Stargazers from Creators Syndicate

Week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2008 for 08/21/2008

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As summers go, I guess this one hasn't been too terribly hot. But it's not over yet. We've still got a few weeks before the official onset of autumn and, hopefully, cooler temperatures.

In the meantime, however, pay close attention and I'll bet you hear someone refer to this time of year as the dog days of summer. One might guess the term "dog days" comes from the seemingly let ...

Updated: Thu Aug 21, 2008

Week of Sept. 7-13, 2008 for 08/28/2008

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

It was nearly four centuries ago that the great Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first aimed his telescope toward the heavens. Over time his new optical tube revealed to him mountains, valleys and craters on the moon, spots on the sun and the phases of Venus. But when he aimed his instrument in the direction of Jupiter, he received the shock of his life.

Through his tube the planet app ...

Updated: Thu Aug 28, 2008

Week of Sept. 14-20, 2008 for 09/04/2008

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Autumn is nearly here.

This year, the season officially begins on Sept. 22 at 8:45 a.m. PDT (11:45 a.m. EDT). Many people think that the beginning of autumn occurs when the sun rises due east and sets due west, and when the length of our day and night are equal. And, as long as we don't concern ourselves with fine details, those are both reasonably true statements.

So why, then, d ...

Updated: Thu Sep 04, 2008

Week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2008 for 09/11/2008

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

If you're outside just after dark this week and aim binoculars low toward the northeastern sky — about midway between the constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus — you might think you're seeing double.

That's because you are.

You're looking in the direction of the famous double star cluster of Perseus, one of — or should I say two of — the most beautiful show ...

Updated: Thu Sep 11, 2008

Stargazer, September 18 for 09/18/2008

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

One of my least favorite household chores is dusting.

I don't know why, but if I let it go more than a week I can write my name on the TV screen. After two weeks, geologists can do sediment dating in the stuff!

If this sounds familiar, you've probably also noticed that when the light is just right, the dust is totally invisible. But when the lighting changes—usually momen ...

Updated: Thu Sep 18, 2008

Week of Oct. 5-11, 2008 for 09/25/2008

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I often wonder how many people have lost interest in astronomy because, try as they might, they just cannot find the Great Bear, or Ursa Major, in the sky. I know I went through this frustration as a kid. In fact, I never did find the thing.

It wasn't because I didn't try. Oh, I tried! In fact, I must admit that — even after all these years — I've still never seen the Great ...

Updated: Thu Sep 25, 2008

Week of Oct. 12-18, 2008 for 10/02/2008

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

OK, the season is nearly over and for most of us our favorite Major League Baseball teams didn't make the playoffs. But that's no reason to give up on America's favorite pastime. Simply look to the stars.

That's right. During this great season of peanuts and Cracker Jack, we can look skyward for a celestial reminder of our collective baseball passion. High in the eastern sky after dark a ...

Updated: Thu Oct 02, 2008

Week of Oct. 19-25, 2008 for 10/09/2008

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Ghosts and goblins and ghouls, oh my!

That's what many of us will be thinking this week as Halloween lurks just around the corner. But how many of us realize that — like much of what we do and say here on terra firma — Halloween also has a celestial origin.

That's right. It all comes down to the seasons, and to our planet's orbit around the sun.

Today we associa ...

Updated: Thu Oct 09, 2008

Week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1, 2008 for 10/16/2008

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Here's a question I would bet you've never pondered: Why is the nighttime sky dark?

Now before you exclaim, "Because the sun has set, you dolt!" and accuse me of having way too much free time, let's actually think about this for a moment. In the evening, the sun sets. Or, more accurately, our part of planet Earth turns away from the sun. Without sunlight to illuminate our atmos ...

Updated: Thu Oct 16, 2008

Week of Nov. 2-8, 2008 for 10/23/2008

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Pay close attention to your everyday world and you'll soon realize that we're surrounded by astronomical words. Go to a movie theater and you may see a film by Orion Pictures, or stay home and watch a DVD on your Quasar TV. So much of our popular culture — from Polaris submarines to Betelgeuse, the zany character portrayed by Michael Keaton — have names that originate in the stars.< ...

