STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Every year on the summer solstice we ask you to participate in watching and experiencing a great star rise over our Earth's horizon. A star so huge we could fit over 1 and 1/4 million Earth's inside it. We ask you to experience something that few people ever pay close attention to. And that is the rising of the only star we can see in the daytime, the star we call our Sun, a star I like to call our Day-Star. But this year we're not celebrating Day-Star Day on the summer solstice because it's on a work day, Wednesday June 21st. Instead we want you to celebrate Day-Star Day Saturday June 17th.
To participate here's all you have to do. Simply mark Saturday June 17th as the day you'll get up 15 minutes before twilight begins, while it's still dark out. And whether you live in the heart of a city or out in the country makes no difference because it's not the Sun itself you're going to observe but the effects of sunrise on everything around you as night slowly turns into day. It is better to be outside but if not just sit by an open window. Now for the rules, which are absolutely essential: no radio, no television, no doing your normal wake up routine. All distractions must be eliminated. Simply sit quietly inside or outside and when you see the skies slowly start to brighten, look, listen and feel what happens all around you. Watch the delicate interplay of light, color and shadow. Listen to the different sounds of our world and its creatures waking up. Feel the wind change, the temperature change, and much, much more as night slowly slips into day.
Keep track of all the subtle changes you notice and record your observations on paper or into a tape recorder. And then read or listen to your observations a few days later. And believe me you're in for a pleasant surprise because really experiencing the effects of a sunrise using all of your senses and your full attention is one of the most wonderful experiences this planet has to offer. Trust me you'll be amazed at what a star rise over a small planet can do for you. I'm Jack Horkheimer, keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: On Saturday morning June 17th we invite you to celebrate the rising of our local star the Sun because most people have never really experienced a sunrise. So Saturday morning get up before twilight begins to observe not the Sun itself but the incredible effects of a sunrise on everything all around you. Sit quietly and tune in with all your senses. Listen to the different sounds of nature as our Earth wakes up. Feel the wind and temperature change and watch the delicate interplay of light, color and shadow. Trust me, if you've never done this before, you'll be amazed at what you've missed. Keep looking up!
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. A couple
of weeks ago I asked you to start watching the red planet Mars
and the ringed planet Saturn as they slowly approach each other
night after night in preparation for a super close meeting this
weekend, Saturday and Sunday the 17th and 18th. And it's been
super exciting. But in case you're getting in on this a little
late there's still time to watch these two every night this week
in preparation for the big meeting this weekend. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for this past Sunday June 11th at dusk, facing west where you would have seen three bright lights, the closest to the horizon tiny 3,000 mile wide Mercury which has been steadily climbing higher and higher in the direction of 4,000 mile wide Mars and 75,000 mile wide Saturn which on Sunday were only 3 degrees apart. Or if you'd like to think of it this way, since a full Moon is half a degree wide, 3 degrees apart means that we could fit 6 full Moons side by side between the two. But this week is super week because they'll move dramatically closer to each other every single night. On Monday the 12th they'll be only 2 and 3/4 degrees apart, which means we could slip only 4 1/2 full Moons between them. But on Tuesday the 13th little more than 2 degrees apart or 4 full Moons could fit between them. On Wednesday the 14th, 1 3/4 degrees apart, or a little more than 3 full Moons separates the two. And then on Thursday less than 1 1/3 degrees, or a little less than three full Moons apart. On Friday only one day away from when they're at their closest they'll be less than one degree apart which means not quite two full Moons could fit between them. But the big night and the one night you definitely don't want to miss is this Saturday when just after dark they'll be at their absolute closest little more than one half of one degree apart which means that only one full Moon could fit between them.
Don't miss this please! Mark this Saturday
June 17th as the night when the red planet Mars and the ringed
planet Saturn almost slam into each other, visually. Although
in reality Mars will be 200 million miles away, while Saturn will
be 900 million miles away, over 4 times farther away than Mars.
So if you haven't been watching already, start your Mars and Saturn
watch right now. It's easy, just keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: This is the week you can watch Mars and Saturn slowly approach and then almost slam into each other visually this Saturday night. If you looked west just after dark this past sunday Mars and Saturn were only three degrees or 6 full Moons apart, Monday only 4 1/2 full Moons apart, Tuesday 4 full Moons, Wednesday a little over 3 full Moons, Thursday a little less than 3 full Moons, on Friday not quite 2 full Moons and ta da! This Saturday when they're at their closest they will be only 1 full Moon part. 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
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. This week marks the official beginning of summer for the northern hemisphere. Indeed this year summer begins on Wednesday June 21st at 8:26 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time which is the official moment of the summer solstice, the moment when the Sun reaches its highest point north of the celestial equator and rises and sets at its northernmost points of the year. And because this is also the time when there are more hours of daylight it doesn't get fully dark out until 10 or 11 p.m. for people at more northerly latitudes. So you have to stay up late to do your star gazing. But it's worth it. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for this week and next 10 to 11 p.m. facing north where you'll see the Little Dipper at its very highest above the North Star. In fact, the North Star is the star in the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Now the Little Dipper is not nearly as large or bright as the Big Dipper which is directly to its left in the northwest. Four stars mark its cup and three stars mark its handle. And once you've found it you can shoot an arrow through its handle to find the 3rd brightest star in the sky, Arcturus which is the major star of Bootes the Herdsman although the entire constellation looks something like a kite. You can extend that arrow from Arcturus over to the brightest star of Virgo, Spica. Remember? Arc to Arcturus, speed on to Spica!
