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Slip into a Coma

The Galaxy >

If you find yourself this week enjoying spring's planetary alignment in the early evening's western skies, I have a suggestion: While you're at it, slip into a coma.

One of the least appreciated constellations but one of great interest to astronomers is Coma Berenices, located next to well-known Leo the Lion.

About nine o'clock tonight face south and look almost directly up. You'll see something that looks like a backwards question mark. That is the head and mane of a regal Leo the Lion stalking bright Jupiter as it leads him into the horizon.

A little to the east (left) of Leo's head is the rest of the lion's body which includes the very bright Denebola. Denebola marks the Lion's loin --- his hindquarters.

If the night is clear and moonless you'll see a dim cluster of stars almost as far up and to the left of Denebola as Leo's head is up and to the right. This is the Coma Berenices Star Cluster, which when seen through a binoculars consists of thirty to forty faint stars.

But how did it get there? That depends on whose story you believe.

Humdrum astronomers will say that the cluster is a relatively old open cluster of stars all created together in a star nursery millions of years ago, and now probably dispersing, moving away from home, as young adults have a tendency to do.

Ancient people had a much more interesting story. The Macedonian king of Egypt, Ptolemy III, understandably upset at the killing of his sister at the hands of the Assyrians, waged war against them. He made it through safely which prompted his wife, Berenice, to lop off her beautiful hair as a sacrifice to the goddess Aphrodite in thanks for his safe return.

But in all the celebration her curls mysteriously disappeared from the altar! The royal couple were royally upset and threatened to sacrifice the priests who were supposed to be keeping an eye on the locks.

Then amazingly the mystery of the missing hair was solved! Conon of Samos, a Greek astronomer, discovered what had happened. Apparently Aphrodite was so appreciative of Berenice's sacrifice that she put her hair up in the heavens into Leo's realm so all could see and admire. Why, it was there the whole time!

And there it is now, Coma Berenices --- the hair of Berenice --- a rather lackluster constellation, no offense to Aphrodite.

But what holds greater interest for astronomers is that in Coma Berenices can be found an incredibly rich concentration of galaxies. Too dim to be seen with anything but the big scopes, the Coma Cluster, as it is known, has (sit down) tens of thousands of full blown galaxies each with billion and billions of stars.

Located about 250 million light years away, the monstrous neighborhood of galaxies is over a million times more distant than the stars that make up the tiny star cluster we see in the foreground.

Currently the great interest in the Coma Cluster consists in no less than an attempt to find out about the entire past and future of the universe! Beyond the "scope" of this article, suffice it to say now that by knowing about some of the parts that make up the galaxies out there, we can estimate the age of our universe, how fast we are expanding, and how it all might end up.

Where else but in astronomy can you pick through someone's hair and discover great secrets of the universe?

Until next time, clear skies!

Mark Ritter can be reached here. Photo courtesy Kopernic.org.

Posted by Administrator at 2002.04.27 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

Must-See PV (Planetary Viewing)

There are times when one must search the skies for something to write about. Then there are those times when the heavens themselves shout out a story for us and all one must do is copy it down. This is such a time.

Every once in a blue moon the orbits of the planets take them to places in the sky that make them appear a work of heavenly art. This month we get to enjoy a planet line-up in the early evening western skies the likes of which haven't been seen for several decades.

Our Moon happens to saunter through this planetary get-together over the next couple of nights, so we'll let it here be our guide.

After sunset Sunday the very young crescent Moon will just nip Venus, closest planet to the horizon, and brightest as well. Regular readers of this column --- and those who paid attention in science class! --- will recall that Venus is so bright because she is enveloped by a thick, reflecting layer of lethal vapor; one made mostly of droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid.

On Monday night, our friendly neighborhood satellite will pass by distant Mars. Now nearly on the opposite side of the sun, the Red Planet's characteristic red tint can still be distinguished by discerning eyes. However, it is so far away --- over 200 million miles - that peering at the tiny planet through a telescope makes the featureless little red dot nothing much more than a featureless big red dot.

Tuesday evening takes the waxing crescent Moon just a little above Saturn, the ringed giant. With nearly thirty satellites of its own and a colossal ring system made of countless snowballs, Saturn ranks number one on most people's Most Beautiful Planet I've Ever Seen list. Even now, over 900 million miles away, the monstrous rings can be discerned through even an inexpensive scope.

The Moon's slow trek around Earth means you'll have to wait two days before its Thursday night encounter with Jupiter, the big brother of planets. Over 500 million miles distant, the biggest of all our planets spins completely around at breakneck speed in only nine hours making for some pretty nasty winds and weather which, on the other hand, makes for some spectacularly psychedelic surface features.

Take a look at all of them, in toto, some day in the next couple of weeks - include the Moon and where the Sun set --- and you'll notice that the whole menagerie could be points on an imaginary line across the sky. Astronomers call this line the ecliptic.

And those of you who know the constellations will recognize that the ecliptic line in that part of the sky dissects Aries, Taurus, and Gemini --- three constellations of the zodiac.

No coincidence here. All the planets spend their entire revolution around the Sun --- their "year" --- moving more or less parallel to the ecliptic through those zodiacal constellations.

Not satiated yet in your hunger for planets? Wait until the first days of May. It is then that tiny Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, will rise just above the horizon to hover near Venus and take its place in the dazzling planetary display.

Need help in telling one planet from another? I've got sky and solar system images waiting for you at http://firstlightastro.com/icolumn.html.

Until next time, clear skies!

Mark Ritter teaches astronomy in Temecula and can be reached here.

