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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 on Facebook
- New! Search the Classical Astronomy Site!
- Upcoming Book: Moonfinder
- Signs of the Seasons
- Christmas Articles from Classical Astronomy
- Dance of the Planets
- Observing Jupiter and Its Moons
- Catch the Geminid Meteors - December 13
- Total Lunar Eclipse - December 21
In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace
so long as the moon endureth. - Psalm 72:7
Welcome to the Classical Astronomy Update!
Hello Friends,
Welcome to all the new subscribers since the last Update! I haven't written one of these newsletters since September, and in the meantime, I spent a week in the hospital and have had much other joy and gladness trying to get life back on track. God has been merciful, and everything seems fine health-wise lately, and I'm now back to swimming three miles a week.
During this absence, we received several emails from readers remarking that they were not receiving the newsletter, or were concerned that they were dropped from the list. Let me assure everyone that we would never drop anyone from the list, and are grateful for all 2800 subscribers. My only regret is that we don't have 20,000 subscribers like one of those real homeschool email newsletters! So feel free to share the Update with your friends, and don't worry whether you've been dropped!
Thanks to everyone for their interest and for taking the time to write. However, please keep in mind that I'm just a busy dad with a full-time day job and other priorities. Classical Astronomy is in the category of a hobby/personal ministry that happens in my spare time, whenever that is! I try to write one of these a month, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. Thanks for everyone's understanding, and your prayers would be appreciated.
I also understand that some folks no longer wish to receive the Update. Please note that there is an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of each newsletter, in compliance with anti-spam regulations. I would ask that people use this link to unsub from the newsletter and not mark it as "spam."
My newsletter provider, Aweber, receives a notification whenever the newsletter is marked as spam by a reader. If that percentage becomes too high, then they will automatically cancel my account. If that happens, the Classical Astronomy Update will be gone without a goodbye, and since I would then be labeled a spammer, would not likely be able to get picked up by another provider.
Please note that we comply with all spam regulations, and anyone who wishes can easily opt out by unsubscribing. However, we do advertise our products, such as our Signs & Seasons curriculum, and hope that everyone understands that the sale of these products enables us to pay for the service for providing this free newsletter. Your understanding and cooperation are most appreciated.
On another note, be sure to visit our page, The Sky This Month at our website. This month we have plenty of articles posted from our archives to explain about the winter solstice, the constellations visible this month, and also some articles about astronomy and Christmas.
The Ryan Family wishes your family a blessed and Merry Christmas!
Announcements
Classical Astronomy on Facebook
This is just a reminder to everyone about the Classical Astronomy page on Facebook. Since the newsletter has been intermittent, we post notices on that page of upcoming sky events, along with astronomy stories from the news, and any other miscellaneous articles found on the web. Stay posted in between newsletters! (Especially the next time we run three months between newsletters!) If you're on Facebook, here's the link for the page:
Also, feel free to "friend" me on Facebook:
New! Search the Classical Astronomy Site!
I'm happy to report that the Classical Astronomy web site now has a search capability, through Google. Now, you can search all our archives of over 300 articles to find specific information on any topic. Just hit our web site and notice the "Search" button along our top nav bar.
Upcoming Book: Moonfinder
Coming soon from Fourth Day Press!
 We're very excited to report that production is finally underway to publish Moonfinder, an illustrated children's book about a little boy who learns how to follow the phases of the Moon. This book project was originally developed between 1997 and 2000, but was never published at that time. There's a whole story behind Moonfinder
, and we'll share more on that as time goes by. We'll keep everyone posted as to the status of this project. To see some sample pictures from Moonfinder, please check out this publicly-listed Facebook folder .
Signs of the Seasons
Christmas Articles From Classical Astronomy
With the Feast of the Nativity approaching, here are some articles from our archives that cover various aspects of Christmas.
What Was The Star of Bethlehem?
One of our most frequently asked questions, especially around this time of year, is "what was the Star of Bethlehem?" This article examines some of the theories that have offered to explain this event according to astronomy.
