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The
sky is parceled into named areas called constellations.
A mistake many of us make is to presume that the constellations are supposed to
be pictures because they bear the name of person, creatures, and objects. It
was for ease of identification that grouped stars together. It was in or about
the fifty century BC Babylonian astrologers conceptualized the change of
earth’s ecliptic orbit and divided the sky into 12 segments each marked by a
constellation. The names of many constellations and celestial bodies come from
ancient languages or mythology. All but one, Libra, represents a real or
imaginary creature.
Originally
individual stars were named after fallen heroes in Greek mythology. As
historians have since learned the Greeks simply changed the settings and names
and took over the legends. By way of example, one of the oldest Babylonian
myths describes a battle between Marduk and the dragon Tiamat. The Greeks were
reminded of their hero Herakles (Roman Hercules) and assumed the legend and the
constellation.
The
star groups are placed in three
regions: northern, zodiacal and southern. The word zodiac is a Greek term
meaning “circle of animals.” This belt of the sky is where the sun, moon and
bright planets are always found. It was during the reign of Caesar Augustus
that the independent Egyptian star formations and conventional Greek included
the pair of scales, or a balance was included, deemed Libra. It was after the
collapse of the Greco-Roman civilizations; Babylonians, Indians, Greeks and
Romans were among the first to name constellations visible to them in the
Northern Hemisphere. It wasn’t until the second-century AD that the Egyptian
astronomer Ptolemy cataloged more than a thousand stars and 48 constellations
in his work it was not until European navigators began exploring south of the
equator in the 16th century that new cataloging was done.
Hipparchus of Bithynia compiled
the first star catalogue, which listed the positions and the relative
brightness of stars. Three centuries later Claudius
Ptolemy incorporated Hipparchus work into his own and included the two
major propertied we recognize when studying stars, brightness and surface
temperature.
We
are in the Northern Hemisphere the North Star, AKA Polaris, marks the North celestial pole. Polaris is probably the
easiest star to locate, as it is the brightest star located on the handle of
the Little Dipper. Polaris was not always the North Star however. Due to the
gyration of the Earth’s axis the North celestial pole changes over the
centuries. Ursa Minor was not recognized as a constellation until about 600 BC.
Polaris is not a particularly bright star but is one of the most important
especially to early mariners.
Roughly
10 – 20 billion years ago there was a huge explosion called the Big Bang. In the milliseconds following
this explosion the universe was pure energy but some of that energy became matter.
The matter condensed and eventually formed into gas, stars, dust, and galaxies.
The universe is still expanding and galaxies are moving apart forever in
motion.
Galaxies are billions and trillions of stars held together by
mutual gravitation forces. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is quite sizable as
galaxies go but it is difficult to view, an example given is looking at a plate
from the side, it appears flat rather than circular hence our view is limited.
Our sun and planets are orbiting the nucleus of the Milky Way, estimated time
to complete an orbit 220 million years.
The
creation of the planets within our
solar system is thought to have originated from a supernova explosion four and
a half billion years ago. There are two types of planets terrestrial and gas,
giant, or Jovian, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are Jovian, consisting of
rock in the center core and a dense atmosphere. Five of the planets are visible
to the unaided eye. Venus is the most brilliant object in our night sky,
besides the Moon. Often called the morning star, Phosphorous or evening star
Hesperus. Visible during the day Venus is never far from the sun. To locate
Venus it is best done in the early evening or dawn, and look to the area around
the Moon. Due to its rotation and distance to the Sun, Venus is not visible
during deep night. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and is the
symbol for woman or the female sex.
The
Moon’s influence over man and the earth cannot be underestimated. We have given
it reason for bizarre behavior, a timetable of when to do what in the garden.
It is an overwhelming force to man, nature, earth and weather. The sphere that
occupied the imagination of poets and lovers since the beginning of time.
Months are marked in its honor. With the extraordinary power to move oceans and
tides. Regardless of how much we know about the moon intellectually when it is
so big and bright on the horizon it becomes a beautiful mystery all over again.
The
new moon is when we can’t wee it, it
dark side faces earth. The crescent moon
comes next, a waxing crescent, the bright side is the moon’s west, or the right
side. Crescent means, “to grow.” The first
quarter is half moon bright. The full
moon is well, full and the illumination is fully visible to us. A last quarter moon is when it is
beginning to wane, and the bright side is on the moon’s east or our left.
Finally, a waning crescent, an oxymoron, but that is the way it is.
