Classical Astronomy Update - Jupiter Approaches Venus

Published: Tue, 11/25/08

 
 
 
Classical Astronomy
 

New Moon

Classical Astronomy...
the traditional
methods of visually observing the
sky, as have
been practiced
for centuries.
 
Rediscover our forgotten
astronomical
heritage!
 
 
Check out
Signs & Seasons,
a Christian
homeschool
astronomy
curriculum!
 
Subscribe to the Classical Astronomy Update!


 
CLASSICAL ASTRONOMY WEB SITE
The Sky This Month

 

ASTRONOMY FAQs
What is Classical Astronomy?
What Kind of Telescope?

Astronomy Resources
Homeschool Articles
Homeschool Friends

 
 
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
    • Classical Astronomy on Prime Time America
    • Reflections on Recent Events
    • Christmas Features -- Classical Astronomy Store
  • Astronomy Topics
    • Oops! More Space Junk
  • Dance of the Planets
    • Venus,  Jupiter, and the Moon - December 1
Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not
 moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let
men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.  Let the sea
roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and
all that is therein. -- 1 Chronicles 16:30-32

 Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!

Hello Friends,
 
Though the beginning of winter is still a month away, blustery snow and cold have recently arrived to the shores of Lake Erie.  We had a beautiful extended fall here in northern Ohio.  Since August, the days were golden -- gorgeous blue skies and stunning autumnal sunsets.  We had very little of the cold, nasty rain typical in this zone in October and November.  The orange and red leaves stayed on the trees for much longer than usual.
 
Finally, the seasonal wheel had to turn.  The days are now nearly at their shortest here in the northern hemisphere, and will not grow significantly longer 'til February.  We're now into the dark season.  But the good part is, if your skies are clear, you can see the stars in the early evening.  Also, the sky is darker and the stars sparkle more brightly on cold, crisp winter nights, when humidity is minimal. 
 
If you live in the northern hemisphere, use this winter time with your family to observe the night sky.  And if you live in the southern hemisphere, enjoy the warm days!
 
 
Announcements 
Classical Astronomy on Prime Time America
I had the distinct privelege of speaking with Mr. Paul Butler of Prime Time America about the upcoming conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon and Classical Astronomy in general.  Mr. Butler informs me that our conversation will be included with the broadcast for Monday, December 1, 2008.  If you have a Moody Broadcasting affiliate in your area, be sure to catch the broadcast, or listen online at the Prime Time America website. 
 
Reflections on Recent Events
Like a lot of Christians in the USA, we were disappointed with the recent presidential election results.  Also, the economic news grows more grim with each day, with financial instutions over a century old going under in a single day.  Then we read of "wars and rumors of wars" as have filled human events throughout all history.
 
On election night, after listening to the speeches from Senators McCain and Obama, I went outside to look at the sky.  There was my old friend, the constellation Orion, climbing the eastern sky as he does this time of year.  The old fool seemed as serene as ever, with his bright stars glittering unperturbed in the night sky.
 
As I often do, I once again pondered that Orion and all the stars of the sky had shone down on everyone throughout all time -- Moses and Pharoah, Jesus and Caesar, Washington and King George.  This was the same Orion about which the prophet wrote millennia ago: 
 
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. -- Amos 5:8
 
The celestial bodies are the only pristine relics of the Creation Week.  While the LORD made trees and birds and animals, the originals are long dead, but the original objects in the sky remain.  This reminded me again that this is still our Father's world, and that the LORD is still in control.  Political winds blow this way and that, economies expand and contract, and nations and empires rise and fall, all at the will of the LORD.  And the unchanging stars silently shine down upon it all, temporal reminders of the eternal.
 
What more can we do but reflect on the goodness and bounty of our Father in heaven who remembers the sparrows and cloaks the lilies of the field?  What more can we do but pray to do His will, to be a small part of His master plan?  As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let us be thankful for all the goodness and grace that we receive from the LORD.
 

Christmas Features -- Classical Astronomy Store
Zippy, the official Fourth Day Press watchcat, has been seriously slacking off lately ever since the end of the homeschool curriculum season!  Here we see Zippy doing what he does best, "catching some z's" with Smoky, our cute fuzzy black kitty.  We're hoping Zippy has more work to do in 2009!
 
 
 
If you're looking for the right items for those little space cadets on your shopping list, why not visit the Classical Astronomy Store? 
 
Though Signs & Seasons is created to be a homeschool astronomy curriculum, it is also intended for use by adults and other students as a general tutorial for learning the cycles of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets.
 
We have a number of other astronomy related items, such as Hugg-A-Planets.  These soft, plush globes are like stuffed animals in the shape of planets!  
 
The Hugg-A-Constellation is a constellation globe with the constellations color-coded for quick and easy reference.  The constellations of the zodiac (i.e., along the plane of the solar system) are highlighted in yellow. The constellations to the north are in red, and those to the south are in green. The globe includes the Milky Way, the celestial equator, and the path of Halley's Comet, giving you a star map that you can take outside or just toss across the room!
 
 
 
The 3D Solar System is a big kit for creating a solar system in your child's room!  Everything you need to hang and stick everything into place is included in the kit. Comes with nine glow-in-the-dark planets, 25 feet of string, 200 glow-in-the-dark adhesive stars and a planetary guide.
 
 
For a complete list of all our currently available products, check out the main page and left sidebar in our Online Ordering page.
 