Now, we can tell from the stars alone that spring is almost over because spring's most famous constellation is just above the western horizon. A sickle shaped pattern or backward question mark of stars marks the front part of Leo the Lion and a triangle of stars marks his rear. And he looks like he's getting ready to lunge below the horizon before summer kicks him out of evening skies.
Next if you turn 180 degrees around and face east you can see the three incredibly bright stars which mark the points of a very large triangle, the brightest of which is Vega, the second brightest Altair and the third Deneb, the three stars which mark the points of the great Summer Triangle. And every summer in mid June just after it gets good and dark out we always see this triangle of three celestial dazzlers rising over the eastern horizon.
Of course, my personal favorite stars of summer are always somewhere in the south southeast, due south, or southwest. So just look south and there you'll see a giant fish hook shaped pattern of stars which is none other than summer's infamous Scorpius the Scorpion, which is always trailed by the teapot shaped portion of stars which make up part of the constellation Sagittarius the Centaur. So there you have it, every direction you look you'll see wonderful stars on the first nights of summer. Keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: Summer officially begins this week Wednesday June 21st and if you wait until it gets good and dark out you'll see fabulous patterns of stars in every direction. Face north and the Little Dipper will be at its highest above the North Star. And to its left, its companion, the Big Dipper. In the west, spring's Leo the Lion is getting ready to lunge below the horizon. And in the east we can see the three bright stars that announce the beginning of summer, the Summer Triangle. Finally look south for Scorpius the Scorpion and the teapot portion of Sagittarius. Wonderful stars in every direction on the first night of summer! 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 GazerLorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers.
And have we ever got a super nifty star and planet show for you
for this 4th of July weekend. In fact lined up in a row you'll
see Mercury, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter plus Leo's brightest star
Regulus. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our sky set up for this 4th of July weekend facing west just before it gets completely dark out at dusk. And if you've got a clear flat horizon you'll see planet #1 out from the Sun, tiny 3,000 mile wide Mercury. Then up to its left planet #6 and the prettiest planet of them all, 75,000 mile wide ringed Saturn. And just above it planet #4, 4,000 mile wide Mars. And up to its left two million miles wide, Regulus the brightest star of Leo the Lion. Now you may notice that all these objects lie along an imaginary line. This imaginary line is called the ecliptic and it is the line along which all the planets travel as they change their positions night after night. So extend that line up and toward the south and you'll see a very bright light which is the king of the planets itself, 88,000 mile wide Jupiter.
Now depending on which night you look the Moon will be in a different place each night, and will slowly grow larger and larger as it moves higher above the horizon each night as it also travels along this imaginary line, the ecliptic. So if you're outside just after sunset on the 4th of July before the fireworks start you can do some naked eye planet watching. And if you have a small telescope, all the better.
And to give you a better understanding of just how far away from Earth each of these objects will be on the 4th of July let's measure their distances in terms of light. You see, it will take only 5 1/2 minutes for light to reach us from Mercury on July 4th but 20 minutes to reach us from Mars. 41 minutes for light to reach us from Jupiter but 83 minutes to reach us from Saturn. Regulus, however, is so incredibly much farther away that it takes 77 years for its light to reach us. So the light we see this July 4th is the light that left Regulus in 1929! Wow! So look for 4 planets and a star lined up in a row just after sunset this 4th of July. It's cosmic entertainment and of course, it's free. Keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: On the 4th of July you'll see four planets and a bright star lined up in a row. Face west at dusk on Tuesday the 4th of July and you'll see planet #1, 3,000 mile wide Mercury, planet #6, 75,000 mile wide Saturn, planet #4, 4,000 mile wide Mars and a humongous 2 million mile wide star, Regulus, the brightest star of Leo the Lion. All of these lie along a line called the ecliptic, along which all the planets travel. So if you extend that line it will run right into planet #5, 88,000 mile wide Jupiter. What a way to celebrate the 4th. 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
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