The
best time to view the Moon is near full. The angle of sunlight shows the features
in relief as opposed to the flattened features when directly full.
Lunar features are divided into three categories, seas, craters and
mountains. The seas are darkened areas, which are actually lava plains. It was
July 20 1969 when Apollo XI landed on the Sea of Tranquility. All names on the
moon are Latin, given by astronomers about four centuries ago. Mountains are
named after ranges on Earth and craters are named posthumously for famous
astronomers, scientist or explorers.
Gardener’s
have always paid great attention to the phases of the moon. If you plan on any
great thinking or planning it should always be done in a waxing Moon. Anything that has to do with a crop, attention must
also be paid to the zodiac, whether sowing, planting or harvesting is concerned
it is best done under the most auspicious sign in relation to the particular
plant.
Moon
gardening is the belief that vegetables should be planted during specific
phases of the moon for best growth and flavor. Vegetables that grow underground
like potatoes should be planted in the new moon. Seed sowing should be done
when the Moon is waxing, never waning, a proverb that has now been
scientifically justified with the measurement of the earth’s magnetic field and
lunar rhythms.
Water
everywhere including that inside the tiniest organism, moves in tides so powerful is the Moon’s pull.
Tides run in a daily and monthly cycle according to a lunar schedule. Plants
that are largely water are said to be under greater influenced from the Moon
and best planted and harvested when the Moon is closest to the Earth.
The
Moon also affects the earth’s atmosphere
so that statistically it is more likely to rain heavily after a new moon. These
increases is the probability that meteoric dust passing close to the Earth will
be captured and make its way down to the troposphere. The abundance of
condensation nuclei assists cloud growth, hence rainfall.
Bottom
line, ancient man noticed these phenomena and decided it was a good time to
plant. Many sayings, proverbs and observations regarding the Moon have been
nurtured and embellished from ancient times thought the Middle
Ages. It was the seventeenth century
mariners who extended this commonsense lore enormously, significant to
encounters around the globe with regard to weather
and the Moon.
Haloes around the Moon also portent rain, good deduction as
this indicates the presence of middle or high level clouds which often precedes
advancing rain. Another myth buster is plants are most vulnerable to predators
in the few days after germination, so planting at a phase of the moon when
pests are active could reduce the yield. Many small rodent forage for food most
actively at the new Moon when they are at least risk from owls, hence a bad
time to plant corn.
Generally
speaking there is a logical and scientific basis for lore surrounding the moon
and its effects.
THE NIGHT SKY BY MONTH
January
There
is a fine display of stars in the January sky. Looking due south we find Orion, the best of all star groups,
marked by the unmistakable line of three stars, so evenly matched and so nicely
spaced which form the belt of the Great Hunter. The red star Betelgeuse marks
the right shoulder and Rigel his upraised left foot. The bright star Bellatrisx
to the right of Betelgeuse is Orion's left shoulder. Orion carries a sword; the
hilt is the little group of faint stars below the middle of the belt. To the
right there is a curving line of faint stars indicating the shield of the
lion's hide on Orion's upraised left arm. The small triangle of faint stars
above Betelgeuse and Bellatrix is his head. Orion is probably the best-known
constellation in the sky. Its bright stars have been identified as a person by
civilizations worldwide for thousands of years. It is mentioned in poetry as early
as the Odyssey and more recently by Longfellow, and is the present day
logo of a film company. Orion was thought to be a harbinger of storms given its
appearance in the early evening sky in late autumn. To ancient Arabs this
constellation was known as Al Jabbar meaning "the giant" or
"great." The belt was known as the "string of pearls." In
Greco-Roman mythology, Orion was a famed hunter, but he was also boastful and
went so far as to claim that no beast could kill him. To teach Orion a lesson,
the spiteful goddess Hera sent a tiny scorpion to fatally sting him. All brawn
no brains.
February
Winter
stars are at their best in February. Directly overhead this time of year is the
constellation Gemini marked by the
bright stars Castor and Pollux. The lore surrounding these stars goes back into
prehistory, and the constellation, part of the zodiac, is among the most
familiar in the sky. According to classical mythology, Castor and Pollux were
hatched from an egg borne by Leda after Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduced her.