 
Astronomy Topics 
 
Oops! More Space Junk
Over the years, NASA astronauts have lost a variety of objects in orbit over the Earth.  Screws and wrenches have been lost in the past, and even a glove from a spacesuit!  NASA made the news again this past week when a shuttle astronaut lost an entire tool bag!  The 30 pound bag of grease guns came loose during a routine maintenance operation at the International Space Station.  The event was caught on video. 
 
When objects are lost in space, they remain in orbit, sometimes for many years, before gravity pulls them back to Earth.  Fortunately, NASA reports that the greasy tool bag was a low velocity object and its orbit will decay rather quickly.
 
NASA and the Defense Department continually track over 50,000 items in Earth orbit, including active satellites, dead satellites, and other "cosmic debris," from wrenches and tool bags to rocket boosters and even small nuclear reactors, which all circle the Earth in orbits of their own.
 
Everytime a rocket is shot into space, great care must be taken to avoid the orbits of these objects. In case you're wondering why this important, consider that objects in orbit are moving at about 18,000 miles per hour. Imagine what might happen if a wrench moving at that speed were to collide with the windshield of the Space Shuttle!

As bad as this sounds, it's not really all that crowded in the sky above.  Even with 50,000 pieces of junk in orbit, there's still a lot of "space" up there -- an open volume larger than the radius of the Earth and a couple hundred miles thick. That's much more room to work with than we have here on the ground. But each time an astronaut loses a wrench or a tool bag, NASA has to play an increasingly difficult game of "dodge'ems" to thread the needle between the orbits of all that debris.
 
Lest anyone wish to play the "blame America" game, most of the space junk is from the Russians. Back in the era of the Mir space station, the Russians would just throw their garbage out the hatch! That garbage is still in orbit 20 years later.  Those Russian astronauts were not very good Boy Scouts, leaving their campsite in that condition!
 
Back in the 90s, there was talk about putting up "space billboards" in high orbit, made of thin sheets of mylar.  Imagine looking up on a clear beautiful night and seeing a sign in the sky, as bright as the Full Moon, saying "Drink Coke"!  Then imagine the whole sky filled with dozens of these celestial commercials.  It would be the end of astronomy as we know it, and also the end of nighttime.  Thankfully, Congress passed a law banning this practice, so the sky is safe from the marketing agencies (at least for now!)
 
A lot of this space junk will eventually fall to Earth on its own, but some objects will remain in orbit for centuries.  We can't really clean up space either.  You don't just float up to the wrench and collect it into your garbage bag. That wrench is moving at projectile velocity and I wouldn't want to put my space helmet in the way!
 
Here's some more info on space junk from Space.com:
 
   
 
Dance of the Planets 

Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon - December 1
As reported in the previous Update, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter have been drawing closer in the evening sky throughout the month of November, 2008.  The last week of November is the "main event," as these celestial bodies noticably change their positions with each passing night.
 
As mentioned in previous Updates, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest "stars" in the sky, and actually the brightest celestial objects after the Sun and Moon.  Jupiter and Venus come close together every year or so, and the Moon passes each of these every month.  However, it is relatively rare to see all three objects so close together, especially in the evening sky.  All we need is clear skies and we're all set!
 
If you look up on Thanksgiving evening, Thursday, November 27, you will see Jupiter above and to the left of Venus, at the "11 o'clock" position from the bright evening star.  By three days later, on the evening of Sunday, November 30, Venus will have swung under Jupiter, so that the latter planet is now at the "two o'clock" position from Venus.  On that evening, the waxing crescent Moon will enter the scene, below and to the right of this bright pair.
 
The last month of 2008 will begin on the evening of Monday, December 1 with the closest approach of Venus and Jupiter, joined by the closest passing of the four-day-old waxing crescent Moon.  This will be a unique opportunity to see the LORD's celestial clockwork in action, so be sure to look outside to the southwest in evening twilight after sunset.
 
 
Pray for clear skies if you live in the Great White North as we do!  But if you live in a warm, clear sky location, you really should make it a point to take a couple minutes out of your evening to observe this event.
 
Keep an eye on these objects throughout the first week of December.  The Moon will wax away from the evening planets, heading east as it grows thicker in phase.  Venus will pass to the left of Jupiter, moving higher in the southwest sky as Jupiter moves lower. 
 
To understand this event from a "God's eye view," the Earth is currently swinging around the Sun away from Jupiter, and so this planet is moving behind the Sun as seen from the Earth.  Throughout December, Jupiter will inch toward the sunset a little bit each night, finally disappearing into the Sun's bright afterglow.  On January 24, 2009, Jupiter will invisibly pass the opposite point from the Earth in its superior conjunction with the Sun.  
 
Meanwhile, swift Venus is emerging farther and farther from the sunset and climbing higher and higher in the evening sky.  Venus will reach its maximum eastern elongation on January 14, 2009, when its apparent distance from the Sun is greatest.  After that, Venus will draw again toward the Sun as it overtakes the Earth in its orbit.   
 
 
For the time being, on Monday, December 1, Jupiter and Venus will "pass each other on the way" as they fall along the same line of sight as seen from the surface of the Earth. 
  
Folks, again, this is an excellent opportunity to observe the clockwork of the heavens in action.  Make it a point to notice Jupiter and Venus in the next couple weeks as clear skies permit.  Tell your friends, family, and neighbors and share this info with your homeschool support group.  People are always amazed to see the planets and this is a rare show that you won't want to miss!     
 
 
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
  • We hope to explain about light pollution and how street lighting can spoil the quality of the night sky.
  • In 2009, we will celebrate the Quadricentennials of Galileo and Kepler.
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
 
 
If you would like to subscribe to the Classical Astronomy Update,
please visit the Newsletter Sign-Up page.