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.
And when
the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices,
saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the
likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul,
Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. - Acts 14:11-12
IN THIS UPDATE
Eclipse Cluenessless - A True Phenomenon
See the Entire Solar System This Month!
Hello Friends,
Hope you're all enjoying the summer. This is the first newsletter since May. As mentioned in recent newsletters, I've been devoting a large portion of time to the upcoming 2017 USA Total Eclipse of
the Sun. But with nearly a year to go, there is still no significant media promotion for this awe-inspiring event. It'll be interesting to see if that changes after August 21, which will be the one-year mark.
Just a reminder about our website for the 2017 eclipse, American Eclipse USA. I hope you'll all come to visit the site. If you haven't yet done so, please like us on the American Eclipse USA Facebook
page, and follow us on Twitter.
A special feature of American Eclipse USA is an educational cartoon feature called Generation Eclipse. This cartoon provides illustrated explanations of various phenomena of eclipses in general, with emphasis on the 2017 USA eclipse in particular. (Click for a larger image) The title Generation Eclipse is dedicated to the young people of today, particularly current school-age students, who were born in the 21st century. Today's adult were born and raised in the 20th century, the “dark age” of American eclipses. Since there has not been a total solar eclipse over the USA since the 1970s, most Americans under 50 have never experienced this phenomenon, and fail to
understand and appreciate the significance of this most awe-inspiring spectacle visible from Planet Earth. However, a “golden age” of American eclipses about to
begin! Young Americans of the early 21st century can expect to see FIVE total solar eclipses over the Continental USA within the next 35 years – in 2017, 2024, 2044, 2045 and 2052! The eclipse of 2045 will be the greatest eclipse in 1000 years over American soil! And today’s kids who live to a ripe old age can expect to see even more eclipses in the late 21st century, after we 20th century types are all long gone. Total solar eclipses will be a defining feature of
American life for today’s youth, an ongoing source of wonder and inspiration throughout their lifetimes. You’ve all heard of the Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials… today’s American youth will truly be Generation Eclipse! Illinois is an astronomically remarkable state,
in my opinion. It is SO FLAT and the horizon seems so far away that I always get a sense of being atop a globe, with the surface of the Earth curving away from me in all directions. Many people who love mountains might consider the uniform topography of Illinois to be monotonous. But I find something compelling in all that vast openness, where the large horizon makes the dome of the sky seem so much larger overhead.
Moonfinder Special We've been running an "informal" special all summer. For anyone who orders our Signs & Seasons homeschool astronomy curriculum, we're including a free copy of Moonfinder, our children's storybook. And anyone whose order includes Moonfinder, we're giving them an extra copy to share with a friend. Everyone who has seen Moonfinder agrees that it's a wonderful children's story, and it's guaranteed to help young kids (and their parents!) understand the monthly cycle of the Moon's phases. This offer is not posted on our site but anyone who orders our curriculum will receive a free copy of Moonfinder just the same.
Thanks, friends, for your interest and support.
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.
Visit this page to subscribe to the Classical
Astronomy Update and the Northeast Ohio Astronomy (NEOastro) newsletters.
*****
Eclipse Cluelessness - A True Phenomenon
As explained in recent newsletters, on Monday, August 21, 2017, there will be a TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN passing over the United States, from coast to
coast. This is the first such eclipse in nearly a century, since 1918. This really is a big deal, and is expected to become one of the biggest news stories of 2017, as tens of millions of Americans see the rarest, most mind-blowing sight they can ever hope to see. But as of now, no one seems to know or care about it.
At this time, the 2017 total solar eclipse is the best kept
secret in the USA. A handful of stories trickle through the media, easy to overlook. The mainstream media has been mostly silent on the subject, and the public is not being informed. But by this time next year, either ECLIPSE MANIA will be gripping the USA, or else the 2017 eclipse will be the biggest washout in the history of astronomy.
As mentioned, I've been
anxiously awaiting the 2017 eclipse since I was 8 years old in 1970. At the time, the eclipse of March 7, 1970 was a HUGE deal. I long expected that the 2017 eclipse would also be a big deal as the time approached. But it's been so many decades since the last one that apparently people today under 50 have not heard of the amazing spectacle of a total solar
eclipse.