Castor and Pollux's sister was Helen of Troy. The twins were raised by the wise
centaur Chiron and Sagittarius. The stars Castor and Pollux are sometimes
considered the patrons of mariners and are associated with the meteorological
phenomenon known as Saint Elmo's fire, a visible electrical discharge that
sometimes appears around ships' masts during storms at sea. In China the two
stars are associated with yin and yang, the dual forces of nature. The
constellation is easy to find; just look for the two bright stars Castor and
Pollux, lines of fainter stars extend from the two, sketching the bodies of the
twins.
March
The
March sky begins to give us a glimpse of the stars that will be prominent in
the skies of spring, while our winter constellations are still visible. This is
also the time to look precisely from the north to the south, at the Milky Way. Remembering that we view the
Milky Way horizontally as we would look at a pocket watch from the side. Our
sun is part of the galaxy located on the face of the watch. Because of the
uneven distribution of stars, and great clouds of obscuring dust and gases,
millions of other galaxies hide from view. Look for a mottled effect in the
deep sky, over a vast expanse, often appearing reddish. That is the Milky Way,
like a thunderstorm approaching from deep space.
Closer to home if you look high in the south try and spy Cancer, the Crab, a very open angle of four stars none of which are
of note. In the southeast sky Ursa Major the Great Bear, whose hindquarters
most of us recognize as the Big Dipper of which Polaris is the most dominate
star. To the southwest Gemini with Castor and Pollux. Personally, I found
those very difficult to consistently identify and I am glad they are moving
off.
April
The
April night sky offers the Big Dipper
directly overhead. Leo the Lion has come into view almost directly overhead in
the southern night sky. The head of Leo
forms a sickle or backwards question mark made up of five stars the brightest
being Regulus found at the base of the sickle. The star Denebola is the next
major star to the left and represents the tuft at the end of Leo's tail.
Three stars including Denebola form a perfect equilateral triangle marking the
top of the back, tail and hindquarter of the lion. Let your eyes draw an
imaginary line back to Regulus at the base of the sickle and there is Leo. This
is one of the few constellations that look something like the characters for
which they are named. Rather interesting information to pass along, Leo once
had a longer tail but those stars now make up a different constellation. I am
curious to know, just who decides that stuff?
May
The
May night sky gives us a glimpse of one of the brightest stars Arcturus.
Arcturus is part of the constellation Bootes,
and he was the son of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. Arcturus is credited
with inventing the plow and was placed in the sky to honor his invention that
was of such immense importance to civilization. The name Arcturus comes from
the Greek for "guardian of the bear" referring to Ursa Major; which
is still dominant and overhead. The Bootes constellation is found a bit to the
southeast and forms a kite or lopsided ice-cream cone with Arcturus at the
bottom. Just to the left of Bootes is the Corona Borealis, or Ariadne's crown,
a lovely circlet of seven stars. The very short version is was the wife of
Bacchus, and when she died he placed the crown in the heavens where we find it
these evenings. In May the Milky Way lies along the horizon, all the way
around, and can be seen only if the observer is far from man's artificial
lights.
All the planets are lined up in the evening sky and are visible, a rare treat.
Easily spotted are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. To find them look
almost directly overhead and to the right in the early evening. A key to
finding the planets is that they don't twinkle.
June
In
the June night sky the zodiacal constellations are wholly or in part visible, Gemini, Cancer Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius
and Sagittarius. Kite-shaped Libra is in the southern sky and just
below that to the southeast stands Scorpius with the notable red star Antares.
This constellation is supposed to be the tiny scorpion that killed Orion with
its sting and placed in the sky to memorialize the event. Interestingly the
scorpion’s claws are no longer part of the constellation but were given up to
Libra. Despite the absence it looks more like its namesake than do most
constellations. In the anatomically correct spot, the red star marks the
"heart" of the scorpion. Antares is Greek and broken down means rival
of Mars because of the deep red color of Antares rivals that of the red planet.
Scorpius contains more than two-dozen star clusters appearing to us as one
star. It also contains a few quite faint planetary nebulae. The best time for
viewing this constellation is later in the evening.
July
The
July night sky is one big story of good over evil. Overhead and to the north is
the constellation Hercules, it looks
like a backward K, crushing the life out of Draco the serpent, which looks like a small kite with a very long
tail. While Ophiuchus, AKA Aesculapius, son of Apollo, who looks like a house
depicted in stars, holds another serpent in his hand while stepping on
Scorpius. Aesculapius was a pupil of Chiron, the centaur represented in
Sagittarius, he became a great physician and was so successful in saving lives
that Jupiter had to slay him in order to put and end to the complaints of
Pluto, the ruler of Hades, because the flow of souls to the underworld was dwindling.
