When, Where and Why

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Winter “Star” (or less memorably, winter hexagon) Capella in Auriga, the Charioteer (which looks Pollux & Castor in Gemini. C&P shared an immortal more like a slightly squished outline of home plate). Capella sounds cool, but mother but had different fathers; Pollux is a god, Castor is mortal. means “she goat.” Look for her “kids” a fetching triangle of stars right nearby. Castor is a sextuple star system; Pollux is a single yellow‐orange star with at least one planet Aldebaran Aldebaran in Taurus, the Bull; look a definite “V” in Taurus, the Bull; look for a definite “V” shape, add “horns” & get a bull head shape, add “horns” & you get a bull head Procyon (bright white) named “before the dog” – the star to watch for rising Rigel (bright, ice blue) just ahead of Sirius. Arguably in Orion, Rigel is huge and 40,000 the least memorable of all times as bright as our sun, but a constellations long ways – 700 light years – away Sirius (brilliant, fiery blue) in AK, just above the horizon. As a result its light passes through lots of atmosphere, & consequently seems alive with sparkling bursts of color When, Where and Why A good way to get oriented in a sky full of unrecognizable stars is to learn a couple of big star patterns, one each in summer, fall & winter. Easiest is this set of winter constellations, sometimes called the winter Hexagon (anybody have a better name?). Go outside on the next clear winter evening and look generally south/southeast. You’ll see a broad scattering of bright stars, the biggest collection of bright stars you can see in one part of the sky at any time of year. Find familiar Orion to get started. Orion (more or less) lines up with and is of similar size as Gemini. The rest of this “meta‐ constellation” is huge, extending from Sirius – glittering red/blue/silver on the southern horizon – to peaceful Capella, guarding her kids high overhead. Learn in the basic shape indoors where it’s warm, then find it out in the cold. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Naming the Extrasolar Planets
Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named.
[Show full text]
Platform-Independent Mobile Robot Communication
Philipp A. Baer Platform-Independent Development of Robot Communication Software kassel university press This work has been accepted by the faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Kassel as a thesis for acquiring the academic degree of Doktor der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Dr.-Ing.). Advisers: Prof. Dr. Kurt Geihs Prof. Dr. Gerhard K. Kraetzschmar Additional Doctoral Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Albert Zündorf Prof. Dr. Klaus David Defense day: 04th December 2008 Bibliographic information published by Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Zugl.: Kassel, Univ., Diss. 2008 ISBN print: 978-3-89958-644-2 ISBN online: 978-3-89958-645-9 URN: urn:nbn:de:0002-6453 © 2008, kassel university press GmbH, Kassel www.upress.uni-kassel.de Printed by: Unidruckerei, University of Kassel Printed in Germany Für Mutti und Mama. Mutti, du bleibst unvergessen. * 29. September 1923 = 14. Oktober 2008 Contents List of Figuresv List of Tables vii Abstract ix I Introduction1 1 Introduction3 1.1 Motivation.........................................4 1.1.1 Software Structure................................5 1.1.2 Development Methodology...........................5 1.1.3 Communication.................................6 1.1.4 Conﬁguration and Monitoring.........................6 1.2 Problem Analysis.....................................7 1.2.1 Development Methodology...........................7 1.2.2 Communication Infrastructure........................8 1.2.3 Resource Discovery...............................8 1.3 Solution Approach....................................9 1.4 Major Results........................................ 11 1.5 Overview.......................................... 12 2 Foundations 13 2.1 Autonomous Mobile Robots............................... 13 2.1.1 Hardware Architecture............................. 14 2.1.2 Robot Software.................................
[Show full text]
Winter Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory Winter Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Winter Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye NGC 457 CASSIOPEIA eta Cas Look for Notice how the constellations 5 the ‘W’ swing around Polaris during shape the night Is Dubhe yellowish compared 2 Polaris to Merak? Dubhe 3 Merak URSA MINOR Kochab 1 Is Kochab orange Pherkad compared to Polaris? THE PLOUGH 4 Mizar Alcor Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in winter. North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. To your right is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan standing up on it’s handle. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The top two stars are called the Pointers. Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white-hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you to the left, to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the right are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. Check with binoculars. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 2.0 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Winter Polaris, Kochab and Pherkad mark the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.
