Night Sky: March 2009

In the spring of any year, not just the Year of Astronomy, there are lots of things to look for in the night sky. It’s a great time for the backyard astronomer in us all. Among the notable astronomy events are: Venus is leaving the evening sky; old constellations are at zenith; new constellations are visible; and the Vernal or Spring Equinox is about to occur. If you click on the pictures in this post, you will be able to see them in a larger size which will be easy to view and read.


Venus has been incredibly beautiful all winter, so please forgive me for not posting about a lovely event several days ago. On February 27th there was a close conjunction of Venus and the New Moon immediately after sunset. Unfortunately, we had cloud cover, and I forgot about it (What can I say, I was writing.). This picture, courtesy of Starry Night Astronomy Program, this is what it looked like right after full dark.


Keep Venus in your viewing schedule for the rest of the month. It’s leaving the evening sky on the March 27th when it has an inferior conjunction with the Sun. That’s fancy astronomer speak for crossing between the Earth and the Sun. DON’T TRY TO LOOK AT IT if you want to keep your eyes working properly. Venus will once more be visible as the Morning Star in April. (If you want to go out into a chilly morning to view it, more power to you. At that time of the morning, I’m usually writing for all that I’m worth, a mug of hot cocoa in one hand, a computer cuddled in my lap and the Supreme Pasha Zackery snuggled on my feet.) Your trivia for the day: Venus is moving toward the Earth when we see it in the evening. It is moving away from the Earth when we see it in the morning.

Taurus (Aldebaran), Orion (Betelgeuse), and Canis Major (Sirius) have been glorious in the winter sky. They are presently at their zenith in the evening and will soon be moving into the west. Before they leave us, there are several other constellations which I should like to bring to your attention. Directly to the north of Orion, and joined to the horn of Taurus is Auriga. It is shaped vaguely like a pentagon and has one bright star, Capella. This is another of the stars which Anne McCaffery uses as proper names for characters in her Science Fiction Romances (we writers steal wherever we can). Immediately to the east, almost the fourth corner of a diamond formed by Auriga, Taurus, and Orion is the constellation Gemini, the Twins. Their feet point toward Orion’s head. The two bright stars which form their heads are Castor and Pollux, the brothers of Helen of Troy and the navigators on Jason’s voyage to find the Golden Fleece.

There are two new constellations which are just coming into view in the east during the early evening. Cancer, the Crab, is just east of Gemini’s Castor and Pollux. You may not be able to view Cancer because it has no bright stars. I have a hard time with it. However, the next constellation, Leo, is just rising above the horizon at dusk. As the evening progresses, Leo is very easily recognized as the backwards “?” mark in the sky. Leo’s brightest star is Regulus, one of the ancient king stars and the heart of the lion. Look a little further down to the northeast, and you will see a small triangle of stars. Those stars are the haunches of the lion. The bright object immediately south of Leo’s haunches is Saturn. It’s not as bright as it sometimes is because its rings are not tilted far enough at this time for our viewing.

Last, but not least of the March astronomy events, is the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 20th. This is the “moment” when Sun’s rays are directly perpendicular to the Earth’s surface at the equator, and when we count spring as beginning. It is also “commonly called” the moment when the Sun crosses the equator from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere; however, that is a fallacious statement because it is the tilt of the Earth, not any movement of the Sun, which causes the event. Language makes it impossible to escape the ideas of our ancient ancestors. In any case, equinox simply means equal hours of day and night. This only occurs two times a year, on the spring and fall equinoxes. Most ancient calendars were calculated as beginning on the Vernal Equinox, and astrology still works on this basis, even though the signs in modern astrology are now totally out of sync with the astronomical positions of the stars. If you would like to make an interesting observation, keep a log of sunset and sunrise times and the resulting increase/decrease in hours of daylight where you live. You will be surprised at how fast the change occurs.

Have fun, and happy viewing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Raccoon Astronomy

It's been a great week for astronomy. It's been a bad week for the raccoons.

Twice this week, raccoons have sacrificed themselves upon the electrical altar of the same high-voltage transformer, throwing half of our town into darkness. Both times, this happened well after sunset, with a ziiiit-boom, and flash of light that could be seen for miles in the instant before everything went black. No house lights. No street lights. No nothing! Both times I rushed outside into the frigid night to gaze into the sky. Oh my, but it was lovely. Not for the poor raccoons, of course, but for stargazers like me it was gorgeous.

