Merry Christmas to you and yours. If the weather cooperates and we manage to have clear skies, then go outside and look up about 7 p.m. to locate the Great Square of Pegasus just past the meridian, drifting towards the western horizon.
Looking at the SkyMaps.com December map, Pegasus resembles one of those walking boxes in the Star Wars movie — I think it was the second one. At the feet of the creature there is a delicate cluster of stars known as the Delphinus, the Dolphin. Some observers new to astronomy think the group is the Little Dipper. However, the Little Dipper is only and always seen in the north part of the sky, while Delphinus rises in the east, slowly tracks across the zenith, and drifts to the western horizon throughout the year.
Currently the Little Dipper asterism is swinging below the North Star, dipper part closer to the horizon. This area is relatively free of stars, so Polaris, the North Star, is easier to spy. Our latitude is about 27.9° north of the equator, so that is how high above the horizon we see Polaris. For this reason both early sailors and current navigation systems use Polaris to be the guiding star.
If the horizon area is clear of obstructions, then Ursa Major may be seen as if rising from the earth itself in the north below and slightly to the east of due north. The leading stars of Ursa Major are the guide stars to lead our eyes to Polaris. I call these two stars the Pointer Sisters.
Ever since I began learning about what stars were what and what stars made up which constellation I have been intrigued with Orion the Hunter. The stars in this constellation are so bright and easily located, what’s not to like? The three stars of Orion’s Belt are like an illuminated sign calling attention to the friendly giant. Above the stars of the belt are two brighter stars, the red one on the left is Betelgeuse, the one on the right more of a pale blue, is Bellatrix. Betelgeuse is massive, to put it mildly. If it were our sun, we would be inside it. All the planets, beyond the asteroid belt and nearly to Jupiter, would be within the writhing explosions of the various elemental gasses.
This week Jupiter is the “first star” most of us will see. Just below the red star of the Hyades star cluster known as Taurus the Bull will be outstanding. These two make a great pair. Steady binoculars will enable a viewer to see what Galileo saw, the four Galilean Moons, Io, Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa.
Our moon is waxing this week, which makes it easier to see stars because there is not as much ‘moonglow’. The moon itself is intriguing to observe, especially along the terminator, where the dark area in shadow encounters the light barrier of sunlight reflecting off the lunar surface. The multitudes of crater ridges create a fantastic field of view even with binoculars. I hope you get an opportunity to do a little moon watching.
Until next week, KLU.
