THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249       www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street  Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N                   70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
             "The ultimate in outside!"


*THE DAILY ASTRONOMER*

*Wednesday, July 20, 2016*

*When Betelgeuse Returns*
tomorrow morning, it won't linger long in the pre-dawn sky.   It will be
more flickering flame than rising star.  Yet, after a two month absence its
fleeting appearance in our sky will delight those myriad sky watchers
who've yearned for its return. Although Betelgeuse's arrival ominously
portends winter's eventual return, we are gladdened by the latest renewal
of the next 10 month Betelgeuse cycle.


​Betelgeuse represents Orion's eastern shoulder.   Betelgeuse is a red
super giant large enough to accommodate more than 160 million Sun-sized
spheres.    (Image: Wikipedia)

Betelgeuse's "heliacal rising" date for this latitude is July 21st.    This
means that an observer watching the eastern pre-dawn sky on this date will
be able to observe Betelgeuse rise above the horizon just before the
intensifying morning twilight absorbs it.    The star's "heliacal setting"
date was May 21st.  On that evening, an observer looking toward the western
evening sky can see Betelgeuse in the evening twilight for a moment before
it sets. On the following evening, Betelgeuse will not be visible.  By the
time the sky darkens enough to render  Betelgeuse visible, it will have
already set.

As is true with all non-circumpolar stars (those stars that actually rise
and set), Betelgeuse rises four minutes earlier each day as a consequence
of Earth's revolutionary motion.  Though Betelgeuse will grace us with a
cameo tomorrow morning, it will be visible for about five minutes on the
following morning and about nine minutes the next morning.     Betelgeuse
is rising earlier and, as its summer, the Sun is rising slightly later each
morning.  By early August, Betelgeuse will be up for viewing for about half
an hour.

Betelgeuse, like its host constellation Orion, is most prominent in the
winter, when it remains visible most of the night.     It is the "Winter
Red Supergiant," the counterpart to Antares, the bright star in Scorpius
that serves as our "Summer Red Supergiant."   Although Antares is front and
center and the summer is now roaring on all six cylinders, Betelgeuse has
emerged into the morning sky and, if the last few thousand of years are any
guidance, will take it place into evening sky prominence.


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FROM THE CATACOMBS OF INFINITE KNOWLEDGE
(Our apologies. These fragments have been swallowed by space-time lately)

Caught in a ocean rip current that is rapidly moving you away from shore?!
Don't panic.   Just swim parallel to the shore immediately.  Most rip
currents are
very thin and by swimming parallel to the shore you'll quickly move out of
the current flow.
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