Sky Tonight—Feb 24, Moon by Scorpion’s Heart before dawn
Posted By admin On February 23, 2011 @ 9:31 pm In Earth & Sky | Comments Disabled
Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
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www.EarthSky.org [1]
[2]
[3]Friday morning – an hour or two before sunrise – the moon will shine quite close to the heart star of the constellation Scorpius. Find the rather fat waning crescent moon [4] in the south to southeastern sky. Then look for the nearby reddish star. If you can’t see the sanguine color of the Scorpion’s heart with the eye, try binoculars [5].
That is Antares [6], the brightest star in Scorpius. This ruddy gem represents the Scorpion’s beating heart. Antares is not as red as a fire engine or a tomato. To me, it looks more like a faint ketchup-stain red. Antares is 16th brightest star in the night sky. A star this bright – and this close to the horizon – is bound to sparkle. Although you cannot see it, Antares has companion star, Antares B. This companion is blue in color. Can you imagine living on a planet that has a blue and a red sun?
Antares: Heart of the Scorpion [6]
Speaking of red, the moon may have an orange tinge when you see it near the horizon. That is because – at such times – you are looking through a greater thickness of atmosphere than when the moon is higher in the sky. The moon and Antares – the Scorpion’s heart – will rise in the southeast a few hours after midnight tonight, then will swing into the southern sky by daybreak on Friday, February 25.
Top tips for using ordinary binoculars for stargazing [8]
By EarthSky [9]
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA/JPL [10]
EarthSky: Space [11]
CHANDRA Photo Album [12]
U.S. Naval Observator Astronomical Information cente [13]r
Universe Today [14]
StarDate Online [15]
Sky and Telescope [16]
National Geographic [17]
Space Com [18]
Simostronomy Blog [19]
Amazing Space [20]
The York County Astronomical Society [21]
Scope City [22]
Article printed from Recorder Online: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com
URL to article: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/2011/02/23/sky-tonight%e2%80%94feb-24-moon-by-scorpion%e2%80%99s-heart-before-dawn/
URLs in this post:
[1] www.EarthSky.org: http://www.EarthSky.org
[2] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Moon-19_phases.jpg
[3] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/feb24.jpg
[4] waning crescent moon: http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/moon-phases/waning-crescent
[5] binoculars: http://earthsky.org/space/stephen-omeara-skywatching-with-%20binoculars
[6] Antares: http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/brightest-stars/antares-rivals-mars-as-the-scorpions-heart
[7] Starshine in color: http://earthsky.org/space/star-colors
[8] Top tips for using ordinary binoculars for stargazing: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/top-tips-for-using-ordinary-binoculars-for-stargazing
[9] EarthSky: http://earthsky.org/team/Earth%20&%20Sky/
[10] Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA/JPL: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/
[11] EarthSky: Space: http://earthsky.org/space
[12] CHANDRA Photo Album: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/
[13] U.S. Naval Observator Astronomical Information cente: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/astronomical-information-center
[14] Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/
[15] StarDate Online: http://stardate.org/
[16] Sky and Telescope: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
[17] National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/
[18] Space Com: http://www.space.com/nightsky/
[19] Simostronomy Blog: http://simostronomy.blogspot.com/
[20] Amazing Space: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/tonights_sky/
[21] The York County Astronomical Society: http://www.ycas.org/tonights_sky.htm
[22] Scope City: http://www.scopecity.net/
[23] James S McDonnell Planetarium: http://www.slsc.org/WhatToDo/Planetarium/NightSkyUpdate.aspx
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