Almost time to start that income tax return (bad joke) — or would you rather go out and star gaze? I know which one I prefer. At least that pastime is not taxable for now. So, let’s take a walk after the sun sinks into the western horizon and check out the positions of the Moon and Venus just after dusk. Mars will also be a possibility, but higher and farther south of Venus.
This week we can enjoy the spring constellations, with Leo, the Lion, at the zenith about 9 p.m. A blue-white star located in the lower part of the backward question mark denoting Leo’s head is named Regulus. This brilliant star is a real standout unless a planet is nearby. Planets often visit the constellations we call the zodiacal constellations. There are 12 of them, and they were once used to mark the months of a year.
The idea of the zodiac was a useful tool to convince uninformed or gullible people that the stars and planets influenced the outcomes of their decisions. When those “rules” were determined, the Sun and Moon were in front of a different constellation than they are now. Yet we too often are taken in by those who practice seeing the future. Ancient people did not have the scientific knowledge of today. Someday other cultures may look at our history and wonder about things we believed. Imagine being told illnesses were not caused by someone looking at you in a wrong way but by invisible microbes lurking in the drinking water.
In the north, look for the Big Dipper asterism as it stretches across the sky east and west, with the handle or bear’s tail guiding your gaze to the kite shape of Boötes, the Herdsman. The bright star in the point of the kite is Arcturus.
The photons of light from this star were used to turn on the lights of the Chicago World’s Fair in May of 1933.
Photons arriving at the great Yerkes Observatory telescope were reflected onto a photocell, and the lights at the Fair were “magically” turned on. Electricity was not common in that era, and this was a huge event. At that time, the photocell was the big deal. Entrepreneurs had figured out how to use light’s ability to knock electrons loose from atoms, to open doors and count shoppers automatically. This is the magic behind those touchless water faucets and toilets in wide use today.
At the time, astronomers thought that Arcturus was 40 light years away from Earth, which would mean that it left Arcturus in 1893, the year of the first Chicago World’s Fair. Now we know this star is 37 light years away. Always be aware that new technology makes for new discoveries in science; it is not always a fake or ruse. Science knowledge grows and changes as we look deeper into phenomena. Looking deeper into space is a perfect example of seekers learning more as they look deeper.
The invention and design of space-based telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and the newer James Webb Telescope that is looking back at light coming from impossible distances we have learned a great deal. Hubble has been a wonderful tool that has provided exciting images from deep space, revealing there are truly billions of galaxies out there, when we thought there were only a handful. With science, we should always expect to be amazed, astounded, or befuddled.
When you are getting up early to go fishing before sunrise, look for the Scorpion and the Teapot. Each of these constellations has been used for celestial navigation for a very long time. We can thank our early ancestors for taking the time to record so many observations, literally over thousands of years, that have enabled the exploration of the globe and opening planet Earth to the wonderful civilizations we enjoy today. Will this spread of “civilization” be continued on Mars? If Elon Musk and other dreamers and doers persist, it will.
Until next week, get those taxes done and mailed so that you can KLU.
