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
Julian date: 2457728.16
"Astronomy? Impossible to understand and madness to
investigate."
-Sophocles
*THE DAILY ASTRONOMER*
*Monday, December 5, 2016*
*Week 14 Night Sky Calendar*
We think we have solved the "dearth nadir" issue: the name we apply to
those weeks when we don't really have many truly noteworthy events to
discuss on our weekly sky calendar. Every week from now until at least
2267, we shall feature one constellation in each of our night sky
calendars. That way, we'll be able to cover almost all of the night
sky throughout the school year! This is a perfect week to begin this new
tradition, as shall only feature four celestial events in this calendar.
This week's featured constellation is the somewhat obscure, but still
charmingly cute,
Lepus the Hare. This funny little rabbit literally cowers in Orion's
shadow. Mythologically, this beleaguered animal mostly runs, trying
desperately to evade Orion and his voracious hunting dogs, Canis Major and
Canis Minor. In some star charts, Lepus is depicted as slain quarry
and lies pathetically at Orion's feet. In others, the fleet footed Lepus
runs scared, but remains uninjured. Lepus is also associated with the
"rabbit in the moon," the animal that some moon admirers see against the
moon's face. This perception of a hare is a good example of the strange
psychological phenomenon called "pareidolia." (See "From the Catacombs of
Infinite Knowledge.")
*Lepus the Hare: the tormented rabbit pursued by both*
*Orion the Hunter and his hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor*
*Image by Astro Bob*
Lepus the Hare rises in the early evening and remains visible throughout
the night. Although it doesn't captivate like Orion or dazzle like
Sirius, Lepus the Hare is a gentler character within the crowded winter
firmament.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5: MOON 2.9 DEGREES NNW OF MARS (BRONZE EVENT!)
Venus overshadows Mars considerably. Venus shines so brilliantly that
sky watchers will often seek out Venus and ignore Mars. In fact, Venus
is so prominent, it even insinuates itself into paragraphs that pertain to
other planets. Those who want to find Mars can easily do so tonight, as
this rust-coated orb loiters low below Selene this lovely evening. As
the moon will be 33% illuminated, one will experience no difficulty seeing
Mars despite the moon's close proximity.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7: FIRST QUARTER MOON
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11: SATURN AT SOLAR CONJUNCTION
Were we to observe the solar system from an aerial (or, perhaps, celestial)
perspective, we would see Earth and Saturn at either side of the Sun.
The technical term for this configuration is "superior solar conjunction."
as the planet is on the Sun's far side relative to Earth. A planet that
has moved between Earth and the Sun is said to be in "inferior solar
conjunction." Only Mercury and Venus can ever be at inferior solar
conjunction.
Speaking of which
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12: MERCURY AT GREATEST EASTERN ELONGATION (20.8 DEGREES
FROM THE SUN)
We review the elongation rule: when an inferior planet is at eastern
elongation, it is visible in the western evening sky. When an inferior
planet is at western elongation, it appears in the eastern morning sky.
Mercury, being the closest planet to the Sun, never appears to stray from
our parent star. Its maximum possible elongation is 28 degrees. This
elongation is almost 21 degrees.
*PLANET WATCH:*
*MERCURY (Host constellations: Sagittarius-Ophiuchus)*
The first world peeks up in the western evening sky. This apparition
favors southern observers, but Mercury remains visible low in the southwest
for northern sky watchers. Mercury will be at greatest eastern elongation
on December 11th, but at inferior conjunction on December 28th. Mercury
will vanish around the third week of December. VERDICT: We would advise
you to venture out during the first half of December to find Mercury.
The elusive world vanishes late this month.
*VENUS (Host constellation: Sagittarius) PICK PLANET!*
People wonder why Venus is such a prima donna when she receives the coveted
"pick planet' diadem almost every month. Venus enjoys the advantage of
being the brightest planet, so whenever it appears it will invariably
outshine it planetary cohorts. This month Venus shines brilliantly as the
western evening sky star. VERDICT: Easy to find if you're outside in
the early evening. Look west and just behold the spectacle.
*MARS (Host constellation: Capricornus - Aquarius)*
Here's an interesting observational exercise: observe Mars in the western
evening sky throughout December. One will notice that Mars is setting
around the same time each night. Mars has been setting around 9:30 p.m.
each night this autumn because Earth and the red planet are moving in such
a way as to make their positions relative to each other nearly constant.
VERDICT: Not only can you see the red planet, you can almost set your
watch by it. What's not to love?
*JUPITER (Host constellation: Virgo)*
Rising earlier each morning, Jupiter is the only pre-dawn planet visible to
the naked eye. The fifth sphere serves as a the brilliant eastern beacon
one can easily see provided one ventures outside a couple of hours before
sunrise. VERDICT: The perfect planet for joggers, dog walkers, and
those accursed few who always arise with alacrity before the alarm blares,
*SATURN (Host constellation : Ophiuchus)*
We're sorry to say that we have to bid Saturn adieu, at least for awhile.
The ringed world vanishes into the dusk, destined to return to the pre-dawn
sky by late December. Saturn is in solar conjunction on December
11th. VERDICT:
Don't bother to seek out Saturn until just before the New Year's
celebrations.
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FROM THE CATACOMBS OF INFINITE KNOWLEDGE
*"Patterns and Pareidolia"*
(Dedicated -posthumously- to the shadow professor, who would most certainly
consider the following information to be a laughable disaster.)
Look at this crater
Do you see the smiley face?
*Galle crater on Mars (Image by the Viking 1 orbiter.)*
Perceiving a face where none exists is a perfect illustration of
"pareidolia," the tendency of humans to observe human or animals features
in inanimate objects that bare only the slightest resemblance to humans or
animals. This "smiley face" consists of a series of mounds with the
Martian "Galle Crater."
Let's regard what is arguably astronomy's most famous example of pareidolia:
The Man in the Moon:
*"The Man ** in the Moon" Image by **Luc Viatour
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lviatour>. *
We think we're seeing a man's face imprinted on the lunar surface.
Instead, we're actually observing "maria" next to the lighter lunar
regions. Their relative placements suggest an irregular face complete with
hooked nose, wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
Pareidolia is our mind's way of seeing discernible objects in Rorschach
tests, hearing secret messages in songs played backward and populating a
star-speckled sky with a menagerie of fantastical creatures. Cognitive
psychologists would associate this tendency to imagine people and animals
in our environment with the evolutionary instinct to detect prey and
predators in an ever changing world. The romantics would instead
insist that the highly fertile human imagination delights in projecting
life in places it doesn't actually exist. Be it evolution or
imagination. pareidolia is the secret function of the mind that gave rise
to the same constellations that adorn our sky today.
We end with two more beautiful examples of pareidolia: the Horsehead Nebula in
Orion and the eerie "Martian face."
*Horsehead Nebula: Martian face:Image by Ken Crawford
Image by Viking I lander*
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© 2016 Edward Gleason