ES - more astronomy tidbits from Viv.

Michael Russell hengist at home.com
Tue Feb 2 13:27:05 PST 1999


Greetings Star Gazers!

February may seem a quiet month for astronomy, but lurking beneath that cold
(ok well not Texas) sky are some interesting events.

Today, the sun lies between the winter solstice and the spring equinox
points.  (At the winter solstice the Sun's altitude at noon is the lowest as
seen from a particular latitude, and the duration of daylight is a minimum.
At he spring equinox, the Sun passes through a point where the celestial
equator, our equator projected onto the sky, crosses the ecliptic, the sun’s
path through the sky.)
This marks the mid-point of winter.  The ‘cross-quarter day’, once known as
Candlemass, is now more familiarly known as “Groundhog Day”.

On a more modern note, the Russian Space Station MIR will be conducting an
experiment Thursday deploying a giant solar mirror 83 feet in diameter.  The
idea is to reflect sunlight onto the earth, specifically on North American
and Europe.   Uses for such a device include directing sunlight to light
restricted areas and possible solar sails for spacecraft.  If the sky is
clear, it will look like a meteor streaking across the sky. Clouds will
render it invisible.   More exact information is expected to be published as
the time for the experiment draws closer.

Constellations to watch out for: In the southern sky around 9 PM, take a
gander at Orion. Its easy to see with four major stars making the mighty
hunters shoulders and knees and the famous three in the center in a row
comprising his belt.  Near Orion is Taurus. Look for a “V” shape.  A little
further north and you can see the stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor.

The moon is full right now, so your best viewing is right at dusk.

Vivaine Taarnfalk


source: Ft. Worth Star Telegram, AP News Wire, Red Shift

============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.



More information about the Elfsea mailing list