This column was provided by San Benito County resident and amateur astronomer David Baumgartner as part of a local series on astronomy. Lea este articulo en español aqui.
Living in Central California, as we do, we get used to the warm bright sun rising high in the sky each and every day. We notice that the Sun will rise somewhat higher during the summer months, and bring us warmer days, do to the fact that the Sun is shining directly on our northern hemisphere. And in the same manor, during the winter months, the Sun will rise somewhat lower in the sky at its maximum, do to the Sun’s concentration of its rays in the southern hemisphere. But none the less, we enjoy and take our closest star for granted that it will be there every day high in the sky and keep us protected from frigid days.
So that is all well and good but what if you find yourself farther north, say Yakutat Alaska? Now it is funny that this name came up, because seven friends of mine and myself had the opportunity to visit the cold that engulfs this little town in our most northern state this time of the year.
There we were enjoying the most bountiful fishing in the world on the Akwe River and noticed that we were all getting hungry. That could only mean one thing; that it is” lunch time”. And as much as we like to fish, we have to respect “lunch time”. So just as we were getting ready to go back to our tiny cabin for something to eat, Steve, my good astronomer friend, points up to the Sun and we both realized that here we are at high noon and the sun is barely a hands length up from the horizon. At home it would be more like triple that length. During that day it never got any higher than the position it was in at that moment.
That discussion brought me back to 1964, whether Steve wanted to hear it or not, when in the U.S. Air force; I was transferred to Thule Greenland, only 700 miles from the North Pole. At landing time it was three in the morning at 29 degrees. But I noticed something different; it was as bright out as day. Even though I was duly warned that the Sun would greet me when I landed it was still a shock to me. And once more, the Sun never did go down that day. In fact it took another month before the Sun went down even for a moment.
By August the days were more like back home, twelve hour days and twelve hour nights. Feeling more comfortable with that arraignment I started to notice that the days were getting shorter and shorter, and the nights kept getting longer and longer, until one day the sun went down and never came back for three months.
The big thing then was the “big bet”. I wasn’t sure what everyone was talking about; the “big bet”. But later I found out that they were all betting on the day and time the Sun would show it’s self once again. They actually do the same thing when the Sun goes down for the last time. In fact, being up in Greenland, you got to the point where you would bet on anything, just to keep you sane.
Now let’s get back to the river Akwe. One evening, as we watched the sun slowly set behind the trees, we noticed the quarter moon rising up slightly covered by the evening mist that was rising from the river. What a beautiful sight it was. Even the non astronomers there appreciated the views. And as the half draped moon rose, following the sun’s path above the trees, the sight would change depending on the mist and fog that was present at the time. My nephew Jerry spent the whole night next to the river watching the Moon, repeating over and over again allowed; “wow, I have never seen such a gorgeous view in my life”. As an amateur astronomer, I always appreciate when someone admires the views that the skies can provide, it somehow assures me that, with my hobby, I am going in the right direction.
Just to sum up our fishing trip; we all had a great time, caught a lot of fish, and are counting the days for our next return. Just got to see that view of the Moon again.
Constellation of the month: Andromeda, and the great galaxy.
The princess Andromeda seems to have become chained to the horse, Pegasus. She is a line of three stars, about as bright as the ones in the square of Pegasus. In fact one of them is the upper left corner star of the square. The ancient people thought of it as belonging to both constellations. It has now been decided that it belongs to Andromeda, not Pegasus, which rather spoils the square. (I have no idea who makes these important decisions).
Go from this corner star along the line of Andromeda, past a dimmer star, to the middle star in Andromeda’s line and you’ll find the star named Mirak. Turn right of Mirak. Your eye is moving along a shorter and more crooked line of fainter stars. The third of these little stars is fuzzy, if you look careful. It is not a star at all. It is the Great Galaxy in Andromeda.
Everything else you can see in the sky is inside our own Milky Way galaxy. Only this fuzzy galaxy is outside. It is another galaxy, consisting of billions of stars. It is the most distant thing you will ever see with your naked eyes: two million light yeas away. So that faint light you see coming from that galaxy left that area more than two million years ago traveling at a speed of 184,000 miles per second. Just stop and think about that for a while. Make sure you get out in your back yard on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th, for the viewing of the Leonid meteor showers. We could have an hourly rate of as high as 200. Back a few years ago I witnessed this same shower and it was one of the most spectacular heavenly sights that I have ever seen. Each year it shows up a little different, but you have to be out there just in case it is the best one ever.
I just had a disagreement with someone who was asking me what that bright object was in the early morning, I said it was Venus. My friend said; oh no, it is not Venus; it is something else, out there every morning. He seemed to think it was some sort of an alien type event. So whatever you think it is, it will be there every morning through the end of the year.
Hoping I don’t disagree with someone else, I’d like to mention that the bright object you see in the western skies just after sunset is the planet Jupiter. I don’t know of any alien events that are happening in that area around that time, but I could be wrong. Clear skies.
SKY WATCH- – NOVEMBER 2024
Dec 01 New Moon
Dec 04 Moon passes 2° south of Venus
Dec 08 Moon passes 0.3° north of Saturn
Dec 08 First Quarter Moon
Dec 09 Moon passes 0.8°north of Neptune
Dec 10 Mercury passes 7° north of Antares
Dec 12 Moon is at perigee (227,025 miles from Earth)
Dec 13 Moon passes 4° north of Uranus
Dec 13 Geminid meteor shower peaks.
Dec 14 Moon passes 5° north of Jupiter
Dec 15 Full Moon
Dec 18 Moon passes 0.9° north of Mars
Dec 21 Winter solstice occurs
Dec 21 Mercury passes 7° north of Antares
Dec 22 Last Quarter Moon
Dec 24 Moon is a apogee (251,335 miles from Earth
Dec 24 Moon passes 0.2° north of Spica
Dec 28 Moon passes 0.09° south of Antares
Dec 28 Moon passes 6° south of Mercury
Dec 30 New Moon occurs
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