The snake as an emblem of health was sacred to Aesculapius; the shedding of its
skin represented the renewal of life. Because of this tale it became the
official badge of medicine. In classic art the snake is entwined on a staff.
Heavy stuff!
August
The
August night sky presents one of the brightest stars Vega almost directly
overhead. Vega is part of the constellation Lyra that includes four other stars beneath Vega, which form two
parallel lines. This is a tale of true love, shortened and simplified. Lyra is
the Lyre of Orpheus who was such a magnificent singer waterfalls and birds
ceased to listen. Orpheus was in love with Eurydice until she stepped on a
serpent and died. She went to the underworld and Orpheus followed in search.
Much happens on the journey including a tangle with the three-headed dog and an
encounter with Pluto himself. Orpheus sang for Pluto and so moved him he let
Eurydice go but there was a condition he was not to look back during the trek
or Eurydice would be dead forever. Orpheus didn't follow directions and
Eurydice was snatched. Orpheus was then the woeful bachelor and was hustled by
all the maidens trying to woo him from grief. Maidens scorned are not pretty.
With the help of Bacchus they hurled missiles and stones. The quick thinking
Orpheus began to sing stopping the action but then the maidens began to scream
and drowned out the music and the stones took effect. His body was torn to
pieces and thrown in the river Hebrus, but the groupies Muses gathered the
fragments and gave him a proper burial. Orpheus' soul went to join Eurydice and
the gods put the lyre in heaven as a symbol of music and love.
Check out the Northern Cross a bit to the east of Lyra.
September
The
September night sky has the Northern Cross directly overhead. Basically what
this constellation looks like is Notre Dame's touchdown Jesus in stars, or if
you will the Pope's benediction. This constellation is also call Cygnus or The
Swan. It is one of the largest constellations and takes up a huge area of sky
with the brightest star Deneb acting as the head. Pegasus is to the east and
the body of the mythical horse is known as The Great Square. No doubt you know
why. Pegasus was born from the spilled blood of Medusa, which mixed with sea
foam to become a winged horse. Pegasus and a young lad Bellerophon became a
team, with the help of a golden bridle given by Minerva, they completed several
very dangerous missions slaying wild mythical beasts of all types. Then
Bellerophon became vane and boastful and tried to crash the very exclusive Gods
party on Mount Olympus. Outraged, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus who threw
Bellerophon. As a result Bellerophon became lame and blind, was shunned by
former friends and died miserably. In trying to locate the constellation
Pegasus the belly of the horse presents itself first, the head will be to the
left.
October
The
October night sky is about transition. The stars of summer are almost gone and
the east is beginning to fill up with the stars we view during winter. The most
easily identified constellation is Cassiopeia,
and depending on your view it looks like the number three, the letter M, the
letter W, or a crude E. Cassiopeia is directly across from Polaris, the main
star in the Big Dipper. According to myth, Cassiopeia and her husband Cepheus,
a windblown house shaped constellation right next to Cassiopeia, were rulers of
ancient AEthiopia, along with their daughter Andromeda. Cassiopeia was
extremely boastful; a trait not tolerated among the gods, and claimed that she
was even more beautiful than Nereids, the sea nymphs. Enraged by the dis
Poseidon sent a sea monster to savage the coast of AEthiopia. Cepheus was
instructed by an oracle to sacrifice Andromeda to the monster, but Perseus who
was passing through on his way back from slaying the Gorgon Medusa saved her.
Punishment was enforced on Queen Cassiopeia and she was chained to her
throne for her boastfulness and placed in the sky to circle the North Star, at
times hanging upside down in a most undignified position to serve forever as a
warning to all.
