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Showers of blessing rain in the RGV means an abundance of mosquitoes to feed the bats but do little for those of us who love star gazing. That being said, put on the repellent if you plan to do outdoor activities and enjoy the soft breezes and shades of blue-to-wild corals in the sunset sky.
Since most Valley townsites were set out with east-west/north-south roadways, watching the sunrise/sunset daily may give you a moment’s pause as you wonder if the sun is actually moving along the horizon. It is. This motion is the reason we have those hot summer days because the sun is moving higher in its arc across the southern sky. This longer path to travel increases the hours the sun is above the horizon and the more natural land surface we pave over means greater heat sink storage that is released in the evening. Science is really amazing when one stops to think about cause and effect. And humans absolutely cannot control the sun, even if we think we can.
Our sun is pouring out enough energy each hour to power 2,880 trillion light bulbs or for every single one of the 7 billion people currently living on the planet for as long as they live. https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-much-energy-does-the-sun-produce
Of course, clouds will restrict how much of it would be available for any given light bulb.
When you are out star gazing, remember that many of those stars are like our sun and many of them have planets with moons in orbit around them. Exoplanets are being discovered frequently now. This site https://www.nasa.gov/ames/spacescience-and-astrobiology/interview-with-thayne-currie offers the story of a young man at UTSA who has made some interesting discoveries. Our own UTRGV astronomy and physics department is doing cutting-edge research that is expanding our knowledge of our universe with amazing results. Perhaps this summer will lead you to opportunities to learn about them when you are on vacation.
June brings many hearts thinking of romance and romance may lead to engagement or promise rings.
The constellations in the southeast bring Virgo with her stunning diamond solitaire gleaming on her left hand. The star is named Spica (SPY-kuh) and is one of those blue-white stars that is actually at least two stars in orbit around one another. They are so closely orbiting each other that they distort the shape into an egg shape. There is no telescope to show they are at least a pair of stars, but astronomers making observations have seen evidence of this. To locate Virgo, look north to find the Big Dipper asterism. Follow the arc of the handle to the red-orange star Arcturus in Boötes, then spring to Spica.
The spectra of Spica can be analyzed and the elements that comprise it identified. To learn more about this science of analyzing the chemical elements of a spectra, you might want to check out this website: https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Koji.Mukai/spectra/index.html. Middle school science classes must discuss this interesting tool because it is one of the state-required skills for 8th grade. A few schools here offer astronomy as an elective in high school, but since it is not a tested area, most leave it out altogether, which is a shame, since all science can be covered with astronomy.
If color and stars pique your curiosity, plan to bring your student to the San Benito Public Library on June 6 from 5 to 6 p.m. to learn more about the topic.
Until next time, KLU.