Updated: Thu Oct 23, 2008

Week of Nov. 9-15, 2008 for 10/30/2008

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Well, it's that time of year again. The holidays are barreling toward us like a runaway train.

If you're considering presenting that special stargazer in your life with a telescope this holiday season, you might wish to consider several important questions before rushing out to spend your hard-earned cash.

First, how well do you or the gift recipient know the sky? If you can't dis ...

Updated: Thu Oct 30, 2008

Week of Nov. 16-22, 2008 for 11/06/2008

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Spend any time under the night sky with a star map and you'll be amazed at how many animals have made their way into the heavens. Of the 88 official constellations, at least 42 represent some sort of animal — real or mythological.

Not all come from the land. In fact, many are animals whose terrestrial homes are in the depths of rivers, lakes and seas. In addition, other “watery” ob ...

Updated: Thu Nov 06, 2008

Week of Nov. 23-29, 2008 for 11/13/2008

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

I always enjoy weeks like this. Not for me so much, but for stargazers who have never really seen the cosmos in motion. And this week provides a terrific opportunity to do just that.

In the southwestern sky at dusk you might have noticed two bright “stars”. The brighter of the two is Venus. The other is Jupiter.

What you might not have noticed — because it occurs so graduall ...

Updated: Thu Nov 13, 2008

Week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2008 for 11/20/2008

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

There's an extra star in the sky tonight.

Hard to believe anyone can tell. But, in fact, this one's pretty easy to spot. Its name is Mira, and it's what astronomers call a long-period variable.

OK, so it's not really a "new" star, but it's one that we haven't seen for nearly a year. You see, Mira pulsates in brightness over about 11 months — becoming about as brigh ...

Updated: Thu Nov 20, 2008

Week of Dec. 7-13, 2008 for 11/27/2008

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

When the full moon rises around sunset on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 11, it will appear larger than normal.

Regular readers of this column know that this is due to an optical trick known as the "moon illusion." It's really quite a startling effect and most people swear that the rising moon appears immense. I know I have a hard time with this one myself.

But it's easy ...

Updated: Thu Nov 27, 2008

Week of Dec. 14-20, 2008 for 12/04/2008

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

It's that time of year again. Nights are growing longer, snow is beginning to blanket much of the land, and furnaces are working overtime. Winter is definitely on its way to our part of planet Earth.

This whole seasonal thing originates not with the varying distance of our planet from the sun, as some people might imagine, but from the changing angle of sunlight we receive during the yea ...

Updated: Thu Dec 04, 2008

Week of Dec. 21-28, 2008 for 12/11/2008

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

A person's first view of the planet Saturn through a small telescope is sure to elicit a gasp of wonder, as the remarkably three-dimensional ringed world appears suspended against the blackness of space. If you've never experienced this magnificent sight, I'm afraid you'll have a bit of a wait.

At their widest, the rings girdle Saturn's equator at a 26.7 degrees angle to Earth. They appe ...

Updated: Thu Dec 11, 2008

Week of Dec. 28, 2008-Jan. 3, 2009 for 12/18/2008

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

We are made of star stuff.

For ages, poets and thinkers have been pondering this concept. A romantic notion to be sure, but what exactly does it mean?

It means that the oxygen we breathe, the calcium in our bones, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our DNA — all were forged inside distant and ancient stars, then blown into space in their final acts of stellar death.

Updated: Thu Dec 18, 2008

Week of Jan. 4-10, 2009 for 12/25/2008

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

For the past few weeks, Venus and Jupiter — the two brightest "stars" in the southwestern sky at dusk — have been gradually separating from each other. I hope you got to watch their antics in late November. The two appeared nuzzled up to each other for a few nights and, when the crescent moon entered the picture, the trio made one beautiful sight.

Jupiter is now dis ...

Updated: Thu Dec 25, 2008

Week of January 11-17, 2009 for 01/01/2009

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

With all the brilliant stars and easy-to-spot constellations now shining in the early evening sky, why not forget them all and start the new year with a challenge.

Just after dark this week, there's a group of stars in the north that I'll bet you've never seen. In fact, I'll bet most experienced stargazers have never seen it. Its name is Camelopardalis and it has to rank right up there w ...

Updated: Thu Jan 01, 2009