Our view of the night sky is curtailed by all the light pollution that the growth of our cities has created, but the same stars and planets are still there. If we could turn back the pages thirty years, perhaps we could recapture those constellations from the sky above our 1980s yards. Would we want to look up, or stick to our devices?
Perhaps our local governments will address the issue from a cost-effective angle if not an æsthetic one. I know I would rather see the Big Dipper asterism again from my front yard instead of the glow of light reflected off the pavement of shopping centers a few blocks north of me.
Astro-tourism is big in some areas of Arizona and the Big Bend of Texas. If we can protect reasonably dark skies in the outlying areas of our cities, both humans and wildlife would benefit.
If you have access to a dark-sky area, then there are some lovely stars to enjoy. Feel free to create your own dot-to-dot pictures; that is what the ancients did, why not you? The standard constellations of spring don’t have to be what the astronomy catalogs call them.
This week the Moon will be drifting through Leo the Lion on the 21st and 22nd. Because Earth rotates from west to east, the Moon is always viewed in the east, south, and west, never in the north. The young waxing crescent Moon is visible in the west as the Sun dips below the horizon. Each day the Moon rises almost an hour later, which moves it about 15 degrees towards the south and east. At the Full Moon phase, it is directly opposite the Sun.
Nighttime skies bring Venus back into view this week. Look west after sunset for the brilliant jewel that is now the Evening Star. Although it is very low along the horizon, keep looking for your first glimpse of it and enjoy the rise into the sky throughout the night. Next week Mercury may also be spotted near Venus on the 25th.
Castor and Pollux, the “head stars” of the Gemini Twins are high in the south now at dark. They are at the top of a broad arch of stars comprised of Sirius, the Dog Star, Procyon, in Canis Minor, and Capella in Boötes.
Taurus is low in the west, with the ruddy star Aldebaran gleaming out of the dark. Mars is also in the area, faint now and near Gemini. As a bonus, since we live so close to the equator, with a clear horizon we can view part of the constellation that represents the ship Argo from the Greek myth about Jason and the Golden Fleece.
In the lower southeast the long winding constellation Hydra with the cup resting on its back, and the trapezoid constellation of Corvus the Crow. There is a wonderful story about this constellation from the Lenape people of ancient times titled Rainbow Crow. It is one that my students of all ages enjoyed. The Greek story is also a good one. Have you explored the constellation stories with your family? Perhaps you would like to create your own.
The northern sky is harboring the Big Dipper high in the northeast. “Follow the arc of the handle to Arcturus, spike to Spica and keep on to Corvus the Crow” may help you locate the fainter star groups.
The Little Dipper is beneath the Big Dipper with the handle drifting off to the left with Polaris where it should be, due north, about29 degrees above our horizon. This is why Polaris is the North Star. It rests as many degrees north of the horizon as the viewer – in the northern hemisphere.
Until next week, KLU.
