STARRY NIGHTS
by Gary Boyle
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April 1, 2003
BRING ON SPRING
As we slowly emerce from the blanket of white and bitter cold winds, the thought of stargazing is still far from our minds. After all, what fun is there in standing out in the cold when summer nights are a few months down the calendar? Between the two, warm nights seem by far more appealing.
With various indoor hobbies available, astronomy is enjoyed under the night’s elements. Armchair astronomers study books, magazines and surf numerous web sites in the comfort of their home. To ensure one grasps the true celestial tapestry, one must step out under a clear night sky, no matter what the season.
Saying our goodbyes to winter for another year, spring nights yield more comfortable conditions to observe. From now to the first day of summer in June, daylight hours lengthen thus warming the earth. We also follow the winter sky as it sets in the west only to show itself a few months from now in the pre-dawn sky.
As unpopular as these nights were, stargazers welcome this time of year with open arms. One look up on a moonless March night around an hour after sunset, you will be greeted by eighteen of the brightest stars in the entire sky.
Orion the Hunter is a marvellous showpiece as this constellation stands half way up the southwestern sky. It is recognisable by three stars that form a straight line. This is his belt. The two stars above this row outline his shoulders and two on the bottom, his feet. Nestled in his mighty sword, you will catch a glow of hot gas called a nebula.
You have now found the Orion Nebula which is the birthplace of stars. Located some 1,500 light years from us a few suns are slowly growing and developing in this stellar nursery. It is so large that it takes about forty-seven years for light to cross itself. Keep in mind that one light year equals 10 trillion kilometres.
The two visitors I referred to are the magnificant planets. The first is the ringed planet Saturn. This gas giant orbits the sun in just under thirty earth years and is presently at its closest distance to us. Anyone with a telescope will be able to see its famed ringed system. About eight earths lined up side by side would fit across Saturn’s equator. Two of our worlds would fit on the rings alone. These rings are made of literally billions of particles from the size of snowflakes to cars. This rotating disk is about a kilometre thick and might be the rubble of icy moon what once collided long ago. Larger telescopes will show a few of its many tiny moons. A saturian day would equals about ten hours and thirty nine earth minutes.
The second jewel of the night is the planet Jupiter. Dubbed as the king of planets it is the brightest object in the night sky. A ruler held at arm’s length plots Jupiter about 20 centimetres to the upper left of Saturn in the night sky.
Today’s amateur telescopes will reveal a delicate band structure on Jupiter's cloud surface as well as four large moons. Referred as the Galilean moons in honour of Galileo’s discovery, these mini worlds shift position from hour to hour as they orbit its mother planet. A Jovian day passes in a mere nine hours and fifty-five earth minutes. This planetary giant can hold eleven earths across its mammoth size.
Seasons come and go, so do the constellations. The next chance the sky is clear, bundle up, step outdoors and introduce yourself to our stellar neighbours.
Use the accompanying star chart to learn the celestial patterns. These group names are still used some four thousand year from its inscription. Looking up at the infinite points of light, you now have a sense that we are a mere teardrop in the ocean of the universe.