The skies were severe clear both nights. The new moon wasn't yet bright enough to interfere with viewing. High in the western sky Venus is the brightest object visible, and will remain so through March. Directly overhead, is the red eye of Taurus, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades he guards. In the southeastern sky, Orion is riding high with Sirius and Procyon, the noses of his hunting dogs, bounding at his heels.

A few bits of trivia: Sirius is the brightest star that we can see from Earth, and quite a close neighbor, only 8.6 light years distant. The Greeks gave us the term "dog days of summer" from this star. It was the rising of Sirius with the dawn, which told the ancient Egyptians that the Nile was about to flood, and that they would have abundant food for the coming year. Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse in Orion's shoulder, make the Winter Triangle.

Viewing all of that clearly was wonderful. However, the great thing for me was that, for a brief while, it was dark enough to see the Milky Way. That doesn't often happen in our light polluted world. Right now, in the early evenings, it stretches from the southeast to the northwest, moving to the west as the evening progresses. If you can follow a path near to Sirius, Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, and Cassiopeia, then you are in the neighborhood of the Milky Way. I hope that you get a chance to see it. It's worth it.

Happy Viewing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Astronomy Alert! Ménage á trois...

Get your mind out of the gutter! We’re talking Astronomy here. We are about to have a super cool celestial event that almost everyone can enjoy. It’s already in progress. On the evening of December 1, 2008, we’re going to have a close encounter, or, in astronomy terms, a “conjunction” of Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon. On the Monday night, these three will be so close together that you’ll be able to see them all together, even in a single binocular field. And they are already BRIGHT! So bright, that even with terrible light pollution you can see them.

If you’re in North or South America, right after sunset, look close to the southwestern horizon, just as it is beginning to get dark. The Moon will be in what is known as a “waxing crescent.” That means that the portion of the Moon, which is reflecting the light from the Sun, is a thin crescent which will be growing over the coming nights. Venus and Jupiter are the two bright objects just below, or the West of the Moon. Venus is the brighter of the two objects.

Regretfully, if you’re in Europe - you have a problem. The Moon will have occulted, or will have moved in front of Venus. So the single bright object which you see next to the Moon is Jupiter. Still pretty cool! Sorry, but for you, Venus doesn’t move from behind the Moon until after they have all set.

If you’re in the Far East, Venus and Jupiter will be just above, or East of, the crescent Moon before it sinks toward the western horizon.

If you’re in Madagascar, or southeastern Africa, you get to see the coolest of all. Depending upon where you are, you get to see the Moon occult both Venus and Jupiter. It is possible that you may even see Venus and Jupiter skim the edges of the Moon as they pass behind it.

Now for an appearing non sequitur: When I was in college, in that tender age when dinosaurs ruled the world, my History Professor’s maiden name was that of one of the great European royal houses. She opened my eyes to aspects of history that had never occurred to this naïve little Southern girl. It had never occurred to me that “that” treaty, which put and end to “that” war, was signed because: Oh My! Great Aunt Sophie went to bed with King Biggy the night before! Goodness only knows who else Great Aunt Sophie went to bed with. But, goodness only knows how many lives Great Aunt Sophie may have saved.

Bringing this bit of nonsense into focus, and just as a bit of fun speculation, let’s consider what the Ancients would have thought of this event. To the Ancients, the Planets (or Wanderers), the Moon, and the Sun were gods, and their godlike movements influenced our humanlike lives on Earth. Jupiter, in the Western Mythological Tradition, was always associated with the king of the gods (King Biggy). Venus (Great Aunt Sophie) was generally associated with erotic love; and the Moon with Diana/Artemis (your guess is as good as mine), and the hunt and childbirth. What would possibly be going on when these three got together? Which room of the house were they in? What were they talking about? How was it going to affect my insignificant, uncertain world? Food for some interesting stories, huh?

Start watching tonight and follow the developments as Venus, Jupiter and the Moon grow closer together each night. May your skies be clear.

Happy Viewing,

Frances Drake

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future