The sky has so much to offer
While every issue of Sky’s Up
A David
concentrates on a different theme, the
underlying goal of the magazine is to
Levy Sky
inspire our readers to enjoy the night
sky. That is precisely the goal of the
National Sharing the Sky Foundation.
Since 2005, Sharing the Sky has
been trying to motivate people to
enjoy the sky. We conduct a monthly
star party at a local school in our
neighborhood and an annual retreat in
the Adirondack mountains as part of
by David
what our foundation tries to do. Each
Levy
monthly star party begins with an
informational talk followed by guided
observing through telescopes.
Perhaps more important is the thinking behind
what our foundation does. We want to adopt a new
way of thinking about the sky, an appreciation of its
grandeur. The sky rises above our everyday concerns.
For example, there was a news item recently about
a member of the cabinet in the current United States
administration using a government plane to travel to
the path of totality of last month’s total eclipse of the
Sun. The cabinet secretary insisted, however, that he
had absolutely no interest in viewing the eclipse.
It was just that one statement that bothered me. I
could not understand how anyone could travel to the
path of a total eclipse, probably the most beautiful
sight that anyone could see in nature, and express no
interest in witnessing it!
The same might be said about many other aspects of
the night sky. On a clear night, when the sun sets and
the stars begin to appear, I always begin my observing
session with a quick glance around and consider what
might have happened in the sky since the last time I
looked up.
There is a new comet in the northern sky that I
have seen two or three times. It is called ASASSN
after the group that discovered it. The name itself
sparked some controversy because of its obvious
pronunciation, but the International Astronomical
Union allowed it to go forward because that is indeed
the name of the group that found it. This comet is
Perseid meteor, August 2016
COURTESY OF David H. Levy
expected to become quite a bit brighter and easier to
see. However, so far I have found it rather difficult
to spot. Barely brighter than the brightness of the
surrounding sky, it is a challenge. I rather doubt that
any government airplanes will be flying about trying
to spot this.
Should we legislate an interest in astronomy? Might
there be a law stating that anyone planning to run
for the legislature must have enjoyed several nights
under the night sky? Or a substantial interest in the
machinations of variable stars as a qualification for
being a United States senator? And finally, to run for
president, must one have discovered not one but two
comets?
Much as it might be fun to think about, we will have
to leave that right there. The sky, whether its pantheon
of stars at night or at eclipse of the sun during the
daytime, will have to stand on its own. I have every
confidence that the majesty of the night sky is quite
capable of producing plenty of magic on its own.
Over decades of observing, David Levy has discovered or co-discovered a total of 23 comets. His prolific record includes the joint
discovery of Shoemaker-Levy 9, which quickly went on to dramatically crash into Jupiter in 1994, and the individual discoveries of two
periodic comets – P/1991 L3 and P/2006T1 – through his backyard telescope. In 2010, Levy became the first person to have discovered
comets in three ways - visually, photographically and electronically. Beyond his observation achievements, Levy has authored, edited or
contributed to more than 30 books and has periodically provided articles for publications like Sky & Telescope and Parade Magazine.
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Sky ’ s
Up
what’s up in the sky
January 3rd/4th – Quadrantid
Meteor Shower Peaks
Although it can be as prolific as the
legendary Perseids and Geminids, early
January’s Quadrantid meteor shower
garners a little less fanfare. The reason for
the slight is because the shower’s peak
period, which can generate a maximum
hourly rate of 50-100 meteors, lasts mere
hours so it is much more difficult for
observers to find the right timing to truly
enjoy maximum meteor levels. Another
factor affecting the Quadrantids’ status
is the positioning of its radiant point,
which is high in the northern sky near
the Boötes constellation. This means
the best, and possibly only, views are
reserved for observers at mid to high
northern latitudes. This year’s Quadrantid
show, which is predicted to peak by some
sources around 21:00 UTC on January 3rd,
will be particularly challenging due to the
interference of the brilliant Full Moon.
Observers will want to take extra care this
year in choosing where to view because a
dark sky will be vital.
January 7 — Conjunction of
Mars and Jupiter
On January 7th, Mars and Jupiter will
cozy up in the predawn sky as they reach
conjunction for the last time until 2020.
Positioned visually within less than one
degree of each other, the planets will be
easily observable in the same binocular
field. The reddish Mars will appear 0.25°
below the brilliant Jupiter.
January 31 – Total Lunar Eclipse
Some North American viewers will be
perfectly positioned to enjoy a total lunar
eclipse that is set to occur in the predawn
hours of January 31st. A total lunar eclipse
occurs when a perfect alignment of the
Sun, Earth and Moon causes the full moon
to be shrouded by Earth’s shadow. During
the event, the same phenomenon that
gives our sunsets their beautiful, colorful
glow will cast the Moon in some shade of
burnt reddish-orange. How red the Moon
will actually appear depends on Earth‘s
atmospheric conditions, such as dust levels
and humidity, which affect the way sunlight
is filtered and refracted to light the lunar
surface. The total phase of the eclipse will
last for one hour and 16 minutes beginning
at 5:51 a.m. EST. The partial phase, which
will last for a little more than two hours,
begins at 4:48 a.m. EST.
Sky ’ s
Up
COURTESY OF Babak Tafreshi
The Moon glows an eerie red in the evening twilight during the Dec. 10, 2011, total lunar eclipse
over the Zagros Mountains of Iran. At this longitude the eclipse had already started at moonrise.
In 2018, observers in parts of the U.S., northeastern Europe, Russia, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the
Pacific Ocean and Australia will witness a similar sight during a total lunar eclipse on Jan. 31.
February — Auriga Constellation
This month is an ideal time to catch the
Auriga Constellation riding across the
northern hemisphere’s winter sky. Known
as The Charioteer, Auriga is visible from
90° North to 40° South and plays host to
the galactic anticenter, which is the point
in the sky that is directly opposite the
center of the Milky Way. One of its most
prominent features is Capella, which is
the sixth brightest star in the sky. Known
as the Goat Star, Capella actually consists
of two sets of binary pairs. The first is a
set of large, bright yellow giants that are
very close together and the second is a
pair of small red dwarfs. A triangle-shaped
asterism lies near the brilliant star system,
and its trio of stars is often referred to as
“The Kids.” Auriga also is home to Epsilon
Aurigae, an eclipsing binary star system
that dims for about two years every
27 years. The main component in the
system is a supergiant but the nature of
its companion has long been a subject of
debate.
Beyond its star offerings, Auriga has
many deep sky treasures including the
Messier 36, Messier 37 and Messier 38
open star clusters and the Flaming Star
Nebula. This beautiful emission/reflection
COURTESY OF Fred Housel
Astrophotographer Fred Housel captured this
image of the Flam ing Star Nebula in the Auriga
Constellation.
nebula is about five lightyears across and
surrounds AE Aurigae - a brilliant blue star
characterized as a “runaway star“ due
to the fact that it is moving at a higher
velocity than its neighboring stars. It is
believed that AE Aurigae was ejected
when two binary systems collided.
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