This was not always the case. Most everyone in 1970 understood that a total solar eclipse was a major event. At that time, there were several recent American eclipses that were fresh in everyone's memory. There were three USA eclipses within a nine-year period, in 1954, 1959 and 1963. Before that, there was an American total solar eclipse in 1945. Moreover,
the elders of that era would remember the famous 1925 eclipse over New York City, which was a VERY. BIG. DEAL.
In these earlier generations who remembered these eclipses, there was a high degree of eclipse awareness and appreciation. In times past, the US Government published information and instructions to enable the public to safely view the eclipse and even to help record
scientific observations. Eclipse references were common in the pop media of the 1950s and 60s. There was an episode of "Lassie" from 1957 which featured a total solar eclipse. In 1963, DC Comics, publisher of Superman and Batman, introduced "Eclipso," a Jekyll-Hyde character in which an innocent scientist is transformed into an evil
supervillain whenever an eclipse takes place.
In the course of my own eclipse outreach efforts, I've spoken to several people currently in their 60s, 70s and 80s who immediately grasp the importance of a total solar eclipse. These
folks remember this earlier period before the "eclipse dark age" of the last 40 years. Some have been wide-eyed and disbelieving at the news, impressed that this rare event is coming. Some are just as puzzled as me that this awesome phenomenon has received no media fanfare.
Meanwhile, I've encountered many people currently in their 20s, 30s and 40s who don't get it, since this
unique phenomenon is completely outside their life experience up to the present time. This is also true of the "powers that be" in the media, those who control the microphone and determine the subjects that the American public will be buzzing about. In the earlier time, journalists like Walter Cronkite would have been all over an eclipse story. I believe that, when they someday write the history of the 2017 eclipse, "eclipse cluelessness" will be mentioned as a pervasive
phenomenon in 2016, unprecedented in prior eclipse history.
Since the 197os, Americans have had to travel outside the USA to see a total solar eclipse. It's been estimated that perhaps only 0.001% of Americans currently alive have actually seen one. Such American "eclipse chasers" spend tens of
thousands of dollars per expedition, just to see the Sun turn black for a few short minutes. One might be curious to understand what it is about eclipses that would compel someone to go to such lengths and expense just to see one. The good part is, the 2017 eclipse will happen right here at home in the USA, easily accessible to every American, from right at their homes or within a day's
drive. This is the "blue collar eclipse" for families on a budget, like yours and mine! Whether or not the media ever gets around to reporting the 2017 eclipse story, I hope you and your family will be proactive in making plans to see it on your own.
See the Entire Solar System This Month!
In 2016, we have been discussing all the beautiful conjunctions of the Moon and planets that have occurred this
year. The main event will be occurring this month, in August, 2016!
Long-time readers of the Classical Astronomy Update and other experienced sky observers understand that the classical planets are among the brightest objects in the sky, and are brighter that the actual fixed stars. Venus and Jupiter
are the brightest objects in the sky, after the Sun and Moon. Mars and Saturn are comparable in brightness to the brightest stars. Mercury is very tricky, not as bright and always close to the Sun, but a worthy accomplishment for a dedicated observer to spot.
Each month, as the Moon swings through its cycle of phases, the Moon lines up with each of these planets. These monthly alignments are called "conjunctions," when the Moon and planets are "conjoined" in the night sky. These sightings are always very interesting and beautiful, as two bright objects are closely positioned to each other. It is especially interesting to watch these bodies on the
days before and after the actual date of conjunction.
In a planetary conjunction, involving two or more planets, the planets change positions subtly from night to night, making a delicate dance of celestial movement. In a lunar conjunction, the Moon "leapfrogs" past the planets in long jumps from night to night. We'll have both types of
conjunctions here in August, starting with this week!
Our month of conjunctions begins on the evening of Thursday, August 4. Following the "dark of the Moon," when the lesser luminary is invisibly aligned with the Sun, the two-day-old Moon reappears in the evening sky as a waxing crescent. On this evening, the thin crescent aligns closely with
elusive Mercury, separated by only one lunar diameter.
Alongside the Moon to the right, look for the blazingly bright planet Venus. This week, Venus is very close to the first magnitude star Regulus in the constellation Leo. You will need a very flat, clear, unobstructed horizon in order to see the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Regulus. These
bodies will only be about 4 degrees above the horizon in strong twilight, about a half-hour past sunset on Thursday.
