Welcome the Winter Sky--2016

Hello All:

It's the end of November and the weather is getting colder and colder (depending where it is that you live). This includes the days growing shorter. If you've gone outside in the late afternoon in recent days--about 5:00PM--then you'll agree that it's definitely twilight. And maybe you've had a chance to look up at the sky to take notice of the wintery, celestial sights.

The Literary World of Tom Raimbault traditionally offers the annual blog post, Welcome the Winter Sky. It's featured every year on Thanksgiving and aims to be your guide in what to expect to see in the sky.
Welcome the Winter Sky--2016

Step outside around five o'clock this afternoon--twilight for this time of year. On Thanksgiving night, 2016, the Moon will be a waning crescent which means that it will be long below the western horizon. For those wishing to see all that the sky has to offer, this is a good thing as the Moon will not be drowning out all the celestial objects with it's light. You'll have to wake up around 4:30 on Friday morning to see it rising in the east which might be convenient for all you devoted Black Friday shoppers.

But back to five o'clock on Thanksgiving night: If you are a big fan of Saturn, then you need to hurry up and take a look before it's gone below the western horizon. Throughout early to mid December, Saturn will not be visible to Earth. But rest assured, it will return to visibility by around the New Year. Look in the eastern horizon just before Dawn.

Perhaps the most outstanding object to be seen at twilight this month will be Venus. It will certainly deliver its expectations of being the "brightest star". On Thanksgiving night it will be located near the constellation, Sagittarius.

Look a short distance east from Venus and Sagittarius; you will see the red planet, Mars, in the constellation, Capricorn. It shouldn't be too difficult to spot. Just look for the familiar red star. A good telescope will sometimes reveal the features of Mars.



When finished viewing Mars, look further east to the constellation, Aquarius. There you will find the planet Neptune. You might need a little help locating which star is actually Neptune. Why not

download a handy app to your phone that allows you to point at a location in the sky to discern what you are seeing? Guaranteed, you will be able to find Neptune.
Excited to see Neptune? Well you be even more excited to find and view Uranus. On Thanksgiving night, it will be located in the constellation, Pisces. Simply point your handy smart phone app just a short distance east from Aquarius. There you will be able to locate

Uranus. Pisces will also include the dwarf planet, Pluto. But this will be an extreme challenge to find in a telescope or binoculars due to its size.

If you are waking up extra early on Friday morning--as in predawn--you will have a chance to see the king of planets, Jupiter. And as an extra treat, Jupiter will be joining the waning crescent Moon in the predawn eastern horizon. With a modest pair of binoculars, it will be easy to spot four of its orbiting moons.

There's not much information pertaining to the whereabouts of theoretical planet, Nibiru. Reports are suggesting, however, that the planet's nearness to Earth is causing tsunamis and earthquakes. I certainly hope all will be well on Thanksgiving night and throughout the holidays.

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

If you get outside around 9:00 pm, 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.