AQUILA the EAGLE

Located high in the southern sky and in a rich part of the Milky Way, Aquila the Eagle was thought to be Zeus' favored pet. Many Greek myths indicated that Aquila carried the thunderbolts Zeus frequently hurled at troublesome humans. In fact since eagles seemed to be the fastest creatures, the Greek associated them with lightning strikes. In other Greek myths Aquila swooped down to carry away a mortal named Ganymede who Zeus fancied. Zeus to his servants: “I’m so busy today. Send my eagle around to pick him up.”

Another gruesome Greek tale involved Prometheus and the Eagle. The gods punished Prometheus for stealing fire from Mt. Olympus and sharing this powerful gift with us lowly humans. As a punishment he was chained to a rock while a giant eagle came to feast on his liver. But having this happen only once wasn’t good enough. The gods magically restored his liver every day so that the eagle could return to torture Prometheus for eternity. Wow, that’s harsh. What was poor Prometheus thinking as he awoke in the morning, whole, only to hear the ominous flap, flap, flapping of the eagle’s wings coming ever closer?  Prometheus was finally freed from the tortuous existence by Hercules who killed the eagle with an arrow. Fire anyone?

Aquila’s Main Star:


Rapidly Rotating Altair

ALTAIR - “Flying Eagle” in Arabic
One of our closest neighbors at 17 light years away
Part of the Summer Triangle with Deneb in the

constellation Cygnus and Vega in the constellation Lyra.

Easily identified for its brightness as well as two sentinel stars on each side of it, Alshain and Tarazed. These stars get their names from the Persian name for Aquila, Shahin Tara Zed, or the Star Striking Falcon.

“She (Altair) steals into the sky timidly and seems to tremble there as if half afraid and shyly reveals her beauty to us before we are scarcely aware of her presence.”  Altair spins so fast that it's squished at the poles!
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BLUE MOON of Cincinnati

Blue Moon over Cincinnati (open in new window for a bigger pic)

On August 31 we had a "Blue Moon."  It didn't appear blue in color or anything it's just a strange label for insignificant full moon.  But anything to get people looking at the Moon!

What is a Blue Moon?

It depends on who and when you ask.  Today a Blue Moon refers to the second full Moon in a calendar month. The term, as we now know it, only dates back to a 1946 Sky and Telescope magazine article by James Hugh Pruett. The term did not become mainstream until 1980 when the radio program StarDate used the Pruett definition - and the meaning has stuck ever since.

The earliest reference to a Blue Moon dates back to a sixteenth century poem.

    If they say the Moon is blue
    We must believe that it is true.

Here the term Blue Moon means something that never happens. Calling the Moon blue is like calling the Sun cold. You would have to be blind to call the Moon blue. Ironically, the joke that the Moon is made of green cheese also originated in the 1500s.

Of course the term “Blue Moon” has appeared in several popular songs dating back to the 1930s. Blue Moon of Kentucky was written by bluegrass legend Bill Monroe in 1944. And who can forget Elvis singing Blue Moon? In these songs, the term refers to a time of loneliness and sorrow, not the second full Moon in a month.

The Moon can actually appear blueish on very rare occassions.  When enough particles are in the atmosphere, like after a volcanic eruption, the Moon can appear a little tinted as in this picture.

On the flip side, what do you call it when you have two New Moons in one month? So far there is no such term. I suggest calling it a Black Moon. That would actually make sense.

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Lyra the Harp

This constellation represents the musical instrument invented by the messenger god Hermes. It has also been visualized as an Eagle or Vulture. Although small, Lyra holds many bright stars including the fifth brightest star in the sky, Vega.

VEGA

Vega is the brightest star in the Summer Triangle and is high overhead during the fall evenings. This blueish star is only 25 light years away and will replace Polaris as our Pole Star in about 12,000 years. Vega will be our distant ancestors' new North Star. Vega is also the place where an alien message originated in the fiction movie and book Contact.

Also called the “Queen of the Summer Skies”

“Falling Vulture” (Arab)

“Spinning Maiden” (Chinese/Korean)

“King Arthur’s Harp” (Britons)

“Fiddle in the Sky” (Bohemia)

Worshipped by ancient Egypt as early as 6000 BC

The Greek Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice

Orpheus was a tremendous harp player. He was the best that ever walked the Earth. His music was so sweet and pure that even the trees bent over to listen. The river ceased flowing, wild beasts became tame, even mountains listened with pleasure when Orpheus played his magical music.

One day he met a beautiful nymph named Eurydice. She too was mesmerized by Orpheus’ music and they fell in love and got married. Unfortunately, soon after the marriage, Eurydice was bit on the heel by a serpent and died. Orpheus was deeply saddened by her death and vowed to never play music again.

Well, no one was happy by this. Not even the gods. So the gods came to Orpheus and told him how he could cross over through the gates of death and retrieve his love Eurydice. Orpheus jumped at the idea and made the journey to the Underworld.

But first he had to deal with Hades, god of departed spirits. Hades was never anxious to let anyone leave his realm. But Orpheus began to play his harp, and Hades was so moved by the music that he agreed to release Eurydice to him on one condition (there’s always a condition). Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice all the way back to the land of the living. He was not allowed to turn around and look at her until they crossed through the gates of death.

