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Week of February 12-18, 2012: As the World Turns …
Most people know that Earth's rotation causes the sun to rise in the east and set in the west. Of course, the same is true for the moon, planets and stars.
To understand what's happening, try this experiment. Stand in the middle of a room and, …Read more.
Week of February 5-11, 2012: The ‘Linking' Star
Constellations are like states.
Just as the continental U.S. is divided into 48 such states — some large and some small — the heavens are also divided into 88 constellations. And just as every city in the U.S. (except for the District of …Read more.
Week of January 29-February 4, 2012: The Great Celestial Hunter
One of my favorite constellations in all the heavens has made its grand return to our evening sky, much as Robert Frost described in the opening lines of his famous poem "Star-Splitter":
You know Orion always comes up sideways.
Throwing a …Read more.
Week of January 22-28, 2012: The Moon and Venus at Dusk
Last week, I wrote about a rather faint group of stars known as Camelopardalis, the giraffe. I don't know how many of my readers took my challenge to get out and find this constellation, but I thought it wise to come back this week with something a …Read more.
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Week of July 5-11, 2009Anyone who heads outdoors during the late evening this week will surely notice, low in the eastern sky, the brilliant planet Jupiter outshining all else except the moon. But there is something you won't see. Jupiter now lies almost directly along the same line of sight as the distant planet Neptune. While both worlds are gas giants, that is where the similarity ends. Jupiter is the giant of our solar system; 11 Earths would be needed to span its width. Yet for all its size, Jupiter has little substance. It's a world composed entirely of gas, and it spins on its axis in just under 10 hours. The oppressive weight of Jupiter's gargantuan atmosphere creates temperatures of more than 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit at its core. Jupiter plays host to at least five dozen moons, four of which Galileo discovered in 1610, as well as a system of dark rings composed of tiny grains of rock and dust. Neptune, on the other hand, is the most distant planet known. Within its atmosphere rage the fastest winds measured, reaching speeds of more than 1,200 mph. Orbiting Neptune are dark rings and at least 13 moons. To see these distant worlds in the same telescopic field is pretty rare, because Neptune lies in the most distant realms of our solar system, six times farther away from Earth than Jupiter. But next week the two planets will lie within a half-degree of each other so a small, low-powered telescope will show them both.
To its north lies a star known as Mu Capricorni, which, in an inverting eyepiece, will appear below and to the right of Jupiter. About the same distance beyond Mu Capricorni lies Neptune. It will appear about 45 times smaller and some 17,000 times fainter than Jupiter. But if you look carefully, you will notice it's appearance differs from that of a star. First, its color is distinctly bluish green. Second, Neptune will show a tiny disk — much smaller than Jupiter's, of course — that is noticeably different than a star's. If you miss this beautiful conjunction, you'll have to wait until April 12, 2022, when the two will appear seven times closer, To find out more about Dennis Mammana and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC. 
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