Download Mon Jul 29, 2013 SUN IN LEO? NO, CANCER!

Mon Jul 29, 2013
SUN IN LEO? NO, CANCER!
Most folks know their astrological sun sign; it's supposed to tell you where the sun was in relation to the zodiacal
constellations on the day you were born. So if you're a Leo, say, that means the sun was in that part of the sky where
you’d find the stars of Leo. Now you can't see Leo at that time, the sun is in the way. According to astrologers, if you
were born between July 23rd and August 22nd, then you are a Leo - bold and courageous, and your personality
embodies the noble qualities of the beastly lion. Well this all sounds great, but the problem is that the sun isn’t really in
Leo right now, it’s in Cancer, so I guess that means you’re really a crab. Thousands of years ago when astrology was
concocted, the sun would have been in Leo, but thanks to the earth's slow precessional wobble on its axis, all the
zodiacal figures have shifted over by one constellation, turning lions into crabs, centaurs into scorpions, and bulls into
sheep.
Tue Jul 30, 2013
GALILEO SEES SATURN/ASTRONOMY CLUB MEETING
On July 30th in the year 1610 Galileo set up a small, hand-made telescope on his veranda in Padua, and aimed it at a
bright yellow, star-like object in the night sky. And so he became the first person to observe the planet Saturn
telescopically. But what did he see? Just a big round blob of light, and on either side, two smaller blobs. Were these two
large moons of Saturn? Did the planet have handles? Or ears? He couldn’t tell. His crude telescope only magnified
objects about 30 times, which wasn’t enough to resolve the mysterious somethings that flanked the sixth planet. 400
years later, even small telescopes are good enough to resolve the rings of Saturn. If you want to attend a meeting where
folks have telescopes like that, then come on out to Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium tonight, where
the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be meeting at 7:30 P.M. to talk about telescopes and of course, Saturn.
Wed Jul 31, 2013
THE MILKY WAY DEBATE
Back in 1920, there was a big debate about the earth's place in our Milky Way Galaxy. Some astronomers thought we
were at the center of our galaxy, for when you looked along the milky band of light that defines the galactic disc, you
saw roughly the same number of stars throughout. Other astronomers suggested that interstellar dust clouds kept us
from seeing the great wealth of stars that lay at the galaxy's heart. And there were a lot more star clusters off in the
direction of the constellation Sagittarius, which seemed to mark it as the center. It turns out that our solar system is not
in the middle of the Milky Way, but a little over halfway out. When skies are really dark, you can see the Milky Way;
later this evening it spans the eastern sky. As you follow along the band of the galaxy, look low in the south toward
Sagittarius, and you'll be looking at the heart of the Milky Way, the great star city to which we belong.
Thu Aug 1, 2013
MARIA MITCHELL
The first American woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell, was born on August 1st in the year 1818. She learned astronomy
from her father William Mitchell; as a young girl she helped him in his observatory on Nantucket Island. And on October
1st, 1847 she set up a telescope on her parent’s housetop and discovered a comet. The next year she became the first
woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also served as professor of astronomy at Vassar
College from 1865 until a year before her death in 1889. She contributed to the American Nautical Almanac, observed
sunspots and solar eclipses, plus the planets and the moon. A crater on the moon is named for her. Maria Mitchell said,
“We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but is somewhat beauty and poetry.”
But she also asked of her students, "Did you learn that from a book or did you observe it yourself?"
Fri Aug 2, 2013
OLD CRESCENT MOON AND PLANETS LIKE PEPPERONIS
A little after 5 AM tomorrow, if skies are clear, you should see the old crescent moon low in the east. As dawn
approaches, you may notice two, maybe three stars down below and to the left of the moon; in fact, these stars will
appear to all lie along an invisible line stretching down diagonally from the moon toward the northeastern horizon.
These three stars are actually planets, and the reason why they follow this line, called the ecliptic, is because they orbit
the sun in roughly the same geometric plane as the moon and the earth. The planets – Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury – are
all at different distances from us and from the moon, but because our depth perception doesn’t work for such large
distances – and we’re talking upwards of several hundred million miles here – they all look to be right next to each
other. It’s kind of like looking at a pizza sideways; you know the pepperonis are scattered across the pie, but at eye level
they all seem to line up.