Canis Major and Canis Minor, Orion's Sky Dogs

Sirius A and B

The winter southern sky is ablaze with the brightest stars in the sky.  8 of the top 20 brightest stars can be found there awaiting your wishes.  The brightest of them all is Sirius, the nose of Orion's bigger hunting dog, Canis Major.  Sirius is about 23 times brighter than the North Star and scorches the winter sky with a stark white light.  Sirius definitely isn't the biggest star up there - it's just one of the closest.  At about 8.6 light years away, it's really two stars - a faint white dwarf star called Sirius B orbits the main star every 50 years.


Creepy Lookin' Dogs

Up higher and not quite as bright is the little dog star, Procyon.  Procyon weighs in as the eighth brightest star in the sky becuase it's a close one too.  In fact Procyon bears a lot of similarities with Sirius.  At about 11 light years away, this white sub-giant star has a white dwarf star orbiting it as well.




Canis Major, is easy to find.  Use Orion’s belt as a guide.  Connect the dots of the three belt stars and continue the line down and to the left and you will run smack into Sirius.  With a little imagination you can use the semi-bright stars around Sirius to picture the big dog, but with the little dog… it only has two stars in it.  That’s right, it’s a real hot dog! 
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Moon Transits Earth

Check out this video made by the Deep Impact spacecraft.

These images were taken in 2008 when the spacecraft was 50 million kilometers away.  It's a loop of one day - one rotation of the Earth - and the Moon crosses right in front.  This is called a transit (just like when Venus transited the Sun in June 2012).  Since the Moon is 240,000 miles away from the Earth, Deep Impact had to be in exactly the right place to see this alignment.  Although the pictures aren't crystal clear, you can make out the African continent in there.  For more moons transiting planets in our solar system check out Emily Lakdawalla's Planetary Society blog:  http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2013/02221507-deep-impact-moon-transit.html
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Asteroid Coming - Earth Safe

On February 15 at 2:25pm EST, a 150-foot long asteroid will zoom harmlessly by the Earth.  Let me repeat -
it will NOT hit the Earth.

 

But it will be wicked-close to us!

 

For a brief time on Friday, Asteroid 2012 DA14 will be the closest thing to Earth.  The Moon is, on average, about 240,000 miles from Earth while this asteroid (I will nickname Dan) will pass just 17,200 miles above our atmosphere – the closest pass by any asteroid known in advance.  That’s definitely a close shave, but it has absolutely no chance of hitting the Earth.

Astronomers can track the positions of asteroids with amazing accuracy. The Cincinnati Observatory was in charge of collecting data on asteroids and comets from 1947-1978. Dr. Paul Hegret ran the internationally recognized Minor Planet Center out of the Cincinnati Observatory in Mount Lookout.

Unfortunately Dan (Asteroid 2012 DA14) will not be visible from the Cincinnati area when it makes its closest approach (we’ll be facing the other way and it'll be daylight).  It’s so small that even at its closest it will be a 7th magnitude object - so dim that observers in Europe, Asia, and Australia will still need binoculars or a telescope just to see it.  

 

For more coverage on Dan, go to: http://www.space.com/19646-asteroid-2012-da14-earth-flyby-complete-coverage.html  There'll be a link to a live webcast on February 15.

 

I can't wait to see the video amateur astronomers make of it!

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Orion Myth Part II...

We left off our myth as the Pleiades, now doves, flew into the sky to escape Orion and turned into stars. Orion's love was scorned but he was not humbled. Orion was a great boaster which angered some of the gods. They thought it would be ironic for a tiny creature to slay the great hunter so they sent a scorpion, Scorpius, which dealt Orion a fatal bite on his heel.

For his greatness, Orion was allowed a place in the sky. He asked the gods to placed as far away as possible from the Scorpion that killed him. So the Scorpion is best seen in the summer while Orion reigns over the winter near the Pleiades. This way, Orion never sees Scorpius and at the same time he can try more pick-up lines on the Sisters.

