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This is the Classical Astronomy Update, an email newsletter especially
for Christian homeschool families (though everyone is welcome!)
Please feel free to share this with any interested friends.
IN THIS UPDATE:
- Announcements
- New! Classical Astronomy Yahoo Group!
- More About Sundogs
- Venus and Jupiter Sighting Report
- Dance of the Planets
- Saturn Returns to the Evening Sky
- Lunar Conjuctions - February, 2008
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine
heart be glad when he stumbleth: - Proverbs 24:15-17
Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
Hello Friends,
By now it's very obvious that the days are growing longer again for folks in the northern hemisphere. The days will continue to grow longer throughout February and March with the Sun rising earlier and setting later. Even if the old groundhog had not seen his shadow, spring will still arrive on March 20 this year, on the vernal equinox when daylight and nighttime are both equally 12 hours in length.
Until then, enjoy the early nighfall and use any clear nights to learn Orion and the other constellations of the winter sky! As mentioned in previous Updates, Orion is the easiest starting point for learning the constellations, and since winter is the time when Orion is in the evening sky, this present time right now is the best time of year to begin learning the constellations! You can read all about it in Signs & Seasons, our illustrated astronomy curriculum.
Announcements
New! Classical Astronomy Yahoo Group!
Just this weekend, I created a new Classical Astronomy Yahoo group. We hope this group will become a popular online community where readers of the Classical Astronomy Update can connect with each other and to discuss sightings in the night sky, homeschooling, and any other topics of interest. Check out the group homepage here:
The Classical Astronomy Yahoo group is different from the Signs & Seasons Yahoo group which is created and owned by our friend San Antonio Sue. We'd be happy if more people joined and participated in that group also.
We hope that all you astronomy-minded Christian homeschoolers out here will join this group and participate. With summer coming, we'd like to help organize some dark-sky observing nights and this group would be just the place to discuss that. I'm looking forward to chatting with you all!
More About Sundogs
The last Update included an article about sundogs -- a type of halo effect that surrounds the Sun. We were very blessed to receive an email from Terri in Mount Morris, Illinois who sent us some excellent pix of a parahelic event she observed:
I was wondering if this would qualify as "sun dogs"? Living out in the wide open, we've seen some awesome rainbows (and great night skies as well), but I was so fascinated by this type of rainbow, never having seen anything like this before. I tried to take pictures of it, but I couldn't really do it any justice. I'm so grateful for the information you pass along! Thanks!
Terri's pix are very nice, and I well imagine that the actual observation was even more spectacular than that. In this pic you can see classic sundogs to the left and right of the Sun, and you can even a partial parahelic circle extending from the sundogs. It also looks like there is little bit of a "sun pillar," where the Sun looks fuzzy and indistinct but vertically elongated.
You can see sundogs on days when there are a lot of wispy cirrus clouds in the sky. You can see them any day of the year, but they are more common on sunny days in the winter as seen from the temperate latitudes of North America. Thanks to Terri for blessing everyone with that pic!
Venus and Jupiter Sighting Report
Hope some of you had a chance to observe the planetary conjunction of the bright planets Venus and Jupiter as mentioned in the last Update. As usual, being under the perpetual cloud deck that encircles the Great Lakes during the winter months, we missed this event. But we did receive this nice report from Jim in Carson, California:
Minor report coming in from Southern California. I just saw your newsletter this Tuesday morning and funny how things go sometimes.
My wife, Susan, and I have resumed our early morning walks again which often gives us opportunities to enjoy the dark early morning sky. Venus was there to greet us again, which I knew was there already, but good to see our old friend. But just as I was walking up my driveway into my home I noticed this bright object sitting low on the eastern horizon. It caught my eye and cause me to pause and wonder what I was looking at. I knew it was too bright to be a star and I only thought that maybe it was Mercury. I recall spotting Mercury a year or so back but I didn't remember it being so bright.
Then once again, your newsletter to the rescue. Now I know that I was looking at Jupiter which I had no idea was reappearing in our morning sky. I am looking forward to watching Venus and Jupiter join each other in the morning sky in the next few weeks. We didn't walk this morning because of the rain but now I am looking forward to getting back out there and doing a daily observance. Can't wait until our weather clears up.