Of course, Orpheus, being so much in love with this woman, could barely contain himself. They walked out of the Underworld in single file, Orpheus constantly listening for his beloved's soft footsteps. Upward and upward he marched never sure if Eurydice was there behind him. And he saw the end of the tunnel ahead - he had almost reached the light of day. But then doubt entered his head. Eurydice’s footsteps fell silent. Was she really there? Was he tricked by Hades? And if he went outside could he ever come back? Orpheus finally couldn't take it any longer and turned to look at his beloved. There she was, as radiant as he remembered her. And in another moment, her smile faded, faded, and she vanished forever.

Lyra, Orpheus’ harp remains in the sky as a reminder of true love, love lost, and why death is so hard to cheat.

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LUNAR OCCULTATION MONDAY

Eclipses, Transits, Blue Moons, Supermoons - 2012 has it all.

Add an occultation to the list.  This is when the Moon or a planet goes in front of something else (a star, other planet).  I have only seen three of these in my life (compared to nine lunar eclipses).  So the rarity of these is way up there. 

On Monday August 13 the Moon will occult (go in front of) the planet Venus.  The good news is we'll see it from the Cincinnati area (and across the country west of us).  The bad news is that it will happen during the daytime.  The main event will be between 4:41-4:42 PM EDT.  That's all the time it will take for the Moon to cover Venus. 

To find it, look west at 4:15pm for the waning crescent moon.  You might just barely be able to make it out in the afternoon skyglow.  If you have eagle eyes, see if you can see a dot to the upper left of the Moon.  That's Venus.  In the spring I was able to find Venus in the daytime sky with the naked eye - when the Moon was nearby as a reference. 

Then at 4:30pm get out your telescopes and aim them at upper left part of the Moon.  You should be able to see Venus there as well.  It will look like a little half moon in a telescope (it goes through phases too).  In apparent size, Venus will be dwarfed by the huge-looking, much closer Moon.  Then watch as the Moon gets closer and closer until... occultation.

Unfortunately in Cincinnati we won't be able to see Venus pop out the other side because the Moon will have set by then.  So tell people on the west coast about it and they'll see both the entry and exit of Venus behind the Moon.

Enjoy the Lunar Occultation of Venus.
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Cygnus the Swan

Cygnus the Swan is also known as the Northern Cross since it resembles, well, a cross. It is mostly a summer constellation but does appear standing up on Christmas evenings (as a symbol for the season).  Look for the Swan inside the Summer Triangle.

Deneb is one big star

The swan is located in a rich part of the Milky Way. In some cultures, they considered the Milky Way to be the river in the sky and the swan, a water bird, is naturally flying along it. The Milky Way appears to split near the brightest star Deneb which means “Tail” in Arabic.  Deneb is the farthest star you can see with the naked eye - around 3,000 light years away!

One Greek legend says that the big cheese himself, Zeus, fell in love with a mortal woman named Leda (This was a regular thing for the romantic Zeus. In fact Leda was his third mortal crush that week!). Anyway Zeus decided that sending Leda flowers would be too boring. She deserved a more creative approach. After all she was the Queen of Sparta. So Zeus disguised himself as a swan to gain Leda’s love. This swan would appear at Leda’s window everyday and she thought, “My, there is something strange about that swan. He’s certainly not like the other swans. He seems more dynamic."

Zeus was saying to himself, "Yeah, baby.  I'm a swan.  Check me out." 

Maybe it was the feathers or the way he threw thunderbolts, but as strange as it sounds, Leda fell in love with the swan. Much to her surprise the swan turned back into Zeus and they lived happily ever after - until Zeus met someone else that next week.

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SUMMER TRIANGLE

During the heart of summer three bright stars make a large, noticeable triangle in the sky (Vega, Deneb, and Altair). This Summer Triangle can be seen even from the most light polluted skies. Although it makes a nice urban constellation, each star is really part of its own heavenly picture.

High up in the sky is bright, blue Vega. Vega is where the aliens from the movie Contact were calling from. Not too far away (only 25 light years), Vega is part of the constellation called Lyra the Harp. Lyra looks like a small parallelogram.

Down and to the left is dimmer star called Deneb. Deneb is a whopping 3,000 light years away - making it the farthest star you can see with the naked eye. This is the tail of the swan, the constellation Cygnus - and these stars actually look like a swan with a stretched out neck going to the right and wings up and down. Cygnus is also called the North Cross because, well, it looks like a cross jutting into the center of the Summer Triangle.

To the right is bright, white Altair. Altair is the head of the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. Although the Eagle might be tough to imagine from the stars, Altair is easy to find because it has two dimmer stars bracketing it.  And it's so bright because it's only 17 light years away.

Look for the Summer Triangle hight in the eastern sky after sunset - closer to overhead later at night.
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YOUR WEEKLY STARGAZING REPORT

I'm hosting a short piece for WXIX, channel 19, our local Fox TV station, called, "Stargazing Report."  I will tell you about the highlights of the week - what to see, where to look, and when.  You don't need a telescope or binoculars to find the Moon, planets, and bright stars.  The piece runs almost as an accessory to the weather every Monday at 4:20am (yes, they have a show that early).  Luckily they are pre-recorded - so I don't have to get up that awful early.

For night owls like me who can't wake up that early, (or if you miss it) Fox 19 has added the feature to their website.  Now you can watch it anytime to see what's coming up.  Open this link in a new window and let me know if you have any astronomical questions: http://www.fox19.com/category/242740/stargazer-report-with-dean-regas     The show for the week of July 9-15 is below.  We have Jupiter, Venus, and the bull's eye star, Aldebaran making a nice triangle in the morning sky all week.  Then the waning crescent joins the triangle on Sunday morning.  Check it out!