Welcome the Winter Sky--2015

Hello All:
Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to our annual publication of Welcome the Winter Sky. Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the winter holidays. And if you step outside in the evening, you can immediately recognize the beautiful, winter sky. That's why tonight is the perfect night to dust off the telescope or binoculars and head outside to see what the sky has to offer.
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Happy Thanksgiving! If the weather permits, do step outside to check out the winter sky.




Welcome the Winter Sky--2015

Most people who observe the night sky plan on doing so in the evening. But for some extra credit; why not venture outside on the morning of Thanksgiving, before dawn, and view the Moon's occultation of the star Aldebaran? This is a major occultation as Aldeberan is a bright, red star in the constellation, Taurus. You won't want to miss it! The Moon will actually pass in front of this star.

Go back outside in the evening. The Moon's phase will just start waning from full on the night of Thanksgiving which means it will be approximately 99% illuminated. It will begin rising just a couple of hours past sunset, and will--unfortunately--interfere while viewing fainter celestial objects on Thanksgiving night. But don't get too discouraged. Viewing other objects in the sky won't be entirely impossible.
The waning gibbous Moon will be with us all night. Even a couple hours after sunrise, the Moon will still be visible in the sky. So if you're really into the Moon, Thankgiving night will be your night!



Although Mercury has recently transitioned to an evening sky object, any viewing will continue to be drowned by the sunlight. The planet will set below the western horizon around 4:30 in the afternoon. So I guess that means good luck with trying to see Mercury on Thanksgiving night! You might want to wait a few weeks when Mercury will be in an optimal viewing position throughout the Month of December.

Do you love Saturn? Everybody loves Saturn! Those glorious rings can be seen with a decent pair of binoculars. Unfortunately, Saturn is at solar conjunction which means that the planet will will mostly be hidden behind the Sun. Sure, you might be able to see it with some sophisticated equipment and discern the 1 degree separation imagery from the Sun. I won't be able to do that, and I'm sure the same holds true for many of you. Word of advice: Don't even try to view Saturn through a telescope on Thanksgiving night. You'll damage your eyes, and won't be able to see the turkey or pumpkin pie.

All hope isn't lost for planetary viewing on Thanksgiving night. Pluto doesn't set until around seven o'clock at night. But keep in mind that it's a dwarf planet and roughly 4.5 billion miles away. It takes much skill to catch a glimpse of Pluto through a telescope. If you can do it, then this challenge can be found somewhere in the constellation of Sagittarius throughout November and December.

You'll probably have better luck locating the outer heavenly giants, Neptune and Uranus on Thanksgiving night. Both planets rise in the early afternoon. Neptune will set around 11:30PM. Uranus will set at 3:00 in the morning. So there is plenty of time to view these wonderful planets. Neptune can be found in the constellation, Aquarius. Uranus can be found Pisces.




You can't go wrong with the king... the king of the planets that is! Jupiter never disappoints those who view it. Even in a pair of modest binoculars, one can see the bright colors and four of its orbiting moons. If you stay up late on Thanksgiving night, you'll be happy to know that Jupiter rises around 12:30 AM. Just look for the brightest star in the eastern sky. That should be Jupiter.

By predawn, Venus and Mars should be fairly high in the eastern horizon. Both planets are absolutely beautiful with the naked eye. They look even better through a telescope. Mars comes up at 2:00 AM; Venus comes up at 3:00 AM. 

We are still waiting for details on the exact position and location; but the theoretical planet, Nibiru, is supposed to near Earth some time in December. Planet Nibiru has been a concern for many people since its discovery. Some fear that it may one day collide with Earth. If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Nibiru, please feel free to comment. Many would love to view this planet through a telescope.

There is still time to left to see the Summer Triangle!

If you get outside early enough--say around 9:00pm--you will find yourself in the very center of the autumn and winter sky with the famous Summer Triangle in the west and the winter objects in the east. The Summer Triangle is a beautiful right triangle in the sky that is formed by the stars  Altair, Deneb, and Vega. You can think of the Summer Triangle as an "unofficial" constellation as the bright stars belong to the individual constellations of Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra. But how nice of these borrowed stars to be joined in a right triangle whose hypotenuse is formed by the vertices of  Altair and Deneb. Be sure to bid this beautiful, celestial summer shape goodbye as the sky will soon be dominated by the objects of winter.
In the east, the first thing you will probably notice are 3 bright stars with a patch of light underneath them.
As most people are aware, these belong to the constellation Orion as the belt. Take a look through your binoculars at this patch and you will be amazed. This is the Orion nebula, or what some people call it: the stellar nursery. At this moment millions of stars are being created and migrating their way out of this nursery. Our sun came from the Orion nebula.
Unfortunately you will not be able to see the intense red color as seen in the photograph. You will see however a hazy cloud surrounded by stars.

Now scan around the Orion belt. Above the belt and slightly to the left is the star Betelgeuse. You can recognize this as the star that glows with a dull red. In the opposite corner of the constellation, to the southwest is the star called Rigel. This is the brightest star in the constellation and has a mass estimated to equal 250 of our suns. The most recognizable feature of Orion is, of course, the three stars ( Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak) which form the belt.

The famous Horsehead Nebula is immediately recognized by the striking resemblance of a horse's head as formed by a dark shadow. Not much further south of Orion is this famous nebula that might be a challenge to see in a telescope or binoculars  Of course the red color isn't seen from Earth. Long-exposure photography must absorb this light to reveal it--so beautiful.

Look for the recognizable, small patch of stars called the Pleiades. Sometimes beginning astronomers mistake this group of stars as the Little Dipper. It is not the Little Dipper, but it yields a spectacular view in binoculars. The Pleiades are a network of young stars which were formed together and still travel together. We know that they are young as evidenced by their blue color. One day they will change color and eventually through billions of years go in their own directions.
Looking above the eastern horizon is an unusual looking star that catches the attention of many people later in the evening. It appears to have a fluorescent glow when rising and is very bright. This is the star named Sirius and is the main star in the constellation Canis Major. Actually there is nothing out of the ordinary about Sirius. The only reason why it is so bright is because it is closer to us than many other stars. It is so bright, that star maps use it as a reference to compare large objects to. There is something interesting about Sirius. It has a small companion (invisible to Earth) that orbits with it. This star is called Sirius B and it plays a gravitational dance with the larger.
 There are so many objects to entertain us in the winter sky and we could never get to them all in one edit. If you do not go out on Thanksgiving night and look at all of this, at least venture out some time this winter and see what I am talking about.