Image: Artist rendition of Europa Clipper & Jupiter (JPL, NASA)
People in the South American countries, especially the extreme southern portions of Chile and Argentina are anxiously waiting their total solar eclipse on October 2, mirroring the one we had across our state and eastern states in the USA earlier this year. Isn’t it amazing that the diameter and distance of the Moon from our tilted-axis Earth, and the distance from the Sun and their respective diameters create such a wonderful experience for us? And the fact that our solar system is so incredibly accurate that we can know to the precise second when eclipses will occur just boggles my brain. What an amazing creation we enjoy.
The science and hobby of astronomy is one that continues to uncover marvelous wonders almost daily. The Brownsville-based South Texas Astronomical Society (STARS) endeavors to bring those marvels to folks who attend their local and area outreach events. And through their web site to anyone who checks in on starsocietyrgv.org via its original quarterly journal FarFarOut!. FFO combines scholarly academic work with original art, astronomy focused fiction, and surprises as well. (starsocietyrgv.org/farfarout)
On the 23rd, the Moon will be just 6 degrees north of Jupiter, which may help you find the gas giant. NASA and the European Space Agency are preparing to launch a mission, the Europa Clipper, to the Galilean moon Europa soon (https://europa.nasa.gov/) to determine IF there is in fact water ice that might contain life. Remember that microbes are life – they are not expecting civilization. I hope this mission is as successful as the Galileo mission of the 1990s and the Juno mission (https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/) because discoveries made during those missions were the reason this current mission was planned. Humans have always asked themselves ‘what if’ and wondered WHY? Just as your teenager has asked WHY. It is not surprising that we launch missions into space to learn as much as we are able given the tools and intelligence we have available to us.
What’s up in our local night sky will be the usual late-summer/early autumn constellations after sunset and sneak previews of winter constellations in the pre-dawn sky. And in case you need reminding, September 22 marks the autumn equinox exactly at 7:44 AM our time. This means we appear to have equal hours of official daylight and dark, the sun rises at due east and sets due west, but for us those nearly equal hours will actually be later in the week. Location does make a difference; Check out the informative time and date site (https://www.timeanddate.com/) for a fascinating read about equinox and equilux; I just learned a new term with the second one.
It is dark now by 8:00 PM and the southern sky constellations include those of mid-summer; Scorpius, Sagittarius, Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Ophiuchus, with the two halves of Serpens. will all be in the wedge from the zenith to the horizon as you face south.
At or near the zenith in the eastern wedge of sky will be the lovely Summer Triangle asterism of Cygnus, the Swan, whose tail is marked by the star Deneb. At the western wedge’s zenith will be the Lyre, Lyra, marked by the bright star Vega, and Aquila, the eagle whose bright eye star Altair is in the southern wedge of sky and marking another vertice of the triangle. Seeking the images of these constellations will reveal beautiful structures. Just use your favorite search engine or browse the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/) for a meandering voyage among the stars. Of course, using a phone app will help you locate these constellations, but whether they will be visible because of increasing light pollution is another story. And as I am writing this the thunder is rolling across our Valley skies and I hope we do get some opportunities to KLU and actually get some stars in our eyes.
Until next time, KLU
