Download Mon Sep 13 2010 MOON AND ANTARES This evening the fat

Mon Sep 13 2010
MOON AND ANTARES
This evening the fat, waxing crescent moon appears well up in the southwestern sky. To the left of
the moon is the star Antares, a red giant sun which marks the heart of Scorpius. The ancient Aratus
wrote, "tis said that when the Scorpion comes, Orion flees to the utmost ends of the earth." The
reason he said this is because in mythology the scorpion was the mortal enemy of the hero Orion,
who once boasted that no animal on earth could hurt him. Bragging like this invariably leads to
disaster, and sure enough, a scorpion rose up from the ground and stung Orion on the heel. The
dying hero was given new life as a constellation in the sky, but he still fears the scorpion, for
whenever Scorpius rises out of the southeast, Orion ducks down below the western horizon. And
the great hunter does not rise and appear in the eastern sky until after the scorpion has set in the
southwest.
Tue Sep 16, 2010
SCHOOL SHOWS
Things have been busy at the Hallstrom Planetarium. We’re gearing up for another season of school
and public planetarium shows, including a show about our solar system, including Pluto, which
debuts next month. We’re also taking quite a lot of phone calls from area school teachers who want
to bring their classes to the Planetarium. The Hallstrom Planetarium offers free field trips to any
public or private school, grades K – 12, in St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River and Okeechobee Counties.
Programs are presented on weekday mornings, and cover a variety of topics in astronomy, from star
and constellation recognition, to trips through our solar system, and even views of deep space such
as distant galaxies and quasars nearly fifteen billion light years away. If you’re a teacher and want to
bring your class to see the stars, call 462-7503 to make a reservation.
Wed Sep 15 2010
FIRST QUARTER MOON IN SAGITTARIUS
The moon is now at first quarter. If you look at it tonight, it will look like a half moon, but
technically a half moon is called a quarter moon. Go figure. Okay, it’s called a half moon because it
looks like a half moon. But it’s also a quarter moon because the moon has now traveled one quarter
of the way in its orbit since new moon a week ago. So there. The stars just below the moon form the
constellation of Sagittarius the Archer. Trying to imagine these fanciful mythological creatures can
be really hard. With Sagittarius, you’re expected to see a centaur, half-man, half-horse, complete with
bow and arrow aimed at Scorpius. Just below the moon tonight is a star that marks the tip of the
arrow, and a little further to the left are three stars spread out in a line that form the bow. In Greek
mythology, Sagittarius represents Chiron, a wise old centaur who taught Hercules and other great
heroes of antiquity.
Thu Sep 16 2010
ARCTURUS AND BOOTES
If you look off to the northwest after sunset tonight, you’ll find a star low in the sky. That
northwestern star is named Arcturus, which means, “bear guard” or “bear chaser.” That’s because
Earth’s rotation causes this star to follow or chase the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear in
the Sky, to the north of Arcturus (you’ll recognize part of the Great Bear as the Big Dipper.)
Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the night sky; it’s about 36 light years away in the
constellation Bootes, the Herdsman. This is an agricultural constellation that ancient farmers used to
keep track of when to plant and harvest the crops. In the springtime, Bootes can be found in the
eastern sky after sunset; now, half a year later, the herdsman has gone over to the other side of the
sky, a celestial reminder of harvest time.
Fri Sep 17 2010
HYPERION
On September 19, 1848, the astronomer William Bond discovered Saturn’s oddly-shaped moon,
Hyperion. To Bond, it was just a little point of light that changed position as it orbited the ringed
planet. But to us, it is another world. Named for the mythical Greek god of observation, Hyperion
was the son of Oronos and Gaia, and the father of the sun god Helios. This rugged moon is over
200 miles in diameter, and ordinarily such a large object should be round, but Hyperion is a rather
beat-up looking object, covered with craters, and very irregular in shape, looking like an old
hamburger, or perhaps a lufa sponge. It’s mostly made of water ice, with a bit of rock and dust
added for texture. Hyperion tumbles erratically as it orbits Saturn, owing to its irregular shape and
the gravitational pull of Saturn’s biggest moon Titan. If you want to see Saturn tonight, you probably
won’t be able to. The ringed planet has been visible in our evening skies for the past several months,
but now it’s gotten lost in the sunset twilight.