Is Christmas Pagan?
Contrary to popular misconception, there is no clear historical evidence that Christmas is derived from a pagan winter solstice celebration.
Some Christmas Sources
A look at some secular historical sources that support the Biblical account of the Nativity.
Dance of the Planets
Observing Jupiter and its Moons
If you've been outside lately in the early evening after dark, you can't miss the bright planet Jupiter. In December, Jupiter is the brightest object after the Moon in the evening sky, hanging high up in the middle of the sky in the hours after sunset. Hopefully your family has been looking at Jupiter on clear nights.
We recently received this email from Marcie Bullock of the Bullockbunch:
Hi Jay,
My family and I are enjoying the Classical Astronomy newsletters!! We do have a question. When we look at Jupiter with our telescope, we see 2 shiny "stars" on either side of Jupiter. My neighbor said they were Jupiter's moons. Do you know if that is what they were? They are in perfect alignment with Jupiter. Thank you for your time!!
Yes, those are Jupiter's moons, and they are visible in even the tiniest telescopes, even these small toy telescopes. Even the most modest telescope today has better optics than Galileo's, and he was able to to discover these moons 400 years ago.
Though Jupiter has dozens of moons in orbit, only the four Galilean moons are visible. They are exciting to observe because they change position from night to night, and even from hour to hour in the same night. Sometimes the moons appear to cluster together, and can change position quickly.
Sometimes the Galilean moons pass in front of the face of Jupiter, in a transit. Though these can be hard to see, you can see easily see shadow transits, where the shadow of the Galilean moons pass over the face of Jupiter, looking like little black specks on the face of Jupiter. Here's a cool YouTube video showing a time-lapse of a double transit and shadow transit. (Don't expect to see such a dazzling view through a small scope!)
Since Jupiter is prominent in the night sky in this season, if you have a telescope, you can make it a project from night to night to observe the changing moons, weather permitting. However, please don't run out and buy a scope just for this! H
ere is a Jupiter moon tracker app from the Sky & Telescope site:
In case you haven't noticed Jupiter before, be sure to look on the nights before and after December 13, when the waxing Moon will make its closest pass of Jupiter. Even if you can't spot Jupiter at other times, you can't miss it when it's near the Moon, and these two always make an interesting sight in the sky.
Catch the Geminid Meteors - December 13
The Geminid meteor shower runs each year from December 7 through December 15. The peak night for seeing the Geminids is the evening of Monday, December 13 through the morning of Tuesday, December 14. The Geminids are usually considered the second best meteor shower of the year in terms of actual meteor count. However, your chances of seeing more meteors might be better with the Geminids.
These meteors are called "Geminids" because they appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which rises in the early evening with Orion. Since this constellation rises early and is above the horizon all night, you can see the Geminids any time of the night. Also, nights are longer for us northern dwellers this time of year, unlike August when the Perseids are seen. In 2010, the First Quarter Moon will set by midnight, and the late hours will be ideal for watching the meteor show.
If you live in the snow-blown wastes of the north as we do, your biggest problem will be clear skies! But if you do happen to get a clear sky, a crisp, frosty night has very low humidity and offers an inky black sky, even as seen from the city.
Total Lunar Eclipse - December 21
It's been a long time, friends, but we finally have another lunar eclipse! If you're a night owl, or if you can manage to stay up late into the wee hours of Tuesday, December 21, you have a chance to see one of the rare treats of Classical Astronomy! That night, there will be a Total Eclipse of the Moon!
As long-time readers of the Update will remember, the last Total Lunar Eclipse visible over North America was back in February, 2008. And since we were clouded out that night, our family hasn't seen one since August, 2007!
If you have a clear night in your area, I'd encourage everyone to stay up late for this one, or at least wake up with the kiddos, since this will be the last Total Eclipse of the Moon visible over the USA until April 15, 2014! You can be sure our kids will do a lot of growing between now and then, so make sure they take advantage of this opportunity!