Posted by Administrator at 2002.04.13 03:00 PM | Comments (0)



Looking for something?	« March 2002 \| Main \| May 2002 » Slip into a Coma The Galaxy > If you find yourself this week enjoying spring's planetary alignment in the early evening's western skies, I have a suggestion: While you're at it, slip into a coma. One of the least appreciated constellations but one of great interest to astronomers is Coma Berenices, located next to well-known Leo the Lion. About nine o'clock tonight face south and look almost directly up. You'll see something that looks like a backwards question mark. That is the head and mane of a regal Leo the Lion stalking bright Jupiter as it leads him into the horizon. A little to the east (left) of Leo's head is the rest of the lion's body which includes the very bright Denebola. Denebola marks the Lion's loin --- his hindquarters. If the night is clear and moonless you'll see a dim cluster of stars almost as far up and to the left of Denebola as Leo's head is up and to the right. This is the Coma Berenices Star Cluster, which when seen through a binoculars consists of thirty to forty faint stars. But how did it get there? That depends on whose story you believe. Humdrum astronomers will say that the cluster is a relatively old open cluster of stars all created together in a star nursery millions of years ago, and now probably dispersing, moving away from home, as young adults have a tendency to do. Ancient people had a much more interesting story. The Macedonian king of Egypt, Ptolemy III, understandably upset at the killing of his sister at the hands of the Assyrians, waged war against them. He made it through safely which prompted his wife, Berenice, to lop off her beautiful hair as a sacrifice to the goddess Aphrodite in thanks for his safe return. But in all the celebration her curls mysteriously disappeared from the altar! The royal couple were royally upset and threatened to sacrifice the priests who were supposed to be keeping an eye on the locks. Then amazingly the mystery of the missing hair was solved! Conon of Samos, a Greek astronomer, discovered what had happened. Apparently Aphrodite was so appreciative of Berenice's sacrifice that she put her hair up in the heavens into Leo's realm so all could see and admire. Why, it was there the whole time! And there it is now, Coma Berenices --- the hair of Berenice --- a rather lackluster constellation, no offense to Aphrodite. But what holds greater interest for astronomers is that in Coma Berenices can be found an incredibly rich concentration of galaxies. Too dim to be seen with anything but the big scopes, the Coma Cluster, as it is known, has (sit down) tens of thousands of full blown galaxies each with billion and billions of stars. Located about 250 million light years away, the monstrous neighborhood of galaxies is over a million times more distant than the stars that make up the tiny star cluster we see in the foreground. Currently the great interest in the Coma Cluster consists in no less than an attempt to find out about the entire past and future of the universe! Beyond the "scope" of this article, suffice it to say now that by knowing about some of the parts that make up the galaxies out there, we can estimate the age of our universe, how fast we are expanding, and how it all might end up. Where else but in astronomy can you pick through someone's hair and discover great secrets of the universe? Until next time, clear skies! Mark Ritter can be reached here. Photo courtesy Kopernic.org. Posted by Administrator at 2002.04.27 02:58 PM \| Comments (0) Must-See PV (Planetary Viewing) > There are times when one must search the skies for something to write about. Then there are those times when the heavens themselves shout out a story for us and all one must do is copy it down. This is such a time. Every once in a blue moon the orbits of the planets take them to places in the sky that make them appear a work of heavenly art. This month we get to enjoy a planet line-up in the early evening western skies the likes of which haven't been seen for several decades. Our Moon happens to saunter through this planetary get-together over the next couple of nights, so we'll let it here be our guide. After sunset Sunday the very young crescent Moon will just nip Venus, closest planet to the horizon, and brightest as well. Regular readers of this column --- and those who paid attention in science class! --- will recall that Venus is so bright because she is enveloped by a thick, reflecting layer of lethal vapor; one made mostly of droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid. On Monday night, our friendly neighborhood satellite will pass by distant Mars. Now nearly on the opposite side of the sun, the Red Planet's characteristic red tint can still be distinguished by discerning eyes. However, it is so far away --- over 200 million miles - that peering at the tiny planet through a telescope makes the featureless little red dot nothing much more than a featureless big red dot. Tuesday evening takes the waxing crescent Moon just a little above Saturn, the ringed giant. With nearly thirty satellites of its own and a colossal ring system made of countless snowballs, Saturn ranks number one on most people's Most Beautiful Planet I've Ever Seen list. Even now, over 900 million miles away, the monstrous rings can be discerned through even an inexpensive scope. The Moon's slow trek around Earth means you'll have to wait two days before its Thursday night encounter with Jupiter, the big brother of planets. Over 500 million miles distant, the biggest of all our planets spins completely around at breakneck speed in only nine hours making for some pretty nasty winds and weather which, on the other hand, makes for some spectacularly psychedelic surface features. Take a look at all of them, in toto, some day in the next couple of weeks - include the Moon and where the Sun set --- and you'll notice that the whole menagerie could be points on an imaginary line across the sky. Astronomers call this line the ecliptic. And those of you who know the constellations will recognize that the ecliptic line in that part of the sky dissects Aries, Taurus, and Gemini --- three constellations of the zodiac. No coincidence here. All the planets spend their entire revolution around the Sun --- their "year" --- moving more or less parallel to the ecliptic through those zodiacal constellations. Not satiated yet in your hunger for planets? Wait until the first days of May. It is then that tiny Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, will rise just above the horizon to hover near Venus and take its place in the dazzling planetary display. Need help in telling one planet from another? I've got sky and solar system images waiting for you at http://firstlightastro.com/icolumn.html. Until next time, clear skies! Mark Ritter teaches astronomy in Temecula and can be reached here. Posted by Administrator at 2002.04.13 03:00 PM \| Comments (0)
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