If you are new to stargazing, you may need to know which constellations are easily seen in the east. Since we know the sun appears above the horizon in the east, that direction starts the understanding. If you face east and turn to your right 90 degrees you will be facing south. Another 90 degrees will be west, and so the last 90 degree rotation will have you facing north.
The sun does not rise exactly due east except on the equinox dates. From the spring equinox until the summer solstice it rises a bit to the left of east and rises along the horizon just a bit farther towards the north each day and sets just a bit further north of west. This means the sun climbs higher into the sky dome across the south until the first day of summer, when it stands still a few days, rising in the same place. There is a summer solstice and a winter solstice.
From the solstice the motion changes and eventually the sun appears to rise farther south of due east and set farther south of west, rising very low in the sky in the northern latitudes. Such variety, and all for our viewing pleasure. You may already have realized the hours of daylight have increased since the winter solstice.
What is up this week? If you are out about 9 p.m., look east for Orion stalking Taurus the Bull; Taurus is nearly directly overhead. Orion resembles a gift bow with three stars between the loops and Taurus looks like an uppercase V.
A bright red supergiant star named Betelgeuse marks Orion’s left shoulder. Near the brightly gleaming red star in Taurus, Aldebaran, look for a faint glow of the Crab Nebula if you have binoculars and a dark site. This nebula is a remnant from a star that exploded thousands of years before it was actually observed in 1054 A.D. It was viewed even during the daylight in that era and data was recorded by Chinese and Japanese astronomers. The Crab Nebula is still expanding even after all this time.
Even the closest star, our sun, is 93 million miles away and light from it takes eight minutes to reach us on Earth. Other more distant stars are so far away, it takes thousands of years for the light to reach Earth. “Are we there yet?” takes on a whole new meaning.
The stars in Taurus are moving away from us and towards the east faster than 30 miles per second! Taurus is an open cluster named the Hyades. Aldebaran is not part of the cluster, even though it appears to be from our position on Earth.
The Pleiades open cluster is also nearly overhead, slightly to the west past the meridian/zenith. This delicate cluster of stars reveals many more than seven stars when observed with binoculars, but it is known as the Seven “Something of Others” in a variety of cultures. This cluster resembles a small teapot and is sometimes mistaken for the Little Dipper. In Japan they are known as the Subaru. Several Indigenous American groups call them boys or girls who danced their way into the heavens rather than obey their mothers to come in to supper. Greeks called the stars the daughters of Atlas. You might enjoy trying to see how many stars you actually distinguish in the group. Some folks have claimed to see as many as sixteen without optical aids!
Perhaps we will have clear skies at the Resaca de la Palma night hike on the 27th. Keep your fingers crossed and join us. Until next week, KLU.
