This is the
Classical Astronomy Update, an email newsletter especially
for Christian homeschool families (though everyone is welcome!) Please feel free to share this with any interested
friends.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever. -- Psalm 136:1-9 IN THIS UPDATE Dance of the Planets -- Venus and Mars Hello Friends, Hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful spring weather. This is just a quick newsletter
to draw your attention to an interesting celestial ballet happening in the western sky during the current season. On another note, if anyone is curious about the progress of the writing project, the good
news is that the script phase of the Signs & Seasons sequel is complete. The bad news is that I have delayed working on that in order to devote time to next year's TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN coming Monday, April
8, 2024. Details to follow, hopefully soon. If you live in Cleveland (or even if you don't) please follow our special Eclipse Over Cleveland Twitter account! Though it will be mainly focused on seeing this rare and special celestial event from my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, it will also include much general information and tutorials about this eclipse to help your family prepare. Details to follow
soon! For more information about topics from Classical Astronomy discussed in this newsletter,
please check out a homeschool astronomy curriculum (but popular with adult readers too!) Visit our archive of previous editions of the Classical Astronomy Update newsletters, going back to 2007. *****
Dance of the Planets -- Venus and Mars For me, May is always an interesting month to observe the evening sky. After ruling the evening sky all winter, everyone's favorite constellation Orion quickly vanishes into the sunset
over a short span of weeks, due to the radily increasing daylight and later sunset time. We'll not see Orion again until it emerges from the sunrise in August. In the meantime, the twin stars of the constellation Gemini -- Castor & Pollux -- hang above the western horizon after sunset, and draw closer and closer to the horizon with each passing night. These twin stars (and the constellation) are named after the mythological twin sons of Zeus, who were sailors aboard the ship Argo (of "Jason and the
Argonauts" fame.) In ancient pagan religion, Castor and Pollux were guardians of sailors. During his voyage to Rome, this was the name of the ship upon which the Apostle Paul sailed from Malta to Sicily. And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. -- Acts 28:11 In the Greek New
Testament, the ship's name is given as Dioskourois (διοσκουροις), which literally means "boys of Zeus," by which Castor and Pollux were commonly known in the Greco-Roman world. So anyway, during May,
2023, the planets Mars and Venus are passing through the stars of Gemini, and they will be making a pretty dance in the evening sky through the rest of the month. I always like it when the Moon and planets
line up with Castor and Pollux. This will happen twice in the current season. This Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Mars will align with the twin stars of Gemini. Try to notice this in the nights between now and then to observe Mars moving into alignment, and then out of alignment afterwards. Keep an eye on Mars and Venus every clear evening after sunset throughout the month of May as they'll be moving along through Gemini. The
waxing crescent Moon will swing into the scene next week, and will pass between Mars and Venus on Tuesday, May 23. So if you have trouble identifying these stars and planets, the Moon will help make the scene crystal clear. After the Moon passes, keep an eye on these stars and planets so you can follow the celestial ballet unfold over the next several weeks. By
Friday, June 2, Castor and Pollux will have dipped closer to the sunset. Meanwhile, Mars will have moved off from Gemini. On this date, Venus will be aligned with Castor and Pollux, and this should be a pretty sight glittering in the west after that late sunset. The Moon will swing by this pair again on the evening of Tuesday, June 23. By that date, Mars and Venus will have drawn closer.
Mars is moving east at a slow rate, being a slower-moving superior planet. But Venus has been moving east faster than Mars, being a quicker inferior planet. (The differences between superior and inferior planets are explained in our Signs & Seasons astronomy curriculum.) So anyway, Venus will be "catching up" to Mars into the month of June. But Venus reaches its maximum eastern elongation (also explained in S&S), when its motion slows. So Venus will not overtake Mars. By this time, Castor and Pollux will be hovering above the horizon, about to disappear as the Sun lines up with Gemini, reaching its northernmost
position in the sky on the summer solstice. By the time of appulse, the planets will be moving into the constellation Leo. After that, they will draw apart, and Venus will be in retrogradation, and will disappear into the sunset before its inferior conjunction on August 13. Hope you have
success spotting Venus and Mars this month. Drop me a line if you see anything, or if you have any questions. Till next time, God bless and clear skies, - jay The Ryan Family Cleveland, Ohio, USA When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? - Psalm 8:3-4, a Psalm of David
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