Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Archive for December 5, 2010

EarthSky Tonight—December 6, Winter Circle up by

EarthSky Tonight—December 6, Winter Circle up by late evening

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You will have to stay up until 9 or 10 p.m. tonight to see the exceptionally brilliant and huge Winter Circle filling up the eastern portion of sky. This famous sky pattern is not a constellation. It is an asterism: a noticeable pattern on the sky’s dome. In this case, the pattern is made of the brightest stars of winter, in many different constellations. From a dark sky, you will see the Milky Way’s hazy band ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Algol, a famous variable star,

EarthSky Tonight—Algol, a famous variable star, dimmest tonight

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Algol – perhaps the most famous variable star in all the heavens – will be dimmest tonight at 8:29 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Even at its dimmest, Algol is still bright enough to see with the eye. Algol is what astronomers call an eclipsing binary star. In other words, the single point of light that we see as Algol is really two stars. Like clockwork, these two stars revolve around each other every 2.87 ... Full Story