[Show full text]
In This Exercise, You Will Learn Some of the Stars That Make up Patterns in the Sky
PHYS 1830 - Perspectives on the Universe Winter 2015 PLANETARIUM EXERCISE In this exercise, you will learn some of the stars that make up patterns in the sky. These are properly known as asterisms. Constellations, on the other hand, are defined as 88 regions or patches of sky that are officially designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Constellations often contain the familiar patterns of stars that are the asterisms, but constellations are usually identified by their Latin name. For example, the asterism of the Big Dipper is contained within the constellation of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear. You will also be introduced to the astronomical coordinate system that is most commonly used to describe positions of objects in the sky: the equatorial coordinate system. Part 1: Sketching You will sketch several asterisms on a single page. Draw a line across the bottom of the page to indicate the position of the horizon. Label this line with the cardinal points. Draw a cross near the top of your sketch to represent the position of the zenith. Label this point. Lightly draw in the position of the meridian and label it. For each sketch, label the time for which the planetarium is set and record your location within the dome. Use circles to mark the relative positions of the stars. The size of the circle should reflect the relative brightness with larger circles indicating brighter stars. Use straight lines to connect the relevant stars to draw the asterism shape. Sketch #1: Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and Cassiopeia Label the asterism/constellation name.
[Show full text]
Newsletter Archive the Skyscraper February 2009
The SkyscraperVol. 36 No. 2 February 2009 Amateur Astronomical Society Of Rhode Island · 47 Peeptoad Road North Scituate, RI 02857 · www.theSkyscrapers.org February Meeting Seagrave Memorial Observatory is open with Dr. Padma Venkatraman to the public Friday, February 6 at North Scituate Community Center weather permitting Dr. Venkatraman is the author of 2. Women Mathematicians (biographies Climbing the Stairs, Double Stars: The of Maria Agnesi, Emilie du Chatalet, Emmy Story of Caroline Herschel and Women Noether, Mary Sommerville, Ada Lovelace, Mathematicians. She will speak about the and Sonya Kovalevskaya) $30 life and times of Caroline Herschel and 3. Mathematwist: Number Tales also touch on the struggles that other From Around The World (multicultural women pioneers have undergone to collection of mathematical folktales for Saturdays 7pm - 10pm achieve their goals. children aged 8-12) $15 Please note that the observatory may be inaccessible for several weeks Dr. Venkatraman is going to bring 4. Climbing the Stairs (a novel that has following a winter storm. some of her books to sell and will of strong women in it but nothing about See www.theSkyscrapers.org course autograph them. Here is the list astronomy or mathematics, but it’s the for updates. along with the prices. top of my list so I always take it wherever North Scituate 1. Double Stars: The Story of Caroline I go) $20 Community Center Herschel (biography) $30 All of our winter meetings (Dec-Mar) are held at the Community Center. From Seagrave Observatory, the Community From the president Center is the ﬁrst building on the right The International Year of The Cosmic Diary is an example of a side going south on Rt.
[Show full text]
Asterism and Constellation: Terminological Dilemmas
www.ebscohost.com www.gi.sanu.ac.rs, www.doiserbia.nb.rs, J. Geogr. Inst. Cvijic. 67(1) (1–10) Original scientific paper UDC: 521/525 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/IJGI1701001P ASTERISM AND CONSTELLATION: TERMINOLOGICAL DILEMMAS Zorica Prnjat *1, Milutin Tadić * * University of Belgrade, Faculty of Geography, Belgrade, Serbia Received: March 14, 2017; Reviewed: March 23, 2017; Accepted: March 31, 2017 Abstract: In contemporary astronomical literature, there is no uniform definition of the term asterism. This inconsistency is the consequence of differences between the traditional understanding of the term constellation, from the standpoint of the naked eye astronomy, and its contemporary understanding from the standpoint of the International Astronomical Union. A traditional constellation is a recognizable star configuration with a well-established name, whereas the International Astronomical Union defines a constellation as an exactly defined sector of the cosmic space that belongs to a particular traditional constellation. Asterism is a lower rank term in comparison to constellation, and as such it may not denote a whole traditional constellation, as these terms would become synonymous and parts of constellations would become “asterisms of asterisms“. Similarly, asterism cannot define a macro configuration composed of the brightest stars in more constellations, thus, the Summer Triangle and other sky polygons are not asterisms. Therefore, asterisms are neither constellations nor sky polygons, but the third – easily recognizable parts of traditional constellations with historically well-established names, including separate groups of smaller stars that belong to star clusters (autonomous asterisms). Forms and names of asterisms may or may not be consistent with the parent constellation, and accordingly asterisms can be divided into compatible and incompatible.
