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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:
- Dance of the Planets
- Planetary Conjunctions in July, 2010
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which
divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts
is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the
LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being
a nation before me for ever. - Jeremiah 31:35-36
Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
Hello Friends,
As usual, we're once again a day late and a dollar short in creating this newsletter! It's been so busy in the Ryan Family lately and we're just trying to keep up. So I'm rushing out this quick newsletter in the hopes that everyone will be informed and go outside the next couple days to see the Moon pass the visible evening planets.
We participated in four conventions this year and had a chance to meet several newsletter subscribers. Many thanks to everyone who visited our booth! We're hoping to visit a few more in 2011.
Of the subscribers we spoke with, we received some diverse feedback on the newsletter. Some said it's too long and too infrequent. Okay, we'll take that to heart and hopefully we can try to write shorter newsletters and get them out more often. Other people said the information comes too far ahead of the event, and that we should get it out closer to the time, so they don't have to circle their calendars. Meanwhile, some others thought the news came too close to the time, and they missed out since they didn't always check email the same day. This just goes to show you can't please everybody!
This newsletter should hopefully please everyone who wants it short and timely. However, whether this meets everyone's specific needs, I hope everyone will agree that they're getting their money's worth from this free newsletter! :)
We got an email from Update reader Angie Miller, whose family created a solar system in their backyard:
Here is something that was a huge hit in our house, that we did that you might want to consider for the future. We made our backyard the universe and I figured out the placements of the constellations around our fence and the kids burned the constellation shape into a piece of wood and then nailed them to the fence around the perimeter. We then made concrete planets and the sun and placed them in relation to each other, we just did it where each planet was one step out for an orbit. So Pluto would be 9 steps out from the sun. We then keep track of the location of the planets in relation to each other from http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar
so we can understand why we can see planets and constellations at different times of year and why some are not seen, because they are in the sun. We really liked doing that and is a great way to memorize the constellations in order by visualizing them on our fence.
Our Signs & Seasons homeschool astronomy curriculum includes instructions for making a temporary solar system in your backyard, but the Millers idea is a great extension of that idea! Thanks Angie!
Dance of the Planets
Planetary Conjunctions in July, 2010
Throughout the spring and the summer, we've been talking about the visible planets Mars, Saturn and Venus, and how these planets are converging toward a big series of conjunctions in August. I hope all the readers are following this event, as the positions of these planets are shifting in the sky from night to night. Last week, Venus passed very close to the bright star Regulus, and this was a beautiful sight in the evening twilight.
As we've been mentioning in the Classical Astronomy Update, the bright planet Mars has been a regular feature in the evening sky since January. The planet Saturn is nearby, to the east of Mars. To the west of Mars, above the place of the sunset, is the blazing
"evening star" Venus, the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon.
Following the total eclipse of the Sun over the Pacific Ocean this past Sunday, the crescent Moon returned to the evening sky, commencing the Hebrew month of Av. The crescent Moon is now "waxing" or increasing from night to night, and will pass the evening planets as it moves east in the sky, away from the direction of the sunset.
The waxing crescent Moon will pass Venus on the evening of Wednesday, July 14. Be sure to take a few minutes with the family to step outside during evening twilight to see the thin Moon near brilliant Venus. These passages are always a beautiful sight in the evening sky. I make it a point every month to observe the Moon's passage of Venus with our family.
On the following nright, Thursday, July 15, the Moon will pass nearest to Mars, which is drawing very close to the planet Saturn. Mars has grown considerably faint since its brightest appearance back in the winter. Nonetheless, if you keep checking the sky during twilight on Thursday, you should be able to spot Mars and Saturn forming a triangle with the Moon, as shown in the figure above. This view will be best if you can find a clear view of the horizon, unobstructed by trees and buildings, such as over water. By Friday, July 16, the Moon will have moved on past Saturn, but you can still see the planets as the Moon continues moving to the east.
Try to notice that Saturn, Mars and Venus all appear to be lining along the same line in the sky, and the line extends from the direction of sunset. As we look over to the planets, we are actually looking out "edge on" onto the plane of the solar system. If you could only image the scene from a "God's eye" point of view, the evening sky could help you envision the place of the Earth in the solar system, such as in the standard textbook views like the picture below.
The planets Saturn, Mars and Venus will draw closely together during August, 2010. 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. The waxing crescent Moon will join these planets on the same evening, August 13, 2010. This promises to be a fascinating celestial ballet, as the positions of the planets will clearly be changing from night to night! Start following these planets now so you can see them all come together over the next few weeks.
The summer of 2010 is a great opportunity to learn the visible planets and follow these conjunctions. Again, if you have any success in finding them for the first time, please drop us an email and let us know!
(The motions of the Moon and planets are explained in detail in our Signs & Seasons astronomy curriculum. Please check it out if you'd like to learn more! )
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
- We'll continue to follow the monthly motions and lunar conjunctions of Venus, Mars and Saturn throughout 2010.
- We hope to finally have time to answer some reader questions about celestial navigation, and the simple techniques of using the stars to steer a sailing ship from one end of the world to the other!
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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