Ideally, one should look for these bodies over water, such as the Pacific coast, the Gulf coast of Florida, or the eastern shores of the Great Lakes. You can also hope for success if you live in the Great Plains, such as the flat lands of
Illinois. Otherwise, you might want to try a mountaintop with a distant horizon. You can also expect better success if you live in southerly latitudes, Florida through Southern California, in which these planets will have a more vertical alignment.
Try to first find the Moon, and then use that to identity Mercury and Venus. Regulus will
likely be hard to see, but you might spot it with binoculars, looking after sunset as nigh begins to fall. Please let us know if anyone can spot these bodies Thursday night.
A much easier target will be the next night, Friday, August 5. The waxing Moon moves into conjunction with Jupiter. This will be a very close alignment, only half a lunar diameter, which is extremely close in celestial terms.
As seen from the southern hemisphere, the Moon will cover over Jupiter in a rare occultation of the planet by the Moon. But as seen from the USA, the further to the south, the closer the Moon will align with Jupiter.
Keep your eye on Jupiter, Mercury and Venus every evening after the lunar conjunctions. These planets will be drawing closer to each other throughout the month of August, forming a rare trio at the end of the month. (Details below.) But for now, you can watch these bodies approach
each other over the next couple weeks, as Jupiter drops closer toward the sunset, but Mercury and Venus rise higher above the sunset.
Over the next week, the Moon waxes in its phases and is drawing
closer to Mars and Saturn. As reported in our previous newsletters, Saturn and Mars have been aligned in 2016 in the constellation Scorpius. This constellation is easy to spot, since it actually looks like a scorpion! It has a distinct hook-shape, with a curved tail. The "head" of the scorpion is a defined by three stars in
sort of a sideways Orion's Belt. The bright star Antares has a reddish color similar to Mars. The waxing gibbous Moon makes it's closest pass to Mars on the evening of Thursday, August 11. Look again the
next night, Friday, August 12 to see the Moon align with the planet Saturn.
These lunar conjunctions will help you learn to identify these planets so that you can continue to see them in the nights and weeks after the Moon is past.
This will set the stage for enabling you to observe the big week of multiple planetary conjunctions at the end of August! All five of the visible classical planets will be seen together in the evening sky! You'll be able to spot the entire solar system at the same time!
There was a big news story back in the spring that the entire
solar system was visible in the morning sky. But this is even better, since the same thing is now happening in the evening, and during the warm month of August, when clear weather is more likely for more Americans. So tell all your friends!
On the evening of Sunday, August 21, Mars makes its closest pass to the star Antares, being 3 lunar diameters apart. This will be an excellent opportunity to compare the color of these
celestial bodies. The name "Antares" in Greek means "the rival of Mars," literally "Anti-Ares," because of its similar reddish color. Mars and Saturn are most closely aligned on Thursday, August 25. These bodies are in the southern sky in the evening after sunset.
Two days
later, on Saturday, August 27, look to the west to see an astonishingly close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. These two brilliant planets will be separated by only 0.07 degrees, a mere 4 arcminutes! This is only 1/7th of a lunar diameter! This conjunction is even closer than the very close alignment of these bodies in 2015.
However, this sighting will be very difficult to see, since Jupiter and Venus will be extremely low in the western sky, in bright twilight after sunset. You'll need a very flat, treeless horizon in order to see them. Plus, these planets will set before night falls. So even though they'll be close, they will probably be hard to see due to the sky brightness.
Mercury will also be in conjunction with Jupiter and Venus, forming a rare trio, or a three-way conjunction of planets. So if you are able to spot these bodies, with binoculars or the unaided eye, you can count yourself as a top-notch sky observer!
As you gaze out at the planets this month, all lined up in more or less a line, consider that you are standing on Spaceship Earth, looking out onto the solar system, seeing all the planets in their orbits around the Sun. Look at the place of the sunset along the western horizon and imagine that these planets would not be visible at all if the
blazing Sun shared the sky.
In August, 2016, all these planets are in the same quadrant of the solar system, all within a 90 degree sector of the sky. Such planetary alignments will be more and more possible over the next several years. This happens when the slow-moving outer planets Jupiter and
Saturn are in the same part of the sky. The other faster-moving inner planets can readily swing into alignment, producing convergences of the solar system bodies. We can look forward to hearing more about clusterings of planets in coming years as Jupiter and Saturn draw into conjunction themselves, which happens every 20 years, and for years afterwards as they draw apart again.
For more information about these sky events, please visit our website and keep an eye on
our Facebook page.
Til 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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