Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Archive for March 7, 2010

Earthsky Tonight — March 8, 2010: The Summer

Earthsky Tonight — March 8, 2010: The Summer Triangle, a signpost for all seasons

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org As seen from our northern temperate latitudes, the three brilliant stars of the Summer Triangle – Vega, Deneb and Altair – are out for at least part of the night every night of the year. Presently, the Summer Triangle shines in the eastern sky at and before dawn. Like the Big Dipper, the Summer Triangle is an asterism – a pattern of stars that is not one of the officially recognized 88 constellations. To gauge the size of ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight — March 7, 2010: Predawn moon

Earthsky Tonight — March 7, 2010: Predawn moon points out Scorpion’s Stinger

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org On the morning of March 8 (Monday), the rather wide waning crescent moon helps you to locate the two stars in the tail of the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. These two very noticeable stars – called Shaula and Lesath – are often shown on old star maps at the tip of the Scorpion’s Stinger. These star names mean raised tail and stinger respectively in Arabic, although there is some controversy over the origin of Lesath. ... Full Story