Posts Tagged ‘EarthSky’
Earthsky Tonight — March 8, 2010: The Summer
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
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
Earthsky Tonight — March 6, 2010: Last quarter moon
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org If you are an early riser, look out a south-facing window on the morning of March 7 (Sunday) to see a lovely last quarter moon in front of the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. The reddish star near the moon is Antares, considered the Scorpion’s ruby Heart. Antares is a red supergiant star, located roughly opposite in the sky to another famous red supergiant star, Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion the Hunter. Both ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 5, 2010: Star Arcturus is a
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The gloriously bright star Arcturus rises into your east northeastern sky around 9 p.m. tonight. This yellow-orange beauty – like any brilliant star – sparkles wildly when it hovers near the horizon. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, which represents a Herdsman – though to our modern eyes, this star formation might look more like a kite or snow cone. Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 4, 2010: Recognize the Big
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org We received a question about the Big and Little Dippers. “How can I locate both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major? I am seeing one of them in the sky . . . but cannot tell which one and where the other one is.” The answer is that, if you are seeing only one dipper, it is probably the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. This constellation, also called the Greater Bear, contains the Big Dipper asterism that is familiar to so ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 3, 2010: Use the Big Dipper
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org At one time, sailors’ livelihoods and survival depended on their lucky stars – most especially, the pointer stars of the Big Dipper. Drawing a line through the two outer stars of the bowl faithfully points to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky, as is commonly believed. It is a moderately bright second magnitude star, radiant enough to be easily seen – even on a moonlit night. Polaris, ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 2, 2010: Moon still near
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Last night, the moon was close to the planet Saturn on the sky’s dome. Tonight, the moon will pair up with Spica, the constellation Virgo’s brightest star. Our chart shows the eastern sky for fairly late tonight, around 10:00 p.m. That is when the waning gibbous moon and the star Spica will be low in the sky, below the planet Saturn. The moon and Spica will travel westward across the sky throughout the night. They’ll be at ... Full Story