The Sisters hated this so much that the gods placed a protector in between the two. That's where you can find Taurus the Bull. Now the Seven Sisters are riding safely on the bull's back while Taurus tramples poor Orion every night. That's what you get for asking seven sisters to marry you!

To find these stars, use Orion's belt stars.  Connect the dots and continue the line to the right.  When you do, you'll pass through a "V" shape of stars (that's Taurus' face).  If you keep going you'll run into the Seven Sisters.

But wait, there's more!  Not only is there a giant hunter being trampled by a bull with 7 women on its back... Orion asked the gods if he could have some help with the Bull.  The gods agreed and allowed him to bring his two best hunting dogs up to become stars. 

Next week, I'll show you where to find the dogs AND the Unicorn, AND the bunny rabbit, AND the river.

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Orion Myth Part I

Orion the Mighty Hunter is one of the most beloved and easiest to recognize constellations in the night sky. Cold, crisp winter nights are the best time to observe the "belted one" in the southern sky. Over the course of the next few weeks I'll share some Greek myths that show Orion does not stand alone in the winter sky.  If you use your ancient Greek imagination when looking at the stars, you may see him surrounded by a bull with seven women on its back, while two hunting dogs chase unicorn and a bunny rabbit down by the river... SAY WHAT!

Let's start with Orion. According to Greek myths he was a big, strong, tough guy. One day he was out hunting. When he took a break on this hilltop, he beheld a sight that took his breath away. There were seven women dancing in a clearing while a huge crowd cheered them on. These were the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades. Orion fell in love... with all of them.

Now, Orion was very brave in battle but not very courageous when it came to talking to women. So he needed to work up all his courage just to even speak to the sisters. One day he finally met them and asked for their 14 hands in marriage. The sisters were so outraged that they rejected him and strode away. Orion didn't know much about dating, but he heard somewhere that women respond well to a man who is persistent. So he kept meeting the sisters at awkward times and asking them again and again to marry him. After a week of this, the sisters couldn't take it anymore. They asked for divine intervention. The gods listened and promptly turned the Pleiades into doves. They immediately flew away from Orion - as fast as they could - and headed higher and higher into the sky. Eventually they decided to stay in the heavens and became stars.

You can find the Pleiades high in the south after sunset. We'll learn more the rest of the story in Part II. So tune in!

 

WHAT"S THE TIME?

It's time to talk with Alan Alda.  I interviewed the actor, director, science TV show host, and now Science Communicator for WVXU 91.7 FM in a new segment called "Looking Up." 

Last year Mr. Alda issued a challenge: Come up with a description of a "flame" that would make sense to an 11-year old.  His goal was to get scientists thinking about how to communicate their subject material to a general audience.  This is something Alda is passionate about and led him to found the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.  He still has the same enthusiasm for science as that 11-year old who voraciously wanted to know what a flame was.  The new challenge for us in 2013: describe the concept of TIME.

He mentioned that scientists don't necessarily need to be actors to get their message across.  But it made me think that sometimes we too often play the role of "scientist" that was handed down to us - stuffy, know-it-all types.  I think that scientists of today need to create a new persona, to be more accessible and approachable with our message and vocabulary.  Maybe an actor can help us with that.

You can listen to the interview at: http://www.wvxu.org/post/alan-alda-asks-what-time 
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Seven Sisters in Other Cultures

Most myths relate the Seven Sisters star cluster to young maidens or boys playing, dancing, and just being young and wild. "Like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a sliver braid."

In Chinese mythology they were the "Seven Sisters of Industry"

Australians considered them to be young girls playing music for the dancing young men (the stars in Orion's belt).

Various Native American legend equate them with seven young men guarding the holy seed of agriculture and seven young children told to stop all their dancing.

In Borneo they were a mother hen and six chicks

And in early Christian lore they were the six daughters and wife of the baker who gave Christ bread when he was hungry.

This association with youth is very interesting in that astronomers now consider them young, hot stars. They are large, fiery blue stars burning through their fuel very rapidly and have a quick, bad end - burning the candle at both ends so to speak. What is it about these stars that make them appear so youthful to the ancients?
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