Thanks again for enlightening me with your newsletter.
There you have it folks, still another satisfied customer! Be sure to catch these events reported in the Update!
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Order online at our website or from one of our fine distributors.
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Dance of the Planets
Saturn Returns to the Evening Sky
The constellations continue to wheel around in the annual cycle, and in the month of February, the constellation Leo the Lion is now seen rising in the east during the evening as the bright stars of Orion ride high in the sky. In 2008, the planet Saturn is now passing among the stars of Leo and can now be seen rising with this constellation. Saturn will reach opposition on Sunday, February 24, when it will be opposite the Sun, rising in the east as the Sun sets in the west.
In this apparation, Saturn can be seen "underneath" Leo. Last year, Saturn was found between Leo and the faint constellation Cancer the Crab. Of all the classical planets, Saturn is the slowest-moving, taking 29-1/2 years to complete a circle of the zodiac constellations. Saturn was last in this general vicinity of the sky in 1979, and won't be there again til 2038!
According to Kepler's Laws and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, this slow orbital motion indicates that Saturn is further from the Sun than the other visible classical planets. In ancient and medieval folklore, prior to the advent of modern science, this slow motion of Saturn was associated with long intervals of time. Saturn was depicted as Father Time and also The Grim Reaper, holding a scythe, to indicate that Time will eventually cut down everyone. For more about this, check out the Update article Saturn in Folklore.
At the present time, Saturn's rings appear very thin or narrow as seen through a telescope. They will grow thinner yet as Saturn approaches its own "equinox" in 2009, when the rings will appear edge-on and disappear from sight.
For more information about the cycle of Saturn and the other visible planets, complete with illustrations, check out our Signs & Seasons curriculum.
Lunar Conjunctions - February 2008
As we've seen in previous Updates, the Moon passes through the zodiac constellations each month as it follows its cycles of phases. As it moves along, it passes near all the visible classical planets that also lie along the plane of our solar system. So each month we have "lunar conjunctions" -- nights on which the Moon appears very near these planets and also stars that lie along the plane of our solar system. Here's a roundup of what you can expect to see this month, so write these on your calendar!
- Wednesday and Thursday, February 13 and 14
The Moon will pass by the bright star cluster the Pleiades over the course of these two nights.
- Friday, February 15
The Moon will draw near the bright planet Mars, which still shines brightly over the head of Orion following its recent opposition. This event will favor observers in Australia and New Zealand who will see the Moon and Mars very close on the evening of Saturday, February 16, local time.
- Thursday, February 21
The Moon will pass very close to the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo. It's a remarkable sight to see a star so closely grazing the edge of the Moon. Observers in South America will actually see an occultation of Regulus by the Moon, in which the Moon's face actually covers over this star for a time.
The planet Saturn is very near Regulus at this time and will share the scene with the Moon and this bright star. These three celestial bodies should make a very pretty sight on this evening, especially if you have a crisp, frosty, starry winter sky.
On the morning of the extra "leap year" day, before sunrise, look for the Last Quarter Moon to draw very close to the bright star Antares. This event will favor eastern Europe and the Middle East, and observers from Jerusalem to Moscow will see the Moon and this star passing extremely close on that morning.
For detailed information about lunar conjunctions, complete with illustrations, check out our Signs & Seasons curriculum.
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
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There will be a total eclipse of the Moon on the night of February 20/21, 2008. It's still not too early to start praying for clear skies!
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The Feast of Easter, when many Christians celebrate the LORD's resurrection, will fall on March 23, nearly the earliest possible date. This is a very rare event since Easter will not fall this early again for another 152 years!
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Continuing with our "Pagan Influences?" series, we'll delve some more into the misconceptions and "urban legends" over the supposed pagan origins of the Christian celebration of Easter.
Til next time, God bless and clear skies!
-jay
The Ryan Family
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and
the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art
mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
- Psalm 8:3,4, a Psalm of David
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