 A total eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Full Moon slips behind the Earth and passes into the Earth's shadow, lining up perfectly with the Earth and the Sun. In my opinion, the most interesting parts of a lunar eclipse are the partial stages -- the ingress when the Moon is entering the Earth's shadow, and the egress, when the Moon is departing. You can notice the changes over a period of minutes, especially as totality approaches, and it can be quite exciting!
During the partial stage, the curvature of the Earth's shadow can usually be seen across the face of the Moon. This is one of the classical proofs that the Earth is round, as noted by Aristotle in 350 B.C. Try to observe this for yourself on Tuesday morning!
Though all of North America and most of the Pacific will be able to see the entire eclipse, this one will favor observers to the west, on the west coast of the USA and Canada, and in Alaska and Hawaii, being visible during earlier hours of the evening.
Ingress begins when the Moon enters the Earth's penumbra (or partial shadow) at 5:27 UT, which corresponds to 12:27 AM EST and 9:27 PM PST on the evening of December 20. Not much is clearly visible during the penumbral stage, except the brightness of the Moon is somewhat dimmed. If one could be on the Moon's surface during an eclipse, one would see the disc of the Sun begin to slip behind the Earth, cutting off more and more of the Sun's bright rays as the eclipse progresses.
The main event begins when the Moon makes contact with the Earth's umbra (or full shadow) at 6:32 UT, corresponding to 1:32 AM EST and 10:32 PM PST. Though not much is visible at this exact time, a dark edge will be seen on the Full Moon as the Earth's shadow begins to sweep across the Moon's surface. For the next hour or so, a partial eclipse of the Moon will be visible, as the Moon is swallowed by the shade of the Earth.
Totality begins at 7:40 UT, which is 2:40 AM EST and 11:40 PST. During this time, the Full Moon is completely covered by the Earth's shadow. During totality, it is common to see a murky red glow on the face of the Moon. This is the result of red sunlight being filtered through the Earth's atmosphere onto the Moon's surface.
Believe it or not, when the Sun appears orange at sunrise and sunset, and paints the clouds and the landscape with shades of pink, the Sun's orange rays that don't touch the ground keep radiating out into space and shine on the Moon during eclipse! It's as if the Earth's atmosphere acts as a red filter to remove all the Sun's light except for the reddish shades. If one could be on the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, the Earth would appear as a black circle surrounded by a red ring representing all the sunrises and sunsets!
Very often around eclipse times, I get emails asking if the bloody color of a lunar eclipse should be taken as a sign of the End Times, according to Joel 2:31 and Revelation 6:12. I always discourage people from thinking along those lines, since lunar eclipses are very common, natural occurrences, hardly worthy of apocalyptic significance. For a detailed examination of this topic, check out the Update archive article, Lunar Eclipse - the Sixth Seal?
For the December 21 eclipse, totality ends at 8:53 UT, which is 3:53 AM EST and 12:53 AM PST. After that, the Moon's egress through the partial phases will continue through 10:01 UT, or 5:01 AM EST and 2:01 AM PST. These are no doubt some rude hours for people in the eastern USA and Canada, but earlybirds might be up and around before sunrise on the morning of December 21, and should make it a point to catch the departing partial stage. If you are up that early, be sure to also look for the bright morning star Venus, which is currently blazing in the pre-sunrise sky.
If your family catches the December 21 eclipse, please email us a digital photo. It has to be a nice shot -- in focus and with a large enough Moon image -- and must clearly show the Moon at some stage of eclipse. If the image quality is acceptable, we will include your pic in the next Update! We'd love to have a gallery of photos from around the USA and beyond! This would be a great way to share the event with those who are clouded out or otherwise unable to watch! In any case, don't miss this eclipse!!! Merry Christmas!
Coming in future Classical Astronomy Updates:
- Not sure right now what's coming up in 2011, but we'll look ahead and let everyone know!
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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