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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 May 31-June 6, 2009A few weeks ago, early morning stargazers watched as the waning crescent moon slipped silently in front of the brilliant planet Venus in a beautiful sky show known as an occultation. Occultations of stars are equally interesting. They allow scientists to refine their knowledge of the moon's orbit and even to discover companion objects orbiting distant stars. In fact, a faint companion star orbiting the red supergiant Antares first showed up during a lunar occultation in the early 19th century. Antares is the reddish-orange star that marks the heart of the constellation Scorpius, the Scorpion. On the evening of June 6 it will co-star with the full moon in just such an occultation. Because the moon is so bright that night, Antares will pale by comparison, so you might need binoculars or a small telescope to see it. As the moon approaches Antares from the west, keep a watchful eye on the star until it winks out instantly behind the moon's edge. This occurs for two reasons. The first is that the star is so distant that it appears as only a point of light in our sky. The second is because the moon has no atmosphere to dim the star's light before blocking it completely. Because viewers around the country will see the event from different angles, its times will differ from place to place.
Unfortunately, West Coast viewers can't watch the star's disappearance because the moon will lie below the horizon at that time. California sky watchers, however, will see Antares reappear on the moon's western side shortly after moonrise — around 7:45 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. To find exact times for your location, visit www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0607antares.htm. Remember, these times are tabulated in Universal Time and must be converted to your local time. Subtract seven hours from Universal Time to get Pacific time, six hours for Mountain time, five hours for Central time and four hours for Eastern time. Always begin your watch at least ten minutes early so you can watch as the moon approaches Antares in the sky. Don't worry if weather should interfere, you'll have another chance on Aug. 27. 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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