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By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed
the crooked serpent. Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how
little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his
power who can understand? - Job 26:13-14
IN THIS UPDATE:
Announcements
Classical Astronomy Class - Cleveland, Ohio Area
"Consider Thy Heavens" Virginia and Michigan Meetups
Dance of the Planets
CLOSE Lunar Conjunctions With Mars and Saturn
Dear Friends,
People like to refer to me as an "astronomer." Whenever I'm asked to speak someplace, the announcement always says something along the times of, "Astronomer Jay Ryan will be running his mouth tonight." I don't agree with being called an astronomer. Such a title should apply to a professional, which I am not. Is everyone who grows tomatoes in their backyard a "farmer"? Just like everyone can spend time outside in their backyard during the day, making a pastime of tending created things that nourish the body, everyone can just as easily spend time outside in their backyard after dark, making a pastime of being attentive to the created things above, that can nourish the mind and soul. In that case, it is my hope that all of you will also become "astronomers."
Classical Astronomy Class -- Cleveland, Ohio Area
ATTENTION NORTHEAST OHIO: Speaking of "astronomy nourishing the mind and soul," our pastor
recently asked me to present a class on Classical Astronomy at our
church this fall. The weekly class will be held on Wednesday evenings at
7:00 PM, starting September 3, and will run through December 17
(excepting only the day before Thanksgiving). Our church is Valley View Village Church (3VC) in Valley
View, Ohio, a few miles away from I-77 off of the Rockside Road and Pleasant Valley Road exits, not far from the interchange with I-480.
In the class, I will be teaching directly from our Signs & Seasons
curriculum, and will be adding some supplemental material, beyond the
scope of that book, particularly on angle-measurement and constellation identification. After each class (weather permitting), we will be
directly observing the sky from the church grounds, and applying the subject matter learned in
the course.
During the span of this course, we will observe the autumnal equinox and nearly to the winter solstice. Also, we will be able to directly observe the astronomy of the Jewish High Holy Days. Two eclipses will occur in this period, including the second so-called "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse, and also a sunset solar eclipse. I'm hoping to round up the class for at least one after-dark "field trip" to a dark sky location.
The class is
open to high school students (for homeschool credit) and any interested adults. There will be a
nominal charge for the course, details to follow. If you live in the
Cleveland area and would like to learn Classical Astronomy first hand,
please send me an email. (Please do NOT contact the church!) Please forward this to any friends who do live in Northeast Ohio who might be interested.
"Consider Thy Heavens" - Virginia and Michigan
Also speaking of "astronomy nourishing the mind and soul," a growing number of hardy individuals will be joining us THIS MONTH at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. This is our only outdoor event in the South for 2014, so I hope y'all can join us! Click the image link below for a Facebook event page with more info.
The Michigan event is next month, in August, and this is the one I'm really excited about. Though it is a 9 hour drive for us from Cleveland, some families are traveling even farther, coming from Indiana, Illinois and even Tennessee! The skies in this location are reported to be inky black, so if you have any interest in ever seeing a truly "biblical" dark sky east of the Mississippi in your lifetime, this is the place.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a well-kept secret, but legendary in the Great Lakes region for being one of the few remaining remote, pristine natural areas in the eastern USA. We recently met a lady from Germany who has traveled all around the United States. She said that Florida and Texas are among her favorite places in this country, but the UP of Michigan is her most favorite! So there is an objective opinion for you, from a very experienced world traveler!
We will have some special guests joining us for this event, including the Suarez family who publish The Old Schoolhouse magazine, and also Dr. William T. Pelletier, the Bible Science Guy. Please join us for a memorable vacation on the shores of Lake Superior!
In preparation for this Michigan meetup, I've been reading The Song of Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is an epic poem, based on the folklore of the Indian tribes of Upper Michigan, who live along the shores of Lake Superior, in the very region we will be visiting. The story culminates with the arrival of the black-robed missionary, who brings the Gospel to the tribes, a common theme in the American literature of the 1850s (though sadly, not today). This poem is full of astronomical imagery, with detailed descriptions of colorful sunsets and beautiful night skies, such as we can expect to see on this trip. Written in trochaic tetrameter, it is reminiscent of other epic poems I've read, including Homer and Hesiod, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Icelandic Sagas, and even Tolkien's Silmarrilion. I HIGHLY recommend that other families participating in this event read this poem, to help prepare for this experience. (Besides, it's a really quick read.)
* * * * *
For more information about topics from Classical Astronomy discussed in this newsletter,
homeschool astronomy curriculum
(but popular with adult readers too!)