[Show full text]
Alternate Constellation Guide
ARKANSAS NATURAL SKY ASSOCIATION LEARNING THE CONSTELLATIONS (Library Telescope Manual included) By Robert Togni Cover Image courtesy of Wikimedia. Do not write in this book, and return with scope to library. A personal copy of this guide can be obtained online at www.darkskyarkansas.com Preface This publication was inspired by and built upon Robert (Rocky) Togni’s quest to share the night sky with all who can be enticed under it. His belief is that the best place to start a relationship with the night sky is to learn the constellations and explore the principle ob- jects within them with the naked eye and a pair of common binoculars. Over a period of years, Rocky evolved a concept, using seasonal asterisms like the Summer Triangle and the Winter Hexagon, to create an easy to use set of simple charts to make learning one’s way around the night sky as simple and fun as possible. Recognizing that the most avid defenders of the natural night time environment are those who have grown to know and love nature at night and exploring the universe that it re- veals, the Arkansas Natural Sky Association (ANSA) asked Rocky if the Association could publish his guide. The hope being that making this available in printed form at vari- ous star parties and other relevant venues would help bring more people to the night sky as well as provide funds for the Association’s work. Once hooked, the owner will definitely want to seek deeper guides. But there is no better publication for opening the sky for the neophyte observer, making the guide the perfect companion for a library telescope.
[Show full text]
Early China DID BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY
Early China http://journals.cambridge.org/EAC Additional services for Early China: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here DID BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY INFLUENCE EARLY CHINESE ASTRAL PROGNOSTICATION XING ZHAN SHU ? David W. Pankenier Early China / Volume 37 / Issue 01 / December 2014, pp 1 - 13 DOI: 10.1017/eac.2014.4, Published online: 03 July 2014 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0362502814000042 How to cite this article: David W. Pankenier (2014). DID BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY INFLUENCE EARLY CHINESE ASTRAL PROGNOSTICATION XING ZHAN SHU ?. Early China, 37, pp 1-13 doi:10.1017/eac.2014.4 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/EAC, by Username: dpankenier28537, IP address: 71.225.172.57 on 06 Jan 2015 Early China (2014) vol 37 pp 1–13 doi:10.1017/eac.2014.4 First published online 3 July 2014 DID BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY INFLUENCE EARLY CHINESE ASTRAL PROGNOSTICATION XING ZHAN SHU 星占術? David W. Pankenier* Abstract This article examines the question whether aspects of Babylonian astral divination were transmitted to East Asia in the ancient period. An often-cited study by the Assyriologist Carl Bezold claimed to discern significant Mesopotamian influence on early Chinese astronomy and astrology. This study has been cited as authoritative ever since, includ- ing by Joseph Needham, although it has never been subjected to careful scrutiny. The present article examines the evidence cited in support of the claim of transmission. Traces of Babylonian Astrology in the “Treatise on the Celestial Offices”? In , the Assyriologist Carl Bezold published an article concerning the Babylonian influence he claimed to discern in Sima Qian’s 司馬遷 and Sima Tan’s 司馬談 “Treatise on the Celestial Offices” 天官書 (c.
[Show full text]
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report Eric Mamajek (chair, USA) WG Members: Juan Antonio Belmote Avilés (Spain), Sze-leung Cheung (Thailand), Beatriz García (Argentina), Steven Gullberg (USA), Duane Hamacher (Australia), Susanne M. Hoffmann (Germany), Alejandro López (Argentina), Javier Mejuto (Honduras), Thierry Montmerle (France), Jay Pasachoff (USA), Ian Ridpath (UK), Clive Ruggles (UK), B.S. Shylaja (India), Robert van Gent (Netherlands), Hitoshi Yamaoka (Japan) WG Associates: Danielle Adams (USA), Yunli Shi (China), Doris Vickers (Austria) WGSN Website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ WGSN Email: [email protected] The Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) consists of an international group of astronomers with expertise in stellar astronomy, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy who research and catalog proper names for stars for use by the international astronomical community, and also to aid the recognition and preservation of intangible astronomical heritage. The Terms of Reference and membership for WG Star Names (WGSN) are provided at the IAU website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/. WGSN was re-proposed to Division C and was approved in April 2019 as a functional WG whose scope extends beyond the normal 3-year cycle of IAU working groups. The WGSN was specifically called out on p. 22 of IAU Strategic Plan 2020-2030: “The IAU serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and their surface features. To do so, the IAU has a number of Working Groups on various topics, most notably on the nomenclature of small bodies in the Solar System and planetary systems under Division F and on Star Names under Division C.” WGSN continues its long term activity of researching cultural astronomy literature for star names, and researching etymologies with the goal of adding this information to the WGSN’s online materials.
