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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:
- Anouncements
- Classical Astronomy at the APACHE convention
- Signs of the Seasons
- The "Smile Moon" of Spring
- Dance of the Planets
- Venus Returns to the Evening Sky
- The Station of Mars
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of his mouth. - Psalm 33:6
Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
Hello Friends,
We have had one of the cloudiest winters in 25 years here on the ice-encrusted shores of Lake Erie. We hardly had any clear nights for looking at the stars all winter, and it was one of the snowiest Februarys ever. Snowfall records were set all over the state of Ohio. Of course, many others around the USA saw much snow, especially down south. And we all saw the news about the back-to-back blizzards on the East Coast, especially Washington, D.C.
But February is over, and so far, we have had many sunny days and clear nights at the beginning of March. So hopefully we'll all have a chance to see more happenings in the night sky. 2010 will be an interesting year for the evening planets, so grab your calendar now and be ready to circle some dates for viewing the night sky!
In 2010, Easter will be on Sunday, April 4. As mentioned in previous Updates and explained in detail in our Signs & Seasons homeschool astronomy curriculum, the Christian feast of Pascha (commonly called "Easter" in English) is actually very closely based on the Hebrew Passover commemoration, as the times of each are derived from similar astronomical rules. For more information, check out our archive articles, The Paschal Moon and The Astronomy of Easter
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Announcements
Classical Astronomy at the APACHE Convention
As mentioned in a previous Update, I will be an invited speaker at the APACHE homeschool conference in Peoria, Illinois on March 26-27, 2010. I'm looking forward to meeting Illinois homeschoolers, especially any Update readers. Please be sure to attend a workshop session or two and drop by our booth.
We'll also be at the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio the weekend of April 8-10, 2010. This is a big show so if you're in OH, IN, or KY, you might want to check out that convention.
For a summary of the talks that I'm giving these days, please check out my speaker profile at the TOS Homeschool Speakers Bureau:
Seasonal Skies
The "Smile Moon" of Spring
As you spend more time observing the sky, and pay more attention to the cycles of the Sun and the Moon, you can begin to notice all the little variations that occur in the Sun and Moon over the span of the year. One fun thing to notice in the springtime is how the waxing crescent Moon appears as a "smile" in the evening sky.
During the spring, the waxing Moon follows a very steep path through the sky as it draws away from the sunset each passing night. The crescent Moon can be seen directly above the sunset. Since the bright edge of the Moon always points in the general direction of the Sun, the crescent Moon appears to nearly lie on its side, looking like a "smile" in the evening sky.
In contrast, in the autumn, the "horns" of the crescent Moon of autumn are nearly vertical. During that season, the Moon follows a very shallow path through the sky as draws away from the Sun.
My wife has always like to point out the "Smile Moon" to our kids every spring since they were little. Try to notice this with your family this spring. And be sure to notice the waxing crescent each month over the summer and into the fall, when it will be turned "sideways" from a smile!
Dance of the Planets
Venus Returns to the Evening Sky
The brilliant planet Venus had been the "Morning Star" for much of 2009. On January 11, 2010, Venus passed behind the Sun at its superior conjunction, and since that time has been visible in the evening sky as the bright "Evening Star." Venus will now be visible every clear evening of the spring and summer, and will disappear again into the sunset in the fall, passing between the Earth and the Sun on October 29.
Venus is always a brilliant sight in the sky, and impossible to miss, since it is the third brightest object in the sky, and only the Sun and Moon are brighter. No doubt everyone has seen Venus a million times, but most people don't realize what it s and confuse it with an airplane. However, unlike a plane, Venus does not move across the sky, but hangs steady in the sky, only setting like the Sun, Moon and stars. Also, Venus does not have blinking lights like a plane. Venus can be seen blazing in the evening sky, hovering in one position. For this reason, police departments always receive more UFO sightings when Venus is in the night sky!
Keep an eye on Venus on the evening of Wednesday, March 17 as the bright Evening Star is joined by the "Smile Moon" in the evening sky. Be sure to look after sunset as the twilight deepens to a beautiful shade of blue. The waxing crescent Moon will be somewhat higher in the evening sky, and that bright "star" below the Moon is Venus. If you've never noticed Venus before, yes, that's really it! Venus is always there every night for everyone who will trouble themselves to take a look.
You'll need a fairly clear horizon without trees or buildings to see Venus, since it is quite low in the sky this month. Venus will be higher in the sky as we get into summer, so keep looking over the weeks and months and watch it rise higher each passing evening. The Moon passes Venus each month, including the evenings of April 16, May 16, and June 15. We hope to keep you posted on these events in future editions of the Classical Astronomy Update.
For more info on the cycles of Venus and the Moon, check out our
The Station of Mars
As reported in our Classical Astronomy Update of last November, the bright planet Mars has been a regular feature in the evening sky since becoming very bright before its opposition on the evening of January 29, 2010. As explained in the above newsletter, ever since December 21, Mars has been
moving backwards through the constellations in a retrograde motion. On that date Mars was stationary, as it stopped its regular eastward motion and began to move west.
Mars will again be stationary on March 11, 2010. This is called the station of Mars, but not like a train station or a bus station! In astronomy, the "station" is the place in the sky where a planet briefly stops and reverses direction. The station can also refer to the date on which this occurs.
The station of March 11 marks the end of the retrogradation of Mars. After this time, Mars will again move normally to the east through the constellations, and will grow dimmer as the Red Planet becomes more distant from the Earth.
(As explained on page 155 of Signs & Seasons, the retrograde motion is an optical illusion created by the changing line of sight between the planet and the background stars, as the Earth begins to overtake the planet. )
As we saw in the aforementioned newsletter, following opposition on January 29, Mars has been moving toward the stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini, and makes its closest approach to these stars at its station on March 11, 2010. Mars will
pass through the Beehive Cluster in the constellation Cancer on April 20, 2010. This will be a pretty sight as seen through binoculars or a small telescope. On June 6, Mars will be in close conjunction with the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo.
Another interesting sight in the evening sky this month is the planet Saturn, currently passing out of the constellation Leo. In the spring and summer of 2010, the planets Mars, Saturn and Venus will be seen each clear evening. Also, the Moon will swing past these planets each month as it follows its monthly cycle through the constellations. In March, the waxing gibbous Moon will pass by Mars on the evenings of March 24 and 25. The Moon will pass Saturn on Palm Sunday, March 28. So if your skies are clear, make it a point to observe these monthly conjunctions of the Moon with these visible planets.
A very interesting configuration of planets will be visible this August, as the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn will draw closely together. Mars will pass nearest to Saturn on the evening of August 1. Venus will be nearby on this evening, and will draw nearer over the following nights. Venus will make its closest approach to Saturn on the evening of August 9, and will be closest to Mars on the evening of August 13.
If all that celestial excitement is not enough, the crescent Moon will join these planets on the same evening, August 13, 2010!
If you've never taken the time to observe the planets, 2010 is a great year to start! Keep an eye on the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn on the evenings throughout the year, and watch how these planets draw closely together over the months to form a neat little cluster of objects in mid-August. The best thing about the sky is, the LORD puts on this show for free! All you have to do is step outside and look!
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
- We'll continue to follow the monthly motions and lunar conjunctions of Venus, Mars and Saturn throughout 2010.
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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