Download Mon Feb 20, 2012 PLUTO`S DISCOVERY On February 18, 1930

Mon Feb 20, 2012
PLUTO’S DISCOVERY
On February 18, 1930, Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. At the age of 22, Tombaugh began working as an
assistant at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He didn't have a University degree, but at the time was a
talented amateur astronomer. His number one job was to make and search photographic plates of the sky, looking for
anything that might shift its position from one night to the next, as seen when comparing one photo to another picture of
the same part of the sky taken a few nights later. It was painstaking work, but rewarding; Pluto was discovered out in the
direction of the constellation Gemini, which is well up in the eastern sky after sunset tonight. But Pluto isn’t there any
more. This distant world is now six constellations over to the east, above Sagittarius. Now there’s a spacecraft, New
Horizons, heading toward Pluto; it’ll get there on July 14, 2015, less than three and a half years from now.
Tue Feb 21, 2012
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
The astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland on February 19th in the year 1473. He advocated the
heliocentric theory, which placed the sun in the center of the solar system, with the earth and other planets revolving about
it. Copernicus received praise and encouragement from the Bishop of Kulm and the Archbishop of Capua and some
scholars, but his ideas were also ridiculed by others including Martin Luther, who said, “This fool wants to turn the whole
art of astronomy upside down!”. Until the middle of the 17th century, the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers like
Aristotle were considered the final word on matters scientific, and Copernicus had not made enough accurate observations
of star and planet positions to provide for any greater accuracy in predicting how the planets moved; but the heliocentric
model eventually simplified and explained the motions of the planets better than the old geocentric, or earth-centered
model.
Wed Feb 22, 2012
ASTRONOMY DAY
This weekend the Hallstrom Planetarium and Indian River State College, along with the Treasure Coast Astronomical
Society, will be hosting an open house for Astronomy Day. The Planetarium and the IRSC Science Center will be open
this Saturday – that’s February 25th - from 2 pm until 9 pm, and there will be mini-planetarium shows, telescope clinics,
and guest speakers, including a NASA spokesman, plus space activities for the kids. The Treasure Coast Astronomical
Society encourages folks to bring out their telescopes and get some pointers on how to operate them. And when it gets
dark that evening, we hope to provide telescopic views of the moon, and the planets Jupiter and Venus, as well as a few
stars and deep sky objects. This astronomy day event is free, just bring a lounge chair and a jacket and come on out to the
Hallstrom Planetarium at 30th Street and Virginia Avenue on the main Fort Pierce campus at IRSC.
Thu Feb 23, 2012
AURIGA THE CHARIOTEER
High in the northern sky this evening there is a somewhat obscure constellation called Auriga, the Charioteer, in legend
and myth, an early king of Athens, the son of the blacksmith god Hephaestus or Vulcan, and the inventor of the chariot.
Another story portrays him as Phaeton, whose father was the sun god Helios, and who drove the solar chariot on a
reckless path across the sky. Now if you're good at imagining constellation shapes, you'll immediately see Auriga in all
his glory - a man, driving a chariot, while holding on to a whip in one hand, and a bunch of small goats in the other. But if
you have that kind of imagination, then I probably didn't have to tell you all that. For the rest of us, Auriga looks like a
pentagon shape - a five-sided figure of stars, marked by a bright yellow star - Capella, the head of the charioteer. Look for
the goat kids also, a few tiny bright stars just to the south of Capella.
Fri Feb 24, 2012
MOON AND VENUS, ASTRONOMY DAY
A beautiful conjunction of the moon and the planet Venus will take place this evening. Look for them together after
sunset. You’ll find the moon as a slender new crescent above the western horizon. Venus shines out as a brilliant evening
star above it. Draw a line from the moon to Venus, and extend that line up some more, and it will take you to another
planet – Jupiter. Tomorrow night, weather permitting, the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be here at Indian
River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium in Fort Pierce, and they will provide guided views of the moon, Venus and
Jupiter. Actually, the astronomy club will be here earlier as well: from 2 PM until 9 PM, there will be telescope talks and
activities, and even a NASA speaker talking about the space program. This is our annual astronomy day, and the
presentations will take place at the IRSC Science Center and the Hallstrom Planetarium. Again that’s tomorrow from 2
PM until 9.