Sun. But water does not heat up as fast as land, so the Earth is a few degrees
cooler. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is its greatest today, 152.1
million kilometers. This is called aphelion from the Greek prefix “apo” meaning
“apart” and Helios, the Greek god of the Sun.
Tuesday: While exploring Jezero crater on Mars in 2024,
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered an interesting looking rock they named
Cheyava Falls. This rock contains iron and phosphate, elements that are often
associated with microbial life, so the rover did some tests on the material.
Late last year, NASA reported the rock contained sedimentary mud-like material
associated with peat bogs and decaying organic matter on Earth. Scientists
would need to bring the material to Earth for confirmation, but this is the
best evidence yet for Mars having life in the past. For more information about
this finding, watch https://youtu.be/kvcfO_-p6YE.
For confirmation Mars exists, look one and a half fists above the eastern
horizon at 4:30 a.m. At this same time, Saturn is about a half a fist below the
moon, above due southeast.
Wednesday: The bright star Regulus is less than a
pinky-width to the lower left of Venus, a fist and a half above the western
horizon at 9:30 p.m. Jupiter is to the lower right of Venus, just above the
west-northwestern horizon at this time.
Thursday: Nebulas are diffuse clouds of gas and dust where
stars form. The second brightest is the Lagoon Nebula, in the constellation
Sagittarius. It is visible with the naked eye from a very dark site however it
is best viewed with binoculars. At 11:30 p.m., find the teapot-shaped asterism
of Sagittarius about a fist above the southern horizon. Look at the
triangle-shaped spout on the right side of the teapot. Spread out your thumb
and forefinger to match the height of the triangle. Then look at that same
thumb-forefinger span above the triangle. The Lagoon Nebula is there. Aim your
binoculars at that spot.
If you’d like to learn more about nebulas, the CWU Lydig
Planetarium has free shows at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. today. They are in
Discovery Hall, room 101. Here is a Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nwp1e5t7qXk5bfE9.
Parking on campus is free after 4:30 p.m.
Friday: 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.
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