• Announcements
  • New Signs & Seasons Workbook
• Dance of the Planets
  • Jupiter Rules the Evening Sky

Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.  He cometh
 forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and
 continueth not.  And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one,
and bringest me into judgment with thee?  Who can bring a
clean thing out of an unclean? not one.  Seeing his days
are determined, the number of his months are with
thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that
he cannot pass; - Job 14: 1-5.

 Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!

Hope you've all had a nice summer.  Our family didn't do anything special this year but we're hoping to take a couple short road trips in the fall.  It's been over a month since the last Update and we missed reporting a few things, including eclipses over Europe and Asia and the Perseid meteor shower.  However, in that time, we've been a little busy trying to launch a new product!

Announcements 

New! Signs & Seasons Workbook
We're happy to report that our new Classical Astronomy workbook has just arrived!  The Signs & Seasons Field Journal and Test Manual is the companion workbook to our curriculum textbook Signs & Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy.  This workbook is designed to help your student rediscover the forgotten secrets of Classical Astronomy, to the greater glory of God.  

This workbook is especially created for highschoolers to establish 120 hours of field work for a full high school astronomy credit with a final letter grade. Time sheets are provided to enable students to record work hours and thereby document their time spent working on the course and the related activities.

Field Journal Section
The Field Journal section is designed to encourage field observations of the topics in the curriculum. The Field Journal section includes all the field activities from Signs & Seasons, along with handy tables and sketch boxes for recording observations of the night sky and sketching the appearances of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets.

Also included are maps for recording the movements and positions of the celestial bodies. A separate volvelle section is included for creating pre-made, copy-and-cut-out "volvelles" -- traditional astronomical calculating instruments for modeling the motions of the celestial bodies.

Test Manual Section
The Test Manual section includes eight tests for the chapters in Signs & Seasons. The tests are designed to measure the student's progress in observing the sky as described in the curriculum. An Answer Key is included with handy blanks for each question, for recording point values and tabulating test scores.

That blazing celestial blowtorch Jupiter is currently dominating the evening skies through the month of August.  You can't miss Jupiter if you go out on a clear evening this month.  It is the very bright "star" hanging low in the southern sky.  At a glance, you might dismiss Jupiter as an airplane, but if you take the time to watch closely, you'll see that, unlike a plane, Jupiter doesn't move, except with the daily rotation of the sky.

As mentioned in the last Update, many people cannot believe that we can really see Jupiter, let alone that it is one of the brightest objects in the night sky.  If you missed it, be sure to read that article, Is That Really Jupiter?, on the Classical Astronomy web site.  

Jupiter -- Your Guide to the Summer Sky
Since Jupiter is so easy to spot in the night sky, you can use Jupiter as a guide to learning the summer constellations.  Jupiter is currently passing through the constellation Sagittarius.  This constellation lies low to the south and marks the position of the Sun on the first day of winter.  As you gaze at Jupiter, try to imagine the Sun hiding those stars at Christmastime!

Though the stars of Sagittarius are not very bright, if you can spot this constellation, notice that it bears a remarkable resemblance to a teapot!  If you're under a dark enough rural sky to see the Milky Way, it appears as "steam" rising from the teapot!

Turn your eyes north from Jupiter and look high up above.  Notice the three bright stars that pass nearly overhead as seen from the northern temperate latitudes.  These three stars form the Summer Triangle, an asterism formed of the brightest stars from three summer constellations:

Deneb is a star that represents the tail of the constellation Cygnus, the Swan.  Cygnus is also known as the Northern Cross for its distinct cross-shape;

Vega is a bright blue star that marks the smallish constellation Lyra, the Lyre;

Altair is the brightest star in Aquila, the Eagle.

If you're under a dark rural sky, you can see that the Summer Triangle lies amidst the Milky Way.  If you can pick out the prominent constellations, try to spot the smaller, fainter ones, such as Delphinus, the Dolphin, and Sagitta, the Arrow. 

Telescopic Sights in the Summer Sky
While the summer constellations are still overhead, try to visit a local astronomy club in your area.  These groups always have public nights and love to show people views through their telescopes.  To find an astronomy club in your area, visit Sky & Telescope magazine's searchable list of Astronomy Clubs and Organizations.

There a number of interesting telescopic sights to see in the summer sky, including:

M 27 - the Dumbell Nebula: this planetary nebula, believed to a remnant of an exploding star, appears as a fuzzy round ball with an "hourglass" or "dumbell" structure inside.  It is near the constellation Sagitta.

M57 - the Ring Nebula: one of my all-time favorites, this tiny little planetary nebula is a perfect "smoke ring in space" in Lyra.

M8 - the Lagoon Nebula: just above the teapot of Sagittarius, the Lagoon is a diffuse emission nebula containing a sprinking of tiny stars.  The Lagoon is an easy sight  with binoculars, and under dark enough skies, visible with the unaided eye.  

The Coathanger Cluster: this visual star cluster always makes me smile and is proof that God has a sense of humor!  It looks just like a coathanger, with a straight bar and a hook!  This is easily seen with binoculars near the constellation Sagitta, and under dark skies, can be spotted with the unaided eye.

Jupiter's Moons: see the sight that got Galileo in so much trouble!  At this time, 63 moons have been discovered around Jupiter, but only the four largest moons are easily seen through a telescope.  The fun part of Jupiter's moons is, they change positions all the time, and are very different from night-to-night and even change their positions over a span of hours.  

Many interesting telescopic events can be seen in connection with Jupiter's moons:

Occulation: the moons can be seen passing behind the disc of Jupiter.  They can reemerge at a later time the same night.  

Transit: the opposite of an occulation, the moons can pass in front of the disc of Jupiter. 
 
Eclipse: while looking at exactly the right time, the moons can "wink out" as they pass into Jupiter's shadow, far from the visible disc of Jupiter.  They can also "wink back in" when they emerge from Jupiter's shadow.  
 
Shadow Transit: perhaps the most interesting events of Jupiter's moons is when their shadows pass over the disc of Jupiter.  A little black speck can be seen on Jupiter's face, moving across as the moon circles the planet.

Sky & Telescope has a very interesting online, Java-based demo program for modeling the motions of Jupiter's moons, including data on the above events.  Check it out and learn more about how the interesting planetary system of Jupiter. 

Anyway, these are among the interesting sights you can expect to see if you visit your local astronomy club this summer.  So grab the kids along with the lawn chairs and some bug spray and check out a club in your area!

 

• Into the fall, the planet Venus will become prominent in the evening sky.
• We'll explain the orientation of the autumn sky, including the "Harvest Moon" effect. 

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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