[Show full text]
Winter Hexagon
Applegater Fall 2011 7 THE STARRY SIDE spectacles.) Sirius in Canus Major (Orion’s Ocean). The faithful dog) holds up the bottom of the moon enters Winter hexagon winter hexagon and may not rise for you the umbra till late December/early January, but as (shadow) BY GREELEY WELLS the season moves on all will be revealed, with a I hope you’ve enjoyed the summer our second star: the bright Aldebaran. I promise! Here’s an easy trick: the later subtle, dim triangle and its constellations during this (Aldebaran is part of Taurus the Bull, a you look the farther up they will be. So warmth short summer season, and that you can beautiful and distinctive small triangle.) if you’re caught out extra late some night, that slowly keep enjoying it as it overlaps into fall and Stretch your arm out fully in front of you. that’s an excellent time to see it all. Hope envelops eventually sinks in the west during winter. With your hand wide open as a measuring for clear skies. the whole Greeley Wells I’ve talked a lot in past columns about device, the distance between Capella When they’ve all risen and you’ve moon. The the summer triangle because it’s the main and Aldebaran is the distance between figured all this out, step back and look at total eclipse is from 6:06 to 6:57 am. As asterism (a cluster of stars or constellations the end of your thumb and pinky finger this amazing, very nearly perfect hexagon we head toward dawn, this umbra begins that have a name) of summer.
[Show full text]
Symbols and Astrological Terms in Ancient Arabic Inscriptions
SCIENTIFIC CULTURE, Vol. 5, No. 2, (2019), pp. 21-30 Open Access. Online & Print www.sci-cult.com DOI: SYMBOLS AND ASTROLOGICAL TERMS IN ANCIENT ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS Mohammed H. Talafha1* and Ziad A. Talafha2 1Dept. of Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, XI. Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A 2Dept. of History, AL al-BAYT University, 25113 Mafraq, Jordan Received: 03/11/2018 Accepted: 11/02/2019 *Corresponding author: Mohammed H. Talafha ([email protected]) ABSTRACT In the past, the Arabs in Al-hara Zone used many stars to deduce the seasons of the year and also to deduce the roads, at that time this was the most convienent way to figure their ways and to know the time of the year they have to travel or to planet, The most important used stars at that time were the Pleiades, Canopus, Arcturus and other stars. This study shows the inscriptions found in Al-hara Zone in many field trips in the year 2018 which were written on smooth black rocks and how these inscriptions related to the stars and to the seasons – at that time - of the year. KEYWORDS: Arabic, Stars, Inscriptions, Al-hara Zone, Rock art from southern Syria and north-east of Jor- dan in Badia al-Sham, The Pleiades, Arabian Tribes, Canopus, Seasons, Pre-Islamic era. Copyright: © 2019. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 22 M.H. TALAFHA & Z.A. TALAFHA 1. INTRODUCTION the re-consideration and prospective of Qatar cultur- al heritage tourism map, among other studies.
[Show full text]
Introduction the Constellations of the Winter
Introduction The winter sky is an excellent place to begin exploring the constellations that make up the night sky. Orion is the key, or signpost, for locating many of the other constellations in the winter sky. There are two convenient ways to locate all of the main constellations around Orion once Orion is located. Fortunately, Orion is easy to locate and well known to most people. The first way is to follow lines made by pairs of stars in Orion. The second way is to locate the great winter Orion is the key for hexagon of bright star around Orion. cracking the winter sky. The Constellations of the Winter Sky If you live in the northern latitudes and you scan the sky from the southern horizon to the region overhead, you should be able to see the following constellations on a clear winter night: Orion the Hunter, Canis Major the Great Dog, Canis Minor the Little Dog, Taurus the Bull, Auriga the Charioteer, Gemini the Twins and the Pleiades star cluster. (See the map on the next page). In Greek mythology, Orion was a great hunter who eventually offended the gods, especially Apollo. Apollo tricked Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, into shooting Orion on a bet. When she discovered that she had shot Orion, she quickly lifted him to the heavens and made him immortal, where he now hunts eternally with his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. In front of him is his prey Taurus the Bull. The myths surrounding Auriga the Charioteer vary, but it is an ancient constellation dating back to at least to the Ancient Greeks.
[Show full text]