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Week of Nov. 15-21, 2009
There are few sights more beautiful than the glistening stars and planets on a clear, dark rural night. But just where do all those heavenly bodies go during the daytime? And why can't we see them when the sky is bright?
As I'm sure you already know,…Read more.
Week of Nov. 8-14, 2009
Anyone who has ever gazed at a dark sky for more than a few minutes has almost certainly seen a burst of light appearing out of nowhere that disappears just as quickly.
We call such a startling phenomenon romantic names like a "falling …Read more.
Week of Nov. 1-7, 2009
Now that autumn is firmly set into place, I've been sorting through my closet in search of warmer clothing to get me through the winter. I don't know why it is, but I always seem to find one fewer coat hanger than there are pieces of clothing in the …Read more.
Week of Oct. 25 - 31, 2009
It's known as Algol, the Demon Star, and it shines diabolically in our sky each year as Halloween approaches.
To find it, go outdoors in the evening and look low toward the northeast. The accompanying sky map should help you locate it. After it …Read more.
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Week of June 14-20, 2009A celestial sign that summer has arrived now appears in the eastern sky after dark. We know it as the Summer Triangle, created by three bright stars: Vega, Altair and Deneb. In an ancient Chinese love story, Deneb represents the magpie bridge over the Milky Way, which allows the separated lovers Altair and Vega to be reunited on only one summer night each year. The brightest of the stellar trio — and highest in the sky — is Vega, the most prominent star in the tiny constellation Lyra, the Harp. Movie buffs might recall this star as the one from which scientists detected intelligent radio signals in the fictional motion picture "Contact." I guess that would make Vega — heh, heh — a movie star! The lowest of the three stars is Altair, the brightest in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle. Finally, farthest to the north, lies Deneb, located in the tail of the great swan Cygnus. These three stars are interesting because, even though they appear roughly the same brightness, they aren't at all the same distance from us. In fact, they're remarkably far apart. Altair lies about 96 trillion miles (17 light years) from us. Vega, on the other hand, lies 50 percent closer than Altair — at a distance of about 150 trillion miles, or 25 light years. And Deneb lies some 9,000 trillion miles from us, so far that we see it as it appeared in the sixth century. The light that leaves that star tonight won't arrive until the year 3509. Just as the light of these stars takes time to reach Earth, light from our world takes time to reach them. Imagine, for example, astronomers living on a world orbiting Vega. If they had telescopes powerful enough to see activity on our planet, they could watch us as we were in 1984. They might right now be watching as we marvel at the stunning power and blazing speed of the newly introduced Apple Macintosh computer, or sharing our excitement as we enjoy the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. And they would undoubtedly be amused and befuddled by our fascination with "Ghostbusters", Boy George and J.R. Ewing! 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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