STARGAZER NEWS
There are 88 constellations. Can we see all of them in Virginia?
Jack Wine
Stargazing
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We here in Virginia, living at 39 degrees
north latitude, cannot see all 88 constellations. In the Southern Hemisphere
there are seven that you never see: Musca, Carina, Octans, Apus, Camaeleon,
Crux and Circinus. In February four members of the Shenandoah
Valley Stargazers Club, Joey and Sandy Reece and John and Fay Sellers, joined
35 other astronomers and traveled to Costa Rica, which is 10 degrees north
latitude, to see objects in that part of the sky that we never see. From that vantage point they were able to
see the Southern Cross, Omega Centaurs, the Coal Sack and many other deep-sky
objects we can't view from here. Their favorite was Omega Centarus, a
globular cluster of more than a million stars. They described it as five
times larger and brighter than the globular cluster M13 in Hercules, which is
our favorite star cluster from our latitude. Both the Reeces and the Sellerses have
traveled to many parts of the world to follow total eclipses of the sun. Two
years ago they and 1,500 other cruise ship vacationers traveled to Libya to
see approximately two minutes of a total solar eclipse. To witness this event
they traveled 75 miles from Tobruk into the Libyan Desert with a military
escort. You might think it a little ridiculous to travel so far to see a
total eclipse, but having seen only one in my lifetime there is something
awe-inspiring about the experience; as the moon slowly creeps in front of the
sun the temperature drops, the sky darkens and the brightest of stars and
planets appear. There are several annual astronomy-related
trips sponsored by Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. You don't have
to be an astronomer to go on these trips. The total lunar eclipse on Feb. 20
was one of the best in years — clear sky but a little chilly. There are some
great photos of the eclipse on our club's Web site at www.valleystar
gazers.com. Mars is easy to find as it is almost
directly overhead at sunset. At mid-month Saturn rises in the east at 5:30
p.m. Jupiter rises in the southeast at 4 a.m. Mercury, Neptune, Uranus and
Venus all rise just north of the sun and are lost in the glow of morning
twilight. New moon occurs Friday and full moon is March
21. Vernal equinox (spring) begins at 1:48 a.m. March 20. Remember to set
your clocks ahead one hour before hitting the sack Saturday. Daylight-saving
time is a thorn is an astronomer's side. Write News Leader
columnist Jack Wine at starman34@comcast.net |