November
The
November night sky is all about the fleece. Aries is the Ram of the Golden Fleece, an unremarkable group of 4
stars giving the appearance of a soft comma or slightly drooping tail, located
a bit east of the overhead point. As the story goes King Athamus of Thessaly
was having a typical male mid-life crisis and began looking around as he was
grew tired of Nephele his wife. The queen was afraid for her children and
assisted by Mercury, who lent his ram with Golden Fleece, sent the daughter
Helle and boy Phrixus far away. Unfortunately crossing the narrow straight that
divides Europe from Asia Helle fell off into the sea. Since that unfortunate
incident the strait has been called Hellespont. Phrixus made it to safety on
the eastern shore of the Black Sea, the ram was sacrificed to Jupiter, but the
fleece was put into a sacred grove guarded by a dragon. While back in another
part of Thessaly all sorts of palace intrigue was taking place. The king
surrendered the throne to his brother who was to rule as regent until the son
Jason came to majority. Thinking of a way to rid himself of his unwanted nephew
Jason the regent sent him on a quest to return the fleece. Jason called his
buddies, noted warriors of the time namely, Hercules, Orpheus, Nestor and
others to assist on the expedition sailing on the good ship Argo. They became
known as Argonauts and after several high adventures they captured the Golden
Fleece and returned home. The ship Argo and the fleece were dedicated to
Neptune, who placed it in the sky. Scholars believe this story to be the
legendary recital of a very early maritime expedition, perhaps piratical in
nature where rich spoils were obtained.
December
The
December night sky is the story that makes any modern soap or any series
currently on HBO look tame and it is all directly over our heads. Major players
are Cassiopeia, an M shaped
constellation north and a bit to the west. Andromeda,
daughter of Cassiopeia, the constellation likened to breasts, if you will, just
above The Great Square. Perseus,
hero involved in many a showdown with wretched evil rulers and powerful
serpents. His constellation is a series of stars to the east of the overhead
point with the star Perseus the brightest. Cepheus, the king
whose constellation is the windblown house to the north of overhead and Cetus,
the Sea Monster, a long bunch of stars with two triangles to the south.
The
shortened version of the tale is Cassiopeia, a queen of
CLOUDS AND WEATHER
Before
the Weather Channel, Doppler or even the Farmers Almanac, people watched clouds
in anticipation of weather on the way. There are three levels of cloud height,
low, medium and high. A very simple explanation is Cirrus for high followed by
the type of cloud: cirrocumulus for example. Alto for medium height followed by
the cloud description, altocumulus. Low clouds are stratus. Knowing these
beginner classifications we can then go on to combinations and knowing what
they mean we can predict the weather from clouds.
The
single most important factor to consider with weather is pressure. Atmospheric pressure is the weight of
the air in units called millibars and the instrument used for measurement is the
barometer.
The
isobars on the weather maps measure
the surface friction and the distribution of pressure. The closer the
isobars and the more direction of change the greater the friction or resulting
wind. Differing temperature, humidity and pressure, form waves, where it
is strong it forms the jet stream in the tropopause. Warm air, strong
equatorial masses meeting polar cold, frontal systems line up and intermingle
or overlap. Atmospheric layers and temperatures in a seasonal flux, throw in
the rotation of the earth and angle to the sun, a perfect recipe for wind
events. Wind variations in the different levels of the atmosphere differ
too. This is most evident when the upper air clouds are moving less quickly
than the lower, alto clouds or visa versa.
Wind shear is where the wind velocity changes sharply over a
very small distance. Wind shear pops, it is intense in velocity and a dangerous
wind effect.
Active
weather patterns converge and organize along a line of instability known as a squall line. A single squall line can
be hundreds of miles long and is created by the strong opposing air currents at
the base of cumulonimbus clouds. High pressure builds in front of the system
while behind the storm a low-pressure system. The result is an impressive display
of cloud formations, especially the threatening anvil shaped cumulonimbus
clouds. These can reach upwards of 35,000 feet and be visible from 200 miles.
High
humidity, extreme instability and marked surface air convergence, low and
falling pressure, are the conditions that are the initial signal of a tornado warning. Hundreds of tornadoes
can be spawned along an active squall line. There are two signs to look for
when assessing whether a storm is severe enough to generate tornadoes. The
first is the "overshoot" phenomenon, where the normally flat top of
the storm's anvil displays an ominous bulge. This indicates the upward rush of
air near the center of the storm is so powerful that it has "punched"
through the tropopause, bubbling up into the stratosphere. The second feature
is extensive mammatus cloud formation. Mammatus is one of the most
spectacular and distinctive of all cloud formations. It consists of pendulous
globules of cloud; mamma is Latin for breast, within the storm system. Tornadoes
die down when the violent up-currents within the parent cloud subside, usually
when the sun leaves the sky. Tornadoes occur in the middle latitudes
with Oklahoma having the dubious distinction of experiencing more than any
other location on Earth. Without question they are the most intense and
destructive phenomena in weather. Waterspouts, sand devils, and water devils
are generally localized horizontal wind shear that starts rotating. No kin to a
tornado.
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