Visit our archive of previous editions of the Classical Astronomy Update newsletters, going back to 2007.
Visit this page to subscribe to the Classical Astronomy Update and the Northeast Ohio Astronomy (NEOastro) newsletters.
* * * * *
Dance of the Planets
CLOSE Lunar Conjunctions With Mars and Saturn
If you've been reading the Classical Astronomy Update during 2014, you've been following the current apparition of Mars, and all the attendant phenomena. Since springtime, we've described how Mars has been moving through the constellation Virgo, and how the red planet has moved back and forth past Spica, Virgo's brightest star. We've explained how to find Spica, and thus Mars, from following the handle of the Big Dipper, past the bright summer star Arcturus. If you have not read of these things, and still do not know how to find Mars in Virgo, please read the recent previous editions in
our newsletter archive.
The dance of Mars will become very interesting over this holiday weekend in early July. The First Quarter Moon will be passing VERY CLOSELY to Mars on the evening of Saturday, July 5. The Moon will be less than one lunar diameter away from Mars, and these bodies will form a tight little triangle with Spica!
This will be a very close conjunction, an uncommon sight, and will be easily visible in the early evening to everyone in the USA. The good news is, the further south you live, the closer the Moon will appear to Mars! Along the Gulf of Mexico, these two will appear much closer than to those way up north. And those south of the USA, in Central America and South America, will see it even closer!
As seen from the Pacific coast of South America, in Peru and Chile, there will be an occultation of Mars, as the Moon passes in front of the Red Planet! This is a very rare sight, for the Moon to occult a planet. Back in the 90s, I observed an evening occultation of the Moon with the star Aldebaran, but have not seen one since. (For a full explanation of conjunctions and occultations, check out Chapter 7 of our Signs & Seasons curriculum.)
The geographical difference in apparent separation between the Moon and Mars is due to parallax. The apparent position of the Moon can vary by as much two lunar diameters depending on where one is located on the globe! Google this term for more info.
Wherever you live in the western hemisphere, this celestial meetup promises to be an amazing sight! If you have any friends south of the border, or working as missionaries elsewhere in the Americas, please share this newsletter with them, so that they will not miss this event.
Two days after the Moon's pass with Mars, on the evening of Monday, July 7, the Moon will skip along into the constellation Libra, and will make a very close pass to the planet Saturn. This particular conjunction will not be quite as close, but it will still be within less than a lunar diameter. So make sure to circle your calendar to spot this celestial pairing.
After more than a quarter-century of following Classical Astronomy, I still never fail to be fascinated by the celestial clockwork that the LORD has ordained over our heads. My only lament is that so few people pay any attention to the sky, including Christians, so many of whom are indifferent to the LORD's handiwork above. Thank you for reading this newsletter, and for observing these things for yourselves, and for sharing this newsletter with your friends, that they may observe these things also and glorify their Creator.
Generally, the Sun, Moon and planets are all appearing to move in the general direction of the east at all times. Now that the retrogradation of Mars is over, the Red Planet is once more on the move, and will be advancing quickly in the easterly direction. Mars will draw closer and closer to Spica over the next few weeks, and will pass this star on the evening of Saturday, July 12. At this conjunction, Mars will be 1.4 degrees from Spica, not quite three lunar diameters, but still considered quite close in astronomical terms.
At this time, one should easily be able to discern the color difference between these bodies, with the contrast between rusty-colored Mars and the glittery-blue hue of Spica.
If you like what you see in July, stick around for August! There will be some more interesting activity in the dance between Mars, Saturn and the Moon.
* Mars will exit the constellation Virgo and move into Libra, closing the gap between itself and the slower-moving Saturn.
* On the evening of August 2, Mars will be in between Spica and Saturn, and the waxing crescent Moon will pass in between Mars and Spica, as seen from the longitudes of the Americas.
* The next evening, August 3, the Moon will be between Mars and Saturn, as seen from the Americas.
* However, as seen from the longitudes of the Far East, there will be an EXTREMELY close conjunction of the Moon and Saturn on the evening of August 4. This will be especially interesting as seen from the Philippines, Indonesia and northern Australia, where an occultation of Saturn will be visible.
* Mars finally overtakes Saturn by the end of August, when it passes 4 degrees (8 lunar diameters) from the Ringed Planet on August 27. The waxing crescent Moon passes through this pair on August 31 and September 1, making a very interesting trio of celestial bodies.
We will definitely plan to get out another newsletter by early August, and maybe another before month's end, describing these events in detail. Meantime, please drop us an email if you manage to see these events. If you can send us any pictures, we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.
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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