STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Every April
I like to remind you of how you can have fun with the Big Dipper
in early evening because it is positioned in such a way that it
gives credence to a very old folk saying. Plus it is so high above
the horizon it can be used to easily find two wonderful stars
of spring. Let me show you.
O.K. We've got our skies set up for any night in April between the hours of 8 and 10 p.m. looking due north where you'll see the Big Dipper almost directly above and just to the right of the North Star, its cup pointed down in such a way that if it were filled full of water the water would be pouring out directly onto the ground below which gives a celestial significance to that old saying "April showers bring May flowers". Because every April in early evening the biggest water dipper of the heavens is indeed positioned so that it is pouring its imaginary water onto the Earth below. Plus because it's so high above the horizon it makes it very easy to use the three stars of the Dipper's handle as a finder to locate two wonderful stars of spring which are also very high above the horizon.
Simply draw an imaginary line through the handle of the Big Dipper and extend it in the same curve or arc as the handle and you'll "arc to Arcturus", the brightest star of Bootes the Herdsman. Then if you extend that curve, that 'arc', on from Arcturus you can speed on to Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, the Virgin. Once again using the handle and its curve, arc to Arcturus then speed on to Spica. What could be easier? Now brighter Arcturus is relatively close only 37 light years away. Which means we see the light that left it 37 years ago in 1971. Spica, however, is 7 times farther away than Arcturus 260 light years. Which means we see the light that left it 260 years ago in 1748, 28 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
But to make finding Arcturus and Spica even more special just remind yourself that when we look at them now we are really looking back in time, because when I say that Arcturus is 37 light years away I really mean that when you look at Arcturus this month you are not seeing Arcturus as it actually exists now in the present but as it actually existed 37 years ago. And when you speed on to Spica and look at it this month you are really seeing Spica not as it exists now but as it actually existed 260 years ago. Wow!
Which inevitably leads one to the question,
"Is it possible that some of the stars we now see are no
longer in existence?' the answer is, yes. Although we are quite
sure Arcturus and Spica are still there. So some time this April
between 8 and 10 p.m. find the Big Dipper as it rains down April
showers for May flowers, then arc to Arcturus 37 light years away
and speed on to Spica 260 light years beyond! Keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: Every April it's time to play the Big Dipper game. Between 8 and 10 p.m. look north and the Big Dipper will be high above the North Star. If you use the Dipper's handle you can find two wonderful stars of spring. Simply draw an imaginary line through the handle in the same curve or arc and you'll arc to brilliant Arcturus. Extend that line and you can then speed on to Spica. Arcturus is so far away we see the light that left it 37 years ago. So we see it not as it exists now but as it existed in 1971. Spica however is so much farther away we see it as it existed 260 years ago in 1748. So arc to Arcturus then speed on to Spica. Keep looking up!
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
![[SmilinJack]](jack1sm.jpg)
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