Image: Axios
An odd way to begin this weekender, but I found this in my computer and what a joy it has been to have these same first three girls in my life-even in my neighborhood. Since the constellations are the same it fits except for the lunar eclipse. Those do not occur each month because of that tilt our planet has. The Moon is trapped in our gravity, we see the same side all the time but when folks from Earth eventually reach Mars they will see all of the lunar surface during the course of a month of days. Math/physics/astronomy are truly fascinating, with or without those clear skies mentioned twenty-two years ago. And Sky-maps still publishes a regular monthly edition.
We are still coping with DST which upsets our ‘circadian rhythm’ and cause folks to continue to complain about the upset to our systems. Benjamin Franklin’s idea didn’t make much headway in his time but we seem to still be 250 years later. We humans are a stubborn species for sure.
“November 1, 2004
Hooray! We had clear skies for the most part and could see the gorgeous total lunar eclipse! I was thrilled when I went outside and my young neighbors, Myra, Bianca, Mariela, and Frances, with whom I had shared another lunar eclipse when they were in first and third grades, out really enjoying the view too! WOW! I hope you too were able to share the experience with kids you care about! I even had a phone call from Monique, a current student, who was also enjoying the spectacle. That is why I am doubly glad the newspaper publishes the weekly column, so that you can learn about the glory of the heavens and share in it as well.
What's up this week? Since it will now be dark an hour earlier, thanks to the ending of Daylight-Saving Time, we can get in some quality star gazing before bedtime for the younger set. This is a great time for those kindergarten kids to locate letters and shapes in the sky. They are learning about patterns and shapes at school, so why not reinforce that through astronomy?
Stand with your right shoulder toward the east, your left one towards the west; your nose will be pointing north (unless you turn your head). If you look about two fists above the horizon you will probably see a faint star by itself. This is Polaris, and if your sky is not light-polluted you may see five or six other stars shaped like a small dipper in the area. Polaris is the North Star and it is ALWAYS here at the tip of the Little Bear's tail. It will never change its location as long as you live. Here in south Texas, it is located about 26 degrees above the horizon. The other stars in this region appear to rotate counterclockwise about it throughout the night; this is due to our planetary west-to-east rotation.
The large W shape… hmmm, that is of consequence! I wonder if there is a large K somewhere? Oh well, this is Cassiopeia, a region of stars that has one of those extra-solar planets orbiting about in it. Cassiopeia is filled with a multitude of beautiful objects that have been revealing amazing secrets to astronomers via the Chandra space telescope.
Chandra images are available on-line and the X-ray images it has collected are stunning in their variety and beauty. There is also a wealth of high school and middle school lessons to use with students, both online and PDF formatted. These lessons were developed by Donna Young, a Wright Center Fellow who has spent the past several years developing classroom activities that dramatically bring the Universe into classrooms all across the world.
Other circumpolar constellations include the Dragon, Draco, and the Giraffe, Camelopardalis. Download a star map from Skymaps.com and have a neighborhood scavenger hunt as you take that after-dinner walk.
Draco is to the left of Polaris, beginning near King Cepheus, the crooked upside - down house. Draco looks like a Chinese Dragon kite with an extremely long tail. The Giraffe looks like, well… nothing except a string of stars! Have fun stargazing.
Until next week, KLU.”
I hope you enjoyed my walk back in